Dear Parishioners,

Recently the Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced their intention to begin opening churches for Mass. Proposed dates were the weekend of June 6-7.

Many of you have questions about details, procedures, safety issues, and logistics. Today, (Wednesday), Archbishop Nelson Perez sponsored an archdiocesan-wide meeting about reopening the churches in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. We expect the archdiocese will address many of these questions in the days ahead. We will communicate details as they become available.

Recently, we established a parish “Task Force.” This team was asked to handle logistics associated with reopening St. Monica. In anticipation of the archdiocese’s announcement, the Task Force met several times over the past few weeks to develop a tentative plan. Safety and reverence were emphasized in the discussions. The plan includes addressing:

• Parish communications
• Safety and hygiene
• Signup procedure for Mass
• Hospitality and Traffic Flow
• Reception of Communion

We will email exact details as they become available from the archdiocese. We will also post the information to the parish website and the online parish bulletin. You should anticipate that many of the practices currently in use elsewhere will also be in place at St. Monica, such as mask wearing, safe distancing and limiting the number of people allowed.

I ask you to continue to pray for a safe, joyful, and reverent gathering of our St. Monica Community.

God bless,

Fr. Zlock