SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As the world’s three major religions prepared to celebrate holy holidays, the coronavirus pandemic was spreading rapidly in 2020 forcing the closure of places of worship all over the world.
Just before Easter 2020, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento made an incredibly rare decision to halt in-person services during the Catholic’s sacred holy week.
Now, the pandemic hasn’t gone away, but church services have returned in-person and in time for Palm Sunday, commemorating Jesus’ arrival to Jerusalem and marking the start of the holy week of Easter.
Services at churches and places of worship resumed in February, after a U.S. Supreme Court decision overturned California’s ban on in-person faith services.
Yessenia Gonzalez attended the Palm Sunday Service at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, the seat of the Sacramento Diocese.
“It feels nice being able to get together again and just, it’s a different feeling when you’re seeing church at home versus in person” Gonzalez said.
She and her family have been watching online services since the pandemic began.
Deyanara Galvez said it’s a blessing to attend the services.
“The only thing we can do is pray and offer to God and be with him,” Galvez said.
Father Michael O’Reilly with the cathedral said it’s been a difficult year and he’s looking to the future.
“So hopefully we are learning from the pandemic to appreciate what we had. You know not take it for granted the freedom to into churches and worship, pray, and spend quiet time,” O’Reilly said.
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