CHURCH IS RISEN
He’ll celebrate with live congregation
Timothy Cardinal Dolan looks forward to sharing his Easter sermon with a live congregation this year.
The head of the Archdiocese of New York, one year after delivering his homily to rows of empty pews inside a St. Patrick’s Cathedral shuttered by the pandemic, will welcome 1,000 worshipers to the landmark 19th century Fifth Ave. church for Sunday Mass. Only attendees with tickets will be allowed inside, although he expects more of the faithful to gather outside the church for the holy day.
“Good God, what great news compared to last year,” Dolan said in a recent appearance on WPIX-TV. “The church was literally empty. We couldn’t open the doors. Hallelujah.”
The Diocese of Brooklyn will also welcome the faithful for Easter, with Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio celebrating Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of St. James.
The two dioceses will also livestream their celebrations of the Resurrection for those who can’t make Mass, and COVID protocols like mask and social distancing remain in full effect for those in attendance.
For some, the hardships of the pandemic only illustrated the need for a little faith in everybody’s life.
“We need church and God more now than we ever have,” said
Louise Dolahan, 58, who came to St. Patrick’s on Saturday from her New Jersey home. “If we’ve learned anything over the last year, it’s that we need community. Mass here [Sunday] will feel like a relief. Things are beginning to look like they did before.”
New Yorker Lupe Hernandez, 53, brought her visiting sister for a stop at the church. Her sibling was in from Pennsylvania to celebrate
Easter with family.
“I had a sad time with the church being closed last year,” said Hernandez, of Jackson Heights, Queens. “God is good. There will be many happy Catholics tomorrow here in the most beautiful of churches.”
The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in Morningside Heights, after welcoming the public to its Good Friday observance on the church steps, plans to livestream its Easter service with a sermon by the Right Rev. Andrew Dietsche, the Episcopal bishop of New York.
Rosemary Ferrari, 71, was among those who missed attending services as the pandemic shuttered churches across the metropolitan area — and she was thrilled to hear St. Pat’s would host an Easter Mass.
“Easter Mass is a wonderful service here,” said Ferrari, who received her second COVID-19 vaccine dose a few weeks back and came to the cathedral with her son. “I’ve been many times. I brought my boys here many times. I’m glad other families will enjoy what mine has here tomorrow.”