Confessions move to St. Vitus Church

On September 19th, priests will begin hearing confessions at St. Vitus Church instead of St. Camillus parking lot. At St. Vitus Church from 11 am until noon, the sacrament of Reconciliation will be celebrated, not in the confessionals, but in the cry room, the priest sacristy or the main entry where the original baptismal font is.

According to the COVID-19 directives from the Bishop, parishes are not
allowed to use the confessionals. So these places in the parish provide social distancing and safe celebration of the sacrament while insuring privacy. Holy Spirit seminarian, Merv, will be in the church to assist in guiding parishioners to the appropriate areas where the priest will be available to hear their confession.

The last day confessions will be heard in the parking lot at St. Camillus will be Saturday, September 12th, the same day that Masses will begin at St. Camillus and St. Vitus at 4:00 pm on Saturdays. If for some reason, it is necessary to return to confessions outside, it will be done as it has been in the past. It worked out very well for these several months and it can be done again if needed. But beginning on the 19th, transitioning confessions back into a building is necessary so that we will be prepared to assist with the celebration of this sacrament throughout the winter months.

After September the 12th, St. Camillus Church will be available for funerals as all funerals have been at St. Vitus Church. The reason all of the churches cannot be opened at this time is due to the restrictions on the number of people permitted into the church building for ceremonies. It is still at 25% so in the smaller churches that is an even smaller number of those who could participate. There is also the problem of staffing for the sanitation of the church before and after the celebration of any liturgy. Additional people must be trained and be willing to serve at every site for these liturgies. Until the numbers needed are available to be able to celebrate the liturgies appropriately, we cannot reopen those buildings.