COVID: One Year Later

As the novel coronavirus began to spread its carnage in the Northwest and Northeast corners of the country a year ago, bishops in Louisiana began to meet to discuss their own plans. 

Bishop Michael G. Duca soon gathered Episcopal Vicar Father Jamin David, Vicar General Father Tom Ranzino and several other diocesan leaders to discuss the practical realities of what a lockdown might look like. By mid-March the diocese had drafted its own set of protocols. Churches were soon shuttered, church bells silenced, and choirs muted as Gov. John Bel Edwards issued a statewide lockdown. 

Father David admitted the decision to close churches was difficult but the right thing to do because of so many unknowns at that time.  What followed was adapting to live under the cloak of uncertainty, fretting about finances, wondering when churches would reopen and if parishioners would even return.

 “It led to a whole host of questions, constantly causing us to look with eyes forward to what these changes would mean liturgically and how they would affect the administrative life in our parishes,” said Father David, who is also pastor at St. Margaret, Queen of Scotland Church in Albany. “How were we going to go to still be able to go to church, because we are an incarnational church, without being able to touch and be physically present to people was of chief concern; this would surely result in a very different celebration of the sacraments.”

Diocesan officials braced for a financial boondoggle, forecasting a potential 15 to 20% decline in revenue. Fortunately, the fiscal year ending June 30, which included two months of the lockdown and about six weeks of churches reopening, resulted in only a 5% decrease in revenue.  Father David said for fiscal year 2021-22 revenue will likely also decrease five to 10%.

“Fortunately (the more dire forecast) has not happened. It was much better than anticipated,” Father David said. “Some parishes saw declines in revenue; some increased in revenue, which is sort of strange given the circumstances.”

Bishop Duca provided financial assistance with a 10% reduction in what the parish usually pays to the diocese. Also, many parishes were able to secure PPP funding.

Ultimately, however, taking advantage of modern technology appears to have been the most effective avenue for parishes to mitigate their financial concerns. Live streaming Masses became the norm and remain so, even as churches have reopened.  

Many clergy members, including deacons, have launched podcasts or other social media avenues as a means of keeping in touch with parishioners. Communications Secretary Father Chris Decker held a nightly prayer service via social media during the lockdown, which would become quite popular.

St. Thomas More Church in Baton Rouge pastor Father Michael Alello attracted viewers from as far away as California and Canada for his live-streamed Mass. Not surprisingly, donations began to come in from throughout the country.  STM also held a virtual 

live auction, which exceeded all financial expectations.

Some parishes, including St. Margaret, developed phone trees where staff members would call every parishioner once a week.  “I say theologically, spiritually, the two months of having no people in the church were very difficult,” Father David said. “Some of us were able to pivot very well because we had the technology and means to do so.  It required creativity to discover how we were going to communicate with our parishioners without seeing them.”

Countless lessons were learned, some that will likely shape parishes for years to come, Father David said. Perhaps most significant is for pastors not to cut corners when it comes to investing in electronic media and electronic infrastructure. He said even after the pandemic is over, the popularity of the electronic component is not going to fade. Plus, an increased electronic media presence appears to have created what Father David called “exciting dynamics” in terms of demography. 

He said St. Margaret’s homebound parishioners were “overly excited” with the opportunity of viewing the Mass live. “This was the first opportunity for them to connect with their local community that they would have never had a chance to do before because we never were able to do it,” he said. “If we do (electronic media) and do it well, we are appealing to a certain demography that is more comfortable with the digital age than has been in the past, which I think is hopeful and exciting.  We have new avenues for evangelization at our fingertips!”

“I think electronic (media) use is one of the biggest things to emerge as a result of this pandemic,” he added. “If you are not using electronic means to solicit donations, maybe it is time to consider that. If you are not using your website or social media to minister, maybe it is time to reconsider that too.”

So what will the future look like, when society settles into what will likely be a vastly different normal? 

Although neighboring Mississippi and Texas, along with several other states, have dropped many, if not all of their COVID-19 protocols, Father David said he does not foresee a similar situation playing out in Louisiana whatsoever.  

“I don’t know that we are going to have a ‘flip the switch day’ to return to normalcy,” he said. “I think our approach is the wise one, and that is gradual reintroduction.”

But there remains the genuine concern if Catholics will flock back to church when doors do reopen or will parishioners opt to attend Mass via the comfort of their own home? 

“We have seen some who have been able to justify not coming to Mass but can justify other parts of living,” Father David said. “I can go out to eat at a restaurant, but I can’t go to Mass?  Such a rationale is rather confusing!  While we do have a dispensation, I think that the spirit of the Bishop’s dispensation is to protect the vulnerable. But there are probably other people who should be coming to Mass but just don’t.”

Operational changes may also be on tap at the diocesan level, with Father David expressing the potential of more of the work of the chancery being carried out through virtual meetings, which have proven effective with many of the Catholic Life Center employees working remotely. 

Father David said changes may even creep into the actual Mass, noting that parishioners have been asking when they will be able to receive the precious blood of Christ at Communion. “I don’t know when, and if, this practice will resume,” he said. “Even before COVID we (occasionally) had to stop communion from the cup during flu season.

“I think (the pandemic) will cause us to reconsider the very fabric of what we consider normal. I think our expectations of normal have changed and will continue to evolve.”