thecatholicspirit.com
May 21, 2020 • Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
‘Unthinkable’ reality
Congratulations, graduates!
Nurse cares for COVID-19 patients in local hospital ICU, offering comfort and prayer to the seriously ill and dying. — Page 7
The Catholic Spirit celebrates the Class of 2020 with a look at traditions lost — and gained — in the midst of a pandemic, profiles of three Catholic school seniors and advice from Catholic leaders for the road ahead. — Pages 10-13
Justice and healing Victoria Johnson assumes role as ombudsperson for clergy sex abuse victim-survivors in the archdiocese, taking over for her husband, Tom. — Page 6
First steps
Catholic schools left out? Leaders concerned about COVID-19 relief funding excluding nonpublic schools in bill before Congress. — Page 9
Brian Eberhardt of St. Peter in North St. Paul waits to be escorted to a pew for 8 a.m. Mass May 19 at the church. The day marked the first time St. Peter offered public Masses since Archbishop Bernard Hebda suspended all public Masses in the archdiocese March 18 due to concerns about the novel coronavirus. Eberhardt was one of nine people who signed up to attend, all of whom were escorted to their pews by the pastor of the parish, Father Ettore Ferrario, who celebrated the Mass.
Pandemic funerals Cemeteries adapt to provide meaningful services for grieving families. — Page 15
Miniature master St. Joseph, West St. Paul, eighthgrader garners national publicity for dollhouse designs. — Page 20
We’re taking a Memorial Day break! Look for our next issue June 11.
DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Masses allowed to resume, but for most, 10-person limit too small By Joe Ruff and Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit
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imiting the congregation to 10 people per Mass, sanitizing hands and encouraging face masks were steps a parish in North St. Paul made to start public Masses the week of May 18.
“I think it was a real yearning for our priests here. Our parishioners were yearning for it as well,” said Jeff Peterson, chief of staff at St. Peter, which is served by the Priestly Fraternity of St. Charles Borromeo. Initially anticipating that at least a third of the church could be used — allowing more people per Mass — St. Peter and many other parishes across the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis geared up for the first public Masses since mid-March. But Gov. Tim Walz’s much-anticipated May 18 loosening of some COVID-19
safety directives continued to limit religious gatherings to 10 or fewer people. That prompted some parishes, such as Pax Christi in Eden Prairie, to start planning for 10-person public Masses (for Pax Christi, beginning May 26), while other parishes waited in hopes of a more promising start after Archbishop Bernard Hebda and the state’s other Catholic bishops discussed that directive with Walz’s administration May 18 and 19. On May 15, the archbishop expressed PLEASE TURN TO FIRST STEPS ON PAGE 5
St. Peter’s Basilica reopens to the public with safety measures in place Catholic News Service
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lmost 10 weeks after St. Peter’s Basilica was closed to the public in cooperation with Italy’s COVID-19 lockdown measures, the faithful and tourists were allowed back in May 18. Pope Francis celebrated Mass at 7 a.m. at the tomb of St. John Paul II to mark the 100th anniversary of the Polish pope’s birth. Then, at 8 a.m., the general public was admitted. The basilica was sanitized May 15 in preparation for the reopening. It had been closed to the public since March 10. On the edge of St. Peter’s Square, a sign advises visitors they must wear a mask and stay 2 meters (6.5 feet) away from others in
order to enter the basilica. The Vatican sanitation service placed hand-sanitizer dispensers at the end of the colonnade surrounding St. Peter’s Square. From there, the public finds “keep your distance” labels and tape on the cobblestone path leading to the health and security checks before entering the basilica. At the end of the path, two members of the Knights of Malta dressed in white, lightweight hazmat suits point a small thermoscanner at the visitor’s forehead. If the person does not have a fever, he or she can proceed to the line for the metal detectors. Except for the expanded space needed for the line for security checks, St. Peter’s Square remained closed.
CNS
A woman has her temperature checked before entering St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican May 18 after the basilica reopened to the public during the COVID-19 pandemic.