I received directives this morning from the Diocese of Cleveland with regard to the return of our public worship, which of course we are all looking forward to. We will have much more detailed information in the coming days and weeks with regard to how this will be done but I wanted to share a few of those details with you now.
First, the Bishops of Ohio, and Fr. Don Oleksiak, the administrator for the Diocese of Cleveland during this time without our own diocesan bishop, have agreed to begin a “soft opening” for the public celebration of weekday Mass in preparation for the public celebration of the Solemnity of Pentecost the weekend of May 30th & 31st. Weekday Mass may resume on Monday, May 25th here in the Diocese of Cleveland. However the dispensation from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass remains in effect until further notice.
Here at St. Leo’s, we will likely be using the church area instead of the chapel for daily Mass, which is at 7:30am Monday through Thursday & at 8:30am on Fridays.
When we do begin to celebrate Mass publicly, whether for daily or Sunday Mass, we will continue to follow the directives of the Governor of Ohio as well as of the Bishops of Ohio and in particular the Administrator of the Cleveland Diocese regarding procedures for such public gatherings. For example, pews will be marked for 6 feet of distance between worshippers, masks will be required for all the faithful, hymnals will be removed, holy water fonts will remain empty, and people will be given instructions for how to receive Holy Communion. These and many more details will be made available to you shortly so please continue to monitor this website for more information. We also plan to disseminate information to you by way of a phone message you can listen to and by way of letters sent to the parishioners.
The parish staff will be meeting in the days ahead to discuss these directives and the best ways for us to implement them here at St. Leo the Great. Our first concern is for the safety and health of all those who come onto our property and worship in our church. So we will be faithful to the directives as much as possible and I ask that you pray for us as we do our best to practice safe ways of gathering together again.
You remain daily in my prayers. Please pray for us during this time as well that we may serve you to the best of our ability.