KINGSTON, Pa. — The faithful took a seat for afternoon mass inside St. Ignatius Church in Kingston on Thursday.
Some tell Newswatch 16 their faith has been very different over the last 16 months.
"Recently, since we don't have to wear the masks, it's definitely better feeling to be in church that way everybody's more comfortable, I think," said Patty Garzio of Wyoming. "Prior to that, we had to sit 6 feet apart and every other pew, and it became more of instead of focusing on our faith and why we were there, it was to remain 6 feet apart. 'Are we keeping our distance, are we social distancing?' and all of that."
On Thursday, the Diocese of Scranton and all dioceses in our area announced that some normalcy will be coming back to churches. On August 15, the Sunday mass obligation will be reinstated. The pandemic served as an excuse for being absent from church each Sunday in the Catholic faith.
"Obviously, it dispensed the faithful from attending Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation. But as people are resuming their normal lives and getting back to seeing family and friends and going on vacation, doing sporting activities, we feel it's time now to get people back here to church, get back people back to the Lord," said Eric Deabill, the secretary for communications for Diocese of Scranton.
Parishioners at St. Ignatius in Kingston tell Newswatch 16 they are excited to see worship get closer to normal.
"Oh, absolutely, absolutely. and the singing and the prayers, being able to respond to everything, that's going to be so much better than, you know, no missalettes, and you know I really look forward to just having the holy water back that we could bless ourselves and everything back to normal," said Garzio.
"Them wanting to be back to the Sunday celebration of the mass, being with their Risen Lord, experiencing their faith in a community of believers. There is nothing that beats that," added Deabill.
The diocese reminds parishioners if they are ill, have symptoms of COVID-19, or have anxiety of being part of a large group, they will continue to be legitimately excused from participating in Mass on Sundays and holy days.