Kolkata: Post a year’s break, devotees in church for 25/12 service – Times of India

Kolkata News

Worshippers at a prayer service at Union Chapel on Saturday

KOLKATA: Most churches in the city had over 90% attendance — both for midnight mass, and morning and evening mass, on Christmas.
They said they were relieved it was not a repeat of last year when the mass was virtual and parishioners could only join in through links. Some seniors, however, opted to stay home, fearing infection. But they rued that they could not join the services since virtual links were not provided this time.
Devotees wore masks, kept hands sanitised and sat with adequate distance among one another. Parish priests ensured that no one flouted Covid norms and even announced how important it is to maintain all protocols since the Omicron scare is in the air.
The enthusiasm among devotees was palpable, who said they had feared that churches would not hold physical mass because of the Omicron scare. They admitted they were relieved when churches finally announced the prayer timings. “I even took my youngest grandchild along. We didn’t want to miss the opportunity to physically attend church once again,” said Sunil Baptist, who attended the 8.15pm service at St Teresa’s Church near Moulali.
There were several people of the community who said they were obligated to go to church on Christmas and had sorely missed it last year. “So what if I am 87? I got up early so I could go across from my Park Lane residence to St Thomas Church on Middleton Street. It was so nice to hear the priest speak at the 10.30am mass,” said Dorothy Manuk. This was echoed by Margaret Coelho, another senior who attended midnight mass at Our Lady of Vailankanni Church at Picnic Garden. “There were nearly 1,000 people, but they were divided into batches and mass was held on several levels of the church. It was a relief to be back for physical mass,” she said. But her husband Pius, who is in his late 80s, could not attend church and said he missed the virtual links that allowed people to join in from home.
Linda O Brien could not attend mass because of age and a problem in her legs, so the priest of Christ The King church came home to give her and her husband, Errol, communion. “We felt blessed,” he said. Another member of the church, 82-year-old Edwin Arthur Patrick Eccleston, also stayed home fearing Covid, though he lives near his church. “I did not want to risk it. I would have attended the mass virtually had the link been given. These days I join mass in churches of the US and Canada, thanks to the opening up of the virtual world through links they provide,” he said.

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Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/post-a-yrs-break-devotees-in-church-for-25/12-service/articleshow/88496572.cms