Italy opens churches as virus rules dictate how to eat, pray
Italy opens churches as virus rules dictate how to eat, pray
Faithful wearing gloves and face masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19, pray during the morning mass at St. Eugenio Church, in Rome, Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy partially lifted sanitary restrictions Monday after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Clients get their hair done at a hairdresser in Milan, Italy, Monday, May 18, 2020 as Italy is slowly lifting sanitary restrictions after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (Claudio Furlan/LaPresse via AP)
Faithful sitting in the benches, following the rules of social distancing, during a mass, the first day the presence of faithful was allowed during masses, in Turin, Italy, Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy is slowly lifting sanitary restrictions after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (Marco Alpozzi/LaPresse via AP)
A woman sips her coffee from under her facial protection at a cafe with outdoor tables in Rome Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy is slowly lifting restrictions after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (Cecilia Fabiano /LaPresse via AP)
Father Jose Maria Galvan, wearing gloves to prevent the spread of COVID-19, places the host in the hands of a parishioner during the morning mass at St. Eugenio Church, in Rome, Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy partially lifted lockdown restrictions Monday after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
In this combo picture, at top, Robbiano Church parson, Don Giuseppe Corbari, poses in front of selfies he was sent by parishioners as Masses had been suspended following Italy’s coronavirus emergency, in Giussano, northern Italy, Sunday, March 15, 2020. At bottom, Don Giuseppe Corbari wears a face mask as churches reopened for faithful Monday, May 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Medical personnel wait for visitors to check their temperatures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in a control point set under the colonnade designed by 16th century Italian sculptor and architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini, St. Peter’s square at the Vatican in the day of the reopening of St. Peter’s Basilica, Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy is slowly lifting sanitary restrictions after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Father Jose Maria Galvan, wearing gloves to prevent the spread of COVID-19, places the host in the hands of a parishioner during the morning mass at St. Eugenio Church, in Rome, Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy partially lifted lockdown restrictions Monday after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
A visitor has his temperature checked in St. Peter’s square at the Vatican in the day of the reopening of St. Peter’s Basilica, Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy is slowly lifting sanitary restrictions after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Indications of social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are placed under the colonnade designed by 16th century Italian sculptor and architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican in the day of the reopening of St. Peter’s Basilica, Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy is slowly lifting sanitary restrictions after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
A visitor has her temperature checked in St. Peter’s square at the Vatican in the day of the reopening of the Basilica, Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy is slowly lifting sanitary restrictions after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Faithful wearing gloves and face masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19, pray during the morning mass at St. Eugenio Church, in Rome, Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy partially lifted sanitary restrictions Monday after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Nuns of St.Elisabeth wearing face masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 leave St. Peter’s Square after visiting St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican in the day of its reopening, Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy is slowly lifting sanitary restrictions after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Father Jose Maria Galvan, wearing a sanitary mask to prevent the spread of COVID-19 opens the door for the morning mass at St. Eugenio Church, in Rome, Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy partially lifted sanitary restrictions Monday after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
In this photo taken on March 15, 2020, Robbiano Church parson, Don Giuseppe Corbari, poses in front of selfies he was sent by parishioners as Masses for the faithful had been suspended following Italy’s coronavirus emergency, in Giussano, northern Italy. Masses with the presence of faithful resumed Monday, May 18, 2020, as Italy is easing its lockdown measures. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Parson Don Giuseppe Corbari poses prior to the start of a mass with faithfuls the SS. Quirico and Giulitta Church in Robbiano di Giussano, northern Italy, Monday, May 18, 2020. Masses with the presence of faithful resumed Monday, as Italy is easing its lockdown measures. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Hairdresser Piera Delogu cleans her hairstyling shop, in Milan, Italy, Monday 18, May 15, 2020. Italy is slowly easing its strict sanitary measures against the spread of coronavirus. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Hairdresser Piera Delogu cleans her hairstyling shop, in Milan, Italy, Monday 18, May 15, 2020. Italy is slowly easing its strict sanitary measures against the spread of coronavirus. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Faithful attend a mass at the SS. Quirico and Giulitta Church in Robbiano di Giussano, northern Italy, Monday, May 18, 2020. Masses were allowed starting Monday, as Italy is easing its Coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Faithful attend a mass at the SS. Quirico and Giulitta Church in Robbiano di Giussano, northern Italy, Monday, May 18, 2020. Masses were allowed starting Monday, as Italy is easing its Coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Faithful wearing gloves and face masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19, pray during the morning mass at St. Eugenio Church, in Rome, Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy partially lifted sanitary restrictions Monday after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Faithful wearing gloves and face masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19, pray during the morning mass at St. Eugenio Church, in Rome, Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy partially lifted sanitary restrictions Monday after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Clients get their hair done at a hairdresser in Milan, Italy, Monday, May 18, 2020 as Italy is slowly lifting sanitary restrictions after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (Claudio Furlan/LaPresse via AP)
Faithful sitting in the benches, following the rules of social distancing, during a mass, the first day the presence of faithful was allowed during masses, in Turin, Italy, Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy is slowly lifting sanitary restrictions after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (Marco Alpozzi/LaPresse via AP)
Faithful sitting in the benches, following the rules of social distancing, during a mass, the first day the presence of faithful was allowed during masses, in Turin, Italy, Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy is slowly lifting sanitary restrictions after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (Marco Alpozzi/LaPresse via AP)
A woman sips her coffee from under her facial protection at a cafe with outdoor tables in Rome Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy is slowly lifting restrictions after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (Cecilia Fabiano /LaPresse via AP)
A woman sips her coffee from under her facial protection at a cafe with outdoor tables in Rome Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy is slowly lifting restrictions after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (Cecilia Fabiano /LaPresse via AP)
Father Jose Maria Galvan, wearing gloves to prevent the spread of COVID-19, places the host in the hands of a parishioner during the morning mass at St. Eugenio Church, in Rome, Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy partially lifted lockdown restrictions Monday after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Father Jose Maria Galvan, wearing gloves to prevent the spread of COVID-19, places the host in the hands of a parishioner during the morning mass at St. Eugenio Church, in Rome, Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy partially lifted lockdown restrictions Monday after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
In this combo picture, at top, Robbiano Church parson, Don Giuseppe Corbari, poses in front of selfies he was sent by parishioners as Masses had been suspended following Italy’s coronavirus emergency, in Giussano, northern Italy, Sunday, March 15, 2020. At bottom, Don Giuseppe Corbari wears a face mask as churches reopened for faithful Monday, May 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
In this combo picture, at top, Robbiano Church parson, Don Giuseppe Corbari, poses in front of selfies he was sent by parishioners as Masses had been suspended following Italy’s coronavirus emergency, in Giussano, northern Italy, Sunday, March 15, 2020. At bottom, Don Giuseppe Corbari wears a face mask as churches reopened for faithful Monday, May 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Medical personnel wait for visitors to check their temperatures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in a control point set under the colonnade designed by 16th century Italian sculptor and architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini, St. Peter’s square at the Vatican in the day of the reopening of St. Peter’s Basilica, Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy is slowly lifting sanitary restrictions after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Medical personnel wait for visitors to check their temperatures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in a control point set under the colonnade designed by 16th century Italian sculptor and architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini, St. Peter’s square at the Vatican in the day of the reopening of St. Peter’s Basilica, Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy is slowly lifting sanitary restrictions after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Father Jose Maria Galvan, wearing gloves to prevent the spread of COVID-19, places the host in the hands of a parishioner during the morning mass at St. Eugenio Church, in Rome, Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy partially lifted lockdown restrictions Monday after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Father Jose Maria Galvan, wearing gloves to prevent the spread of COVID-19, places the host in the hands of a parishioner during the morning mass at St. Eugenio Church, in Rome, Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy partially lifted lockdown restrictions Monday after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
A visitor has his temperature checked in St. Peter’s square at the Vatican in the day of the reopening of St. Peter’s Basilica, Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy is slowly lifting sanitary restrictions after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
A visitor has his temperature checked in St. Peter’s square at the Vatican in the day of the reopening of St. Peter’s Basilica, Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy is slowly lifting sanitary restrictions after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Indications of social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are placed under the colonnade designed by 16th century Italian sculptor and architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican in the day of the reopening of St. Peter’s Basilica, Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy is slowly lifting sanitary restrictions after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Indications of social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are placed under the colonnade designed by 16th century Italian sculptor and architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican in the day of the reopening of St. Peter’s Basilica, Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy is slowly lifting sanitary restrictions after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
A visitor has her temperature checked in St. Peter’s square at the Vatican in the day of the reopening of the Basilica, Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy is slowly lifting sanitary restrictions after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
A visitor has her temperature checked in St. Peter’s square at the Vatican in the day of the reopening of the Basilica, Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy is slowly lifting sanitary restrictions after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Faithful wearing gloves and face masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19, pray during the morning mass at St. Eugenio Church, in Rome, Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy partially lifted sanitary restrictions Monday after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Faithful wearing gloves and face masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19, pray during the morning mass at St. Eugenio Church, in Rome, Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy partially lifted sanitary restrictions Monday after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Nuns of St.Elisabeth wearing face masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 leave St. Peter’s Square after visiting St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican in the day of its reopening, Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy is slowly lifting sanitary restrictions after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Nuns of St.Elisabeth wearing face masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 leave St. Peter’s Square after visiting St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican in the day of its reopening, Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy is slowly lifting sanitary restrictions after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Father Jose Maria Galvan, wearing a sanitary mask to prevent the spread of COVID-19 opens the door for the morning mass at St. Eugenio Church, in Rome, Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy partially lifted sanitary restrictions Monday after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Father Jose Maria Galvan, wearing a sanitary mask to prevent the spread of COVID-19 opens the door for the morning mass at St. Eugenio Church, in Rome, Monday, May 18, 2020. Italy partially lifted sanitary restrictions Monday after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
In this photo taken on March 15, 2020, Robbiano Church parson, Don Giuseppe Corbari, poses in front of selfies he was sent by parishioners as Masses for the faithful had been suspended following Italy’s coronavirus emergency, in Giussano, northern Italy. Masses with the presence of faithful resumed Monday, May 18, 2020, as Italy is easing its lockdown measures. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
In this photo taken on March 15, 2020, Robbiano Church parson, Don Giuseppe Corbari, poses in front of selfies he was sent by parishioners as Masses for the faithful had been suspended following Italy’s coronavirus emergency, in Giussano, northern Italy. Masses with the presence of faithful resumed Monday, May 18, 2020, as Italy is easing its lockdown measures. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Parson Don Giuseppe Corbari poses prior to the start of a mass with faithfuls the SS. Quirico and Giulitta Church in Robbiano di Giussano, northern Italy, Monday, May 18, 2020. Masses with the presence of faithful resumed Monday, as Italy is easing its lockdown measures. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Parson Don Giuseppe Corbari poses prior to the start of a mass with faithfuls the SS. Quirico and Giulitta Church in Robbiano di Giussano, northern Italy, Monday, May 18, 2020. Masses with the presence of faithful resumed Monday, as Italy is easing its lockdown measures. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Hairdresser Piera Delogu cleans her hairstyling shop, in Milan, Italy, Monday 18, May 15, 2020. Italy is slowly easing its strict sanitary measures against the spread of coronavirus. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Hairdresser Piera Delogu cleans her hairstyling shop, in Milan, Italy, Monday 18, May 15, 2020. Italy is slowly easing its strict sanitary measures against the spread of coronavirus. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Faithful attend a mass at the SS. Quirico and Giulitta Church in Robbiano di Giussano, northern Italy, Monday, May 18, 2020. Masses were allowed starting Monday, as Italy is easing its Coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Faithful attend a mass at the SS. Quirico and Giulitta Church in Robbiano di Giussano, northern Italy, Monday, May 18, 2020. Masses were allowed starting Monday, as Italy is easing its Coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Faithful attend a mass at the SS. Quirico and Giulitta Church in Robbiano di Giussano, northern Italy, Monday, May 18, 2020. Masses were allowed starting Monday, as Italy is easing its Coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Faithful attend a mass at the SS. Quirico and Giulitta Church in Robbiano di Giussano, northern Italy, Monday, May 18, 2020. Masses were allowed starting Monday, as Italy is easing its Coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Italy and the Vatican allowed the first public Masses to be celebrated since March on Monday as coronavirus restrictions eased further, following a sharp confrontation between church and state over limits on worshiping in the era of COVID-19.
Guards in hazmat suits took the temperature of the faithful entering St. Peter’s Basilica, where Pope Francis celebrated an early morning Mass for a handful of people to commemorate the centenary of the birth of St. John Paul II.
Across town, the Rev. Jose Maria Galvan snapped on a latex glove and face mask before distributing Communion to the dozen parishioners attending the 7:20 a.m. Mass at his Sant’Eugenio parish.
“Before I became a priest I was a surgeon, so for me gloves are normal,” he joked afterward. “I’m dexterous (with gloves) so the hosts don’t get away from me.”
It was all part of Italy’s next step in emerging from the West’s first coronavirus lockdown, with commercial shops and restaurants reopening and barbers giving long-overdue trims for the first time since March 10.
But with several hundred new infections still being recorded every day, the reopening is hardly a free-for-all, with strict virus-containing measures regulating everything from how you get your coffee to the way you pray.
The government has published 120 pages of detailed norms for the resumption of work, play, worship and commerce, with some of the most intricate protocols reserved for the resumption of public religious observance.
The fear is that the elderly, among the most religiously devout and also the most at-risk for infection, could be exposed to the virus with resumed religious services in the onetime European epicenter of the pandemic.
Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Orthodox and Siks have their own protocols, with at the very least masks required for the faithful and a one-meter distance kept at all times.
The first protocol was inked with the country’s Catholic bishops, after they issued a blistering public critique of Premier Giuseppe Conte’s government when it refused to allow public Masses two weeks ago, during the first easing of restrictions.
The bishops cried their freedom to worship was being trampled on, suggesting they believed the state was violating the terms of the Lateran Treaty, the 1929 accord that regulates the relationship between the Italian state and the Vatican.
Eventually an accord was reached, but it imposes a series of restrictions on access and even the administration of the sacraments: At Sant’Eugenio, the Sunday 11 a.m. Mass usually exceeds 500 people. Now only 150 can attend. Everyone must wear a face mask and sit 1-meter apart.
There’s no holy water or choir, and unused pews for the morning Mass were roped off with tape to keep them sanitized for when the bigger crowds come later in the day.
Priests must wear gloves during Communion and “take care to offer the host without coming into contact with the hands of the faithful,” according to the protocol. It goes without saying that the priest doesn’t place the Eucharistic host on the tongue of the faithful, as is the Vatican’s preferred way.
But Pope Francis has made clear he supports the measures, even if he bristled early on at the lockdown and said livestreamed Masses can never be a substitute for the real thing.
In his Sunday noon prayer, he welcomed the resumption of communal church celebrations and the reception of sacraments but appealed for caution: “Please, let’s go ahead (following) the rules and prescriptions we’ve been given to care for the health of each and everyone.”
The Vatican has its own post-lockdown reopening norms, and as a sovereign state, is not beholden to the Italian government measures. But in some cases it is going beyond them, with the guards bearing thermo-scanners in St. Peter’s Square taking the temperatures of anyone who wants to enter the basilica.
During a Mass later Monday in front of John Paul II’s tomb in the basilica, Lucina Wodzisz, her husband and two boys wore face masks but the priest didn’t. And he didn’t use a latex glove when distributing Communion, either.
But Wodzisz was thrilled anyway to be able to celebrate the centenary of John Paul’s birth by visiting his tomb. The Polish family is particularly devoted to the former Karol Wojtyla (the eldest Wodzisz son is named Karol) and had only hoped to pray before his tomb on the first day St. Peter’s reopened to the public.
“We came to be close to the tomb, but we got a Mass!” she marveled. “It’s a great sensation to be back.”
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