From midnight on Tuesday 6th October 2020 the country will enter Level Three of the Government’s ‘Resilience and Recovery 2020-2021: Plan for Living with COVID-19’.
The following are the implications for Church practice:
- Public Masses cannot be celebrated from midnight 6th October 2020.
- All other ceremonies cease for the duration of Level Three: First Holy Communion, Confirmation, Baptism and the Sacrament of Penance etc.
- The following exceptions are allowed:
- Funeral Masses with up to 25 mourners.
- Marriages with up to 25 guests.
- Churches may remain open for private prayer, with adequate sanitising measures.
The public health guidelines mention 25 mourners at funerals and 25 guests at marriages, these figures do not include the priest, sacristan, ushers etc. they are in addition to the twenty five persons allowed.
Details on Level Three are to be found at www.gov.ie
The Advisory Committee