Archbishop directs temporary liturgical modifications during flu season
- November 10, 2009
In the following Nov. 10 message to pastors, parish administrators, school principals and others in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, Archbishop George H. Niederauer directed that the following liturgical adaptations be implemented immediately at all parishes and other sites for worship within the Archdiocese until further notice.
Due largely to the pandemic H1N1 influenza, communities across the United States are currently seeing an early and significant spike in flu cases with some severity especially among children, youth and pregnant women. The San Francisco Bay Area is no exception to this trend. Experts in pandemic influenza caution us that even after this wave of infections abates, we may very well see additional spikes later in this flu season, especially in January and February when the annual “flu season” is usually at its worst.
After seeking the counsel of the departments of public health of San Francisco, Marin and San Mateo Counties, and after consulting with the Council of Priests and with the Archdiocese’s Pandemic Flu Committee for the 2009/2010 Influenza Season, I am directing that the following temporary measures be implemented at all parishes and other sites for worship within the Archdiocese of San Francisco immediately and until further notice. We will continue to monitor the spread and severity of this pandemic flu. As a result of such findings, I may need to revise or remove these liturgical modifications in the upcoming months.
• The distribution of Holy Communion from the Cup is to be suspended. Celebrants, concelebrants and deacons who officially assist at Mass are to receive under both forms. Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion and the lay faithful will not be offered the Precious Blood.
Provisions should be made for those with Celiac Disease who cannot receive the consecrated Host. Priests who know of such a person in their congregation may consecrate a small amount of wine in a dedicated Cup for him or her.
• Out of consideration for their fellow communicants, all are to be encouraged to receive Holy Communion in the hand. This is the more hygienic manner because there is a risk of infection from contact with saliva. Holy Communion is not to be denied to those who choose to receive on the tongue. Please refer to the attached sample bulletin announcement that may assist pastors in explaining proper ways for receiving Holy Communion.
• The Sign of Peace should be offered without shaking hands. Priests and deacons who extend the invitation to offer the Sign of Peace within the Mass may help the faithful to remember this modification by saying, for example, “With a reverent bow to those near to us, let us now offer one another a Sign of Peace.”
• The faithful are to be asked to refrain from holding hands during the Lord’s Prayer. This is an opportunity to explain the “orans“ posture as an alternative.
Those who distribute Holy Communion are to cleanse their hands with an alcohol-based, anti-bacterial gel before and after administering the Sacrament. This should be done discretely so as not to make this action seem part of the normative order of the Mass. Ministers of the Eucharist who visit the sick and the homebound should observe these same precautions.
• Non-communicants in the Communion procession, including children, may be blessed, but not touched, if a blessing is asked for them.
• Holy water fonts with still water are to be cleaned thoroughly and refreshed on a weekly basis, preferably before the weekend Masses.
• If priests and other ministers have greeted people arriving for worship, they are asked to cleanse their hands with an alcohol-based, anti-bacterial gel before the Entrance Procession. Pastors are strongly encouraged to have a large dispenser of hand sanitizer available at church entrances and to make sure that soap dispensers in church washrooms are kept full.
It is important to remind the faithful that the obligation to attend Sunday Mass does not apply to those who are ill, especially those who suffer from contagious disease. It is a sign of consideration for others that those with flu-like symptoms remain at home. For the convenience of those who are homebound, or unable to attend Mass because of illness or infirmity, Mass is broadcast each Sunday morning at 6:00 AM on Channel 20 (cable viewers Channel 13) and Channel 26 (cable viewers Channel 8).
I appreciate your attention to these temporary preventative measures and to the adaptation of Eucharistic celebrations. When explaining all these things to the faithful, ensure them that these are temporary changes which are necessary to follow until the danger of flu season is past.
– Most Reverend George Niederauer
Archbishop of San Francisco
From November 13, 2009 issue of Catholic San Francisco.
