May 7, 2020 • Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
Looking ahead to the Synod, Archbishop Hebda reflects on lessons learned so far
PRAYING
Coronavirus slowdown Farmers turn to faith and hard work to meet production challenges presented by COVID-19.
FOR PROTECTION
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churches open for daily prayer, and, in some cases, eucharistic adoration. Confessions are available in wellventilated spaces that meet social distancing recommendations, and weddings and funerals can be celebrated with 10 or fewer people attending. Outdoor Masses without the distribution of Communion, and attendees remaining in cars, are allowed. As to beginning phase two May 18, Church leaders “will be working with public officials in a collaborative way to meet that goal,” he said. The phase adds public Masses in churches limited to no more than one-third of the church’s seating capacity, or approximately every third pew, he said. Parishes are “always required” to observe social distancing directives for people not of the same household, he said. “Parishes will need to develop ways to ensure that this capacity limit is strictly followed, such as by implementing online signups and having ushers in place to ensure crowds are limited and controlled,” Archbishop Hebda said. “Since the Sunday obligation has been dispensed, Catholics will be encouraged to attend other Masses during the week instead of on Sunday, in order to spread out the numbers. More Masses than usual will need to be offered in some cases to accommodate everyone who desires to attend Mass during this phase.” He said archdiocesan leaders plan to provide well in advance of May 18 “detailed protocols” for these Masses and
he stay-at-home order has radically changed our schedules. I terribly miss pastoral contact, but I appreciate having some additional opportunities for personal prayer and reflection. In particular, I have been blessed to have more time to take a deeper dive into the data that was obtained from our pre-Synod Prayer and Listening Events. I would like to share with you what I have learned and offer a few thoughts on the next critical stage of our Synod process; but first, let me remind you about FROM THE the Archdiocesan ARCHBISHOP Synod. A synod is a formal representative assembly designed to help a bishop in his shepherding of the local Church. It is my hope that the process will help to draw on the gifts that have been bestowed in such abundance on the faithful of this archdiocese to discern and establish pastoral priorities in a way that promotes greater unity, and leads us to a more vigorous proclamation of Jesus’ good news. The pre-Synod Prayer and Listening Events held over the past eight months created an opportunity to hear what you thought, to hear the Holy Spirit speak through you. The input was wonderful. Not surprisingly, with over 8,000 members of this local Church already participating in the process, we have over 2,000 pages of comments. The materials sit on my windowsill as a reminder of God’s goodness, manifested not only in the great number of participants at our Prayer and Listening Events and focus sessions, but also in the generosity of those who stepped up to organize or host those events; those who persevered in transcribing handwritten comments; those who translated the information that came in Spanish, Vietnamese and Polish; those who coded and collated the responses; and those who analyzed and summarized the data, pointing out areas of convergence and divergence. On top of the pre-Synod data, there is also the information that had been gathered for the report that I presented to Pope Francis at the “ad limina” visit earlier this year, as well as the information that was collected through the Disciple Maker Index designed by the Catholic Leadership Institute (CLI). I was pleased to learn from CLI that you, the generous people of our archdiocese, completed more surveys than any other diocese. The CLI input enables us to glean important insights
PLEASE TURN TO MASS ON PAGE 5
PLEASE TURN TO SYNOD ON PAGE 7
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Heartfelt ministry Longtime hospital chaplains adjust to coronavirus restrictions. — Page 6
More than academics At-home outreach to Catholic school families extends beyond books. — Pages 10-11
Seminary ‘cloister’ Seminarians forge special bonds under coronavirus restrictions. — Page 12
Wondrous works St. Paul artist finds a niche in religious painting and sculptures; Cologne Catholics rejoice in church renovation. — Pages 14-15
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Archbishop Bernard Hebda prays a blessing over Jane Juaire, a resident of St. Therese of New Hope, a care facility hit hard by COVID-19. Archbishop Hebda and Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Cozzens visited five long-term care facilities, including St. Therese, to pray a decade of the rosary and to sprinkle holy water on the grounds. After the blessing at St. Therese, in which residents and staff members gathered in front of the building, Archbishop Hebda greeted and blessed residents. Juaire is a former member of St. Alphonsus in Brooklyn Center. For more information about how the pandemic is affecting St. Therese and other facilities, see story on page 8.
Minnesota’s dioceses preparing to resume limited public Masses May 18 By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit
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eaders of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis are developing a gradual, multi-phase approach to returning to public worship amid the coronavirus pandemic, Archbishop Bernard Hebda announced May 1. Under a plan developed by Minnesota’s bishops, public Masses statewide are expected to resume, under heavy restrictions, May 18 — exactly two months after public Masses were suspended in the archdiocese. Gov. Tim Walz announced April 30 that he is extending Minnesota’s stay-at-home order, which was set to expire May 4, to May 18. “The bishops of Minnesota gathered yesterday after the governor’s news conference to carefully consider our own phased approach back into having public Masses,” Archbishop Hebda said in a letter to the faithful. “We recognize that when we return to public Masses, we will have to do so with carefully defined protocols in order to keep people safe and to prevent the spread of the virus. We know that if we work together, we can do this safely.” In the letter, Archbishop Hebda outlined three phases in the bishops’ plan to resume public Masses. He said that the dispensation of Catholics from their obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation “will continue until such a time that it is safe for all to return.” Phase one, the current phase, includes
