Coronavirus Update (5-14-20)

Coronavirus Update (5-14-20)

No Masses at St. Denis Catholic Church

On March 19 ^th, Governor Gavin Newsom issued an Executive Order that everyone in California (with a few exceptions) should stay home to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus.  In order to comply with this Executive Order, and for the safety of everyone, the church and the Pastoral Office are  closed.

Until this Executive Order is lifted and life returns to normal or semi-normal, there will be no public Masses and no public gatherings or meetings at St. Denis.  (Nevertheless, someone is answering our main telephone number ( 909-861-7106) from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.)

Archbishop José Gomez has indefinitely dispensed all Catholics in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles from the obligation of attending Sunday Mass.  Thus, at least for now, no one is obliged to attend Sunday Mass.

Until our public Masses resume, you are encouraged to participate in the Holy Mass via the Internet.  Every Sunday, St. Denis livestreams two nonpublic Masses:   a Mass at 10:30 a.m. (with cantor and organ/piano) and a Mass at 5:30 p.m. (with contemporary music for youths, young adults, and others).  We also livestream a nonpublic Mass every weekday (Monday through Saturday) at 8:00 a.m.  (Please see the “Livestreaming/Media Schedule” above for further details about St. Denis’s livestreamed Masses.)

For information about livestreamed and televised Masses from the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels and elsewhere, please click  here.

When viewing an online or televised Mass, please participate as much as you can—e.g., by saying the responses and prayers aloud and by standing, kneeling, and sitting at the appropriate times.

Although they are not able to celebrate public Masses, St. Denis’s priests are celebrating nonpublic Masses for the daily Mass intentions, for our parishioners and parish, and for our country and world, that this coronavirus pandemic will end soon.

In accordance with the Archbishop’s instructions, the priests at St. Denis are unable to offer confessions at this time unless a person is dying or in extremely extraordinary circumstances.  Click  here for detailed instructions regarding what to do if you can’t find a priest for confession. 

For those who have scheduled weddings, baptisms, and Quinceaneras in May and June, someone has already called or will call them personally to discuss various accommodations and options.

For more information and updates, please check our website (StDenis.org) regularly. 

For the most updated information and resources on how to limit the impact of the coronavirus, please visit the Archdiocese’s emergency preparedness webpage,  lacatholics.org/emergency/.

During this time of trial, Archbishop Gomez has asked us to pray a “Prayer in the Time of the Coronavirus,” which is set forth below and which he wrote for this moment.  In addition, I recommend praying the Rosary every day.  (For instructions on praying the Rosary, please click  here or  here.)   

In this difficult time, God is still with us and hasn’t abandoned us.  May He help all of us to persevere and not lose faith; and may He bless you and your family. 

Sincerely yours in Christ,


Fr. John Palmer
Administrator
St. Denis Catholic Church