Catholic churches prepare for a virtual Easter

As the biggest weekend in the Christian calendar arrives, the Roman Catholic dioceses in Ottawa and Gatineau are embracinginnovative ways of reaching out to their congregations.

The state of emergency for COVID-19 has forced all churches to close, meaningreligious leaders have to get creative this Easter weekend when it comes tomeeting the spiritual needs oftheir parishioners.

"The pandemic has pushed the church to new horizons and new opportunities and new challenges some of which we're able to meet, and some of which we're struggling with," said Archbishop Terrence Prendergast with the Ottawa diocese.

"Many of our people are suffering from the fact that they can't get together for mass. They can't see their neighbours. They can't greet them. Easter is the highlight of the church here, and it's shut down."

Live streaming masses

Since the Catholic diocese stopped holding in-person masseslast month, some of Prendergast's priests have been reaching their parishioners by recording their services, while others are live streaming.

Others, he added, have been writing newsletters or phoning parishioners to keep in touch.

Prendergast said while the pandemic has forced the church to increasingly embracetechnology, that can'treplace face-to-face celebration.

Many church sacraments, he said,need people to be together with their priest.

"[The pandemicis]taking us out of touch with our humanity, and our humanity leads us to God. And if we can't be in touch with some of that humanity, it means that our vision of God is impoverished somehow," he said.

"It can be enriched in other ways. But right now, in this particular way, it's impoverished."

'A time of renewal'

Across the river in Gatineau, diocesan priests are also holding services and meetings online, with the bishop's office developing paper aids so worshipers can pray on their own.

Many priests are also "spending a lot of time on the phone these days," said Archbishop Paul-AndrDurocher.

"Especially with parishioners who find themselves living this solitude with a lot of pain, a lot of difficulty, and [with]others whose loved ones are sick or in the hospital or have died and they can't be with them."

Thistime of creativity for the church, I think can truly be a time of renewal.- Paul-Andre Durocher

Durocher said although this time has been tough, it's alsoan opportunity for the church to think about what its future could be.

"[The congregation is]finding consolation and a source of reflection in what I'm sharing with them. I think this is an outreach that we must keep on doing," he said.

"Thistime of creativity for the church, I think can truly be a time of renewal."