Gradual Re-Opening of Church Activities: Stage One

As you will be aware by now the Government has announced some revised regulations in regards to
places of worship. Under the new guidelines, 20 mourners are allowed at an indoor funeral, 30 for an
outdoor funeral. In addition religious gatherings and places of worship can have up to 10 worshippers at any one time. In line with these new regulations and on encouragement from Archbishop Anthony Fisher, we are proposing the following to come into effect on a trial basis, from Monday 18th May, 2020 at St. Gertrude’s Parish:
• St. Benedict’s Shrine Smithfield will be open for private prayer weekdays from 9am – Noon (except if a funeral is booked then precedence will be given to the Funeral Service) and from 4pm–7pm. To accommodate this there will be volunteers who will remain in the church to ensure social distancing and hygiene protocols are followed. The pews that may be used will be clearly marked. We ask that you only use those places that are marked.

• Confessions Monday to Saturday 4pm to 5pm. Please note, that those wishing to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation are included in the 10 worshippers.

• Mass times at St. Benedict’s will remain as they are at present:
– Mon – Fri 8pm Mass streamed via Zoom with Adoration at 7:30pm
– Saturday Vigil 6pm
– Sunday9am & 6pm

• Mass times at St. Therese Fairfield Heights
– Mon – Fri 3pm

In accordance with Government guidelines, each person who enters the church MUST give their name, telephone number and email address (if they have one). There will be a sheet provided in the foyer of the church for this purpose. The information will be kept confidential and is purely for tracing purposes should anyone test positive for COVID 19.Interested parties who would like to attend Mass as part of the 10 worshippers are asked to text the Parish Mobile 0491 185 681 and leave the names of those desiring to attend and the day of attendance and place (St. Benedict or St. Therese). For those who are unable to text, there will also be a box at the doors of the church to place a handwritten request. There is also an option to register your interest via this online form .

As there are only 10 worshippers a roster will be devised and worshippers notified. Please note that it may not be possible to give you the EXACT date you desire, but every effort will be made to accommodate you. If you would like to act as an usher for the periods of private prayer, please also contact the Parish Mobile and we can allocate you a time in the church. According to hygiene guidelines, the church will be cleaned regularly with high grade disinfectant detergent.

As mentioned, this is a trial basis only. As this situation and the regulations handed down by various authorities are constantly changing, we ask for your patience and understanding at this time. This is a new and unique situation for all of us so we may find that things will change in the coming weeks. Please keep updated with the Parish Bulletin and Facebook Site. We are doing all that we can to allow you to express your faith but also need to adhere to various regulations.