On March 17th, Archbishop Perez announced that all public Masses in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia will be suspended until further notice. Here's what that means for us at St. Agnes:

Mass and Church availability

• After the 6:30 AM and 8 AM Masses Wednesday March 18^th Mass will not be celebrated publicly. The priests of Saint Agnes will continue to offer Mass privately for the intentions already scheduled with particular attention to the Pro Populo (For the People) Mass intention. We have been directed not to hold Communion Services in place of Mass.
• Adoration on Wednesday March 18th will take place in chapel following the 8 AM Mass with Benediction at 12 noon. The church and chapel will remain open until 3 PM.
• Beginning Thursday March 19^th, the church and chapel will remain open for private prayer. The doors will open at 8 AM (since there is no public Mass) and close at 3 PM. Both the church and the chapel will be open so that we can observe the recommendation from health officials concerning gatherings of people. **As of March 17^th, 2020, this restricts gatherings to 10 people or less.**

Other Sacraments and Funerals

“ Pastors, along with all those who work with them, will be as attentive as possible to all the spiritual, pastoral, and charitable needs of the people they serve.”

• Visits to the Sick: there are already directives in place for hospitals and other institutions. All visits to the sick with Holy Communion in private homes, by priests, deacons and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion are suspended. Priests are expected to celebrate the Sacraments for those in danger of death, especially Holy Viaticum. Requests can be made to the parish office. Messages will be checked daily, and the on-call service will continue.
• Confession: will occur in church on Saturday between 2 PM -3 PM, with due regard for the limitation of participants and reasonable social distancing.
• Baptisms: families who have scheduled a baptism, or would like to schedule one, should contact the office. We will arrange the schedule in such a way that the child, parents and Godparents can be present and not exceed 10 people. If the desire is to have more family present for Baptism it can be postponed to a later date.
• Weddings: couples whose wedding is affected by these restrictions can reschedule, or choose to have the wedding with parents and the two witnesses required for a wedding to take place.
• Funerals: arrangements for funerals are being handled on a case-by-case basis, again with due regard for the limitation of participants and reasonable social distancing.  

Until further notice all other parish related activities & meetings are suspended. Please remain connected, and let us know of parishioners that are in need.

prep and confirmation

• PREP has been cancelled until further notice. This includes PREP confessions.
• Confirmation has also been postponed to a later date. More information will be forthcoming.

OUTREACH

• The Day Room Basic Needs Center is limited to ten people at a time.  We are serving both breakfast and lunch as take-out only.  We are continuing to provide food items from our food bank for people to cook at home.  The Healthy Baby program is providing diapers and formula to families in need.
• We are not accepting any used clothing donations or household goods at this time.  Nonperishable food for our food bank is welcomed and needed. Diapers and formula are also greatly needed.  Personal hygiene items would be a blessing.  Any cleaning or disinfecting supplies are needed.  Food cards to help families are a great blessing.
• Thank you for your kindness to our vulnerable and poor neighbors.  Please make any deliveries between 9:30 and 2:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
   

Routine Office Matters

• In so far as it is possible the lay staff of the parish will be working from home, or their responsibilities will be carried out as needed. Regular office hours are suspended as of 5 PM on Tuesday March 17^th, 2020.  All routine office matters will be handled over the phone, regular mail, or email. Phone messages are being checked daily and will be responded to within one business day.

Palm Sunday, Holy Week and the Sacred Paschal Triduum

• Updates for these days and celebrations will be forthcoming. The Archbishop has dispensed all catechumens/candidates from the remaining scrutinies.

Resources

• Please sign up for email updates from Saint Agnes here: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/wlcJez6
• Please visit our parish Facebook page for resources, and updates: https://www.facebook.com/SaintAgnesParish/

Archbishop Pérez will celebrate a private Mass at 11 AM on Sunday and will be streamed on www.archphila.org and the Archbishop’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ArchbishopPerez/