Covid-19: NI Catholic churches make cautious reopening

St Mary's Church in Belfast resumed public masses on Friday

Catholic churches across Northern Ireland have reopened for public worship.

It is a "cautious and careful" return, a spokesman stressed on Friday.

The Church of Ireland, Methodist and Presbyterian Churches in Northern Ireland will resume in-person services from Good Friday, 2 April.

The four Churches voluntarily suspended in-person gatherings in January of this year due to the latest Covid-19 lockdown and a surge in cases.

Derry priest Rev Michael Canny told BBC NI's Good Morning Ulster that the first Mass in his parish was taking place at 09:15 GMT on Friday.

He said he was "delighted" to be reopening in time for Easter, but stressed that a lot of care was needed.

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"We are very conscious that any opening up will put an upward pressure on the R-number," he said.

A priest celebrating an online Mass in an empty church during the first lockdown last year

"When people come at 9:15 GMT and 10:00 GMT, there will still be social distancing, they will still have to sanitise hands, we will encourage them to go home afterwards, rather than to be standing outside chatting.

"I am going to be careful and I am going to encourage them to be careful."

Rev Canny said that, at this stage, reopening was not new and the churches had become more attuned as to how to conduct worship.

Bishop Forster said the "sense of normality" would help those coping with loss in the pandemic

Church of Ireland Bishop of Derry and Raphoe Andrew Forster said the return of in-person church services would be both "careful and responsible".

"We have worked really hard to make the Church feel like a safe environment for people to come together to worship God," he told BBC Radio Foyle.

"While there will be social distancing, there will be no spiritual distancing from God."

The bishop said the "sense of normality" would help those coping with loss in the pandemic.

Strict rules to ensure compliance with public health regulations will apply in reopened churches

General secretary of the Methodist Church in Ireland Rev Dr Heather Morris said churches could make a "careful" return to services, adding "this will allow time for preparation to celebrate the major Christian festival of Easter".

"We felt that giving provision for congregations to open their buildings on Good Friday - such a significant day in the lives of Christians - was helpful and good," she told Good Morning Ulster.

"For Easter Sunday, the churches across the country will be praying for recovery from the pandemic for the whole of society."

Dr Morris said webcam services and online provision had been a "real success" and churches had responded with imagination and creativity, but church life was "more than online" and not everyone had access to the internet.

"We are also aware of the importance of mental health and spiritual health," she said.

"We have learned that relationships matter and we have missed that so deeply."

An online vigil is being streamed from St Eugene's Cathedral

The Catholic Church in Derry streamed an online vigil from St Eugene's Cathedral on Friday night to remember those who died in the pandemic.

The names of those who died from each parish in the diocese was read out during the vigil, which was set to continue throughout the night concluding with Mass at 04:30 GMT.

Rev Paul Farren said every parish in the diocese had been affected by Covid-19.

"There have been people who have died at a ripe old age, others who died too young and those who died before they had time to live at all," he said.

It is a time for "memories of loss and pain, of gratitude, of love, of loneliness," he added.

He said the service was for the countless stories that could not be told at wakes and for the many people who could not be present at the funerals of loved ones.

There are plans to establish a garden of remembrance at the cathedral.

Announcing relaxations to coronavirus restrictions on Tuesday, First Minister Arlene Foster said she and the deputy first minister had spoken to church leaders about their desire to resume public worship.

"We need to continue to acknowledge how much people need hope and solace. We acknowledge the risk involved and the mitigations required by the churches," she said.

"Some places of worship will find it easier to continue with online services. We know this will be taken forward carefully and we have been grateful to leaders across all faiths who have worked closely with us on a voluntary basis."