Phoenix-area Catholics returned to church this week after the coronavirus pandemic halted in-person masses.
Father James Aboyi welcomed back his parishioners on Sunday morning on a limited basis.
“I am super, super, super excited to see you again," Aboyi said. "Feels like more than one year.”
But he told his parishioners some things would be a little different.
“This mass is supposed to last for 30 minutes to 40 minutes so we are going to try our best just to let you know," he said. "There’ll be a very brief homily.”
Although the state and the Diocese of Phoenix permit pastors to admit up to 25 percent of seating capacity in each church, his church has decided to limit attendance to 20% or about 100 people per mass.
Admittance will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. Masses will continue to be live-streamed.
Other precautionary measures include no holy water fonts and no greeting or shaking hands.
