Our Lady of Victory Parish in West Haven, Connecticut shared a letter from Rev. Kevin Dillon about the importance of social distancing. 

“Every week you hear me make the same announcements at Mass: Mask wearing, bulletins, no singing, signing up for Mass. We have been blessed to have new people with us every week who haven’t heard these announcements so thank you for your patience,” Rev. Dillon wrote. “Please understand that this repetition has a purpose.”

The fact that everyone is needed to make this virus go away is no small detail. This is why Rev. Dillon is so concerned about everyone listening to church communications about staying safe. 

There will be social distancing in the church moving forward to help with containing the spread and even if it looks like there is not enough space between parties, there are reasons. 

“People who live in the same house are permitted to sit together without having to have a six-foot space between them,” Rev. Dillon wrote. “Families that are having a Mass offered for their loved ones are sitting in the same pew, without social distancing, even though they live in different homes.”

While normally being close to one another is a blessing and encouraged, amidst the pandemic, that is not the case. 

“Unfortunately, as long as we are living with the threat of COVID-19, we have to live by the protocols established by the Archdiocese even though we don’t like or enjoy them. I hope everyone understands I bring this up out of great concern for our parishioners and that you and your family will cooperate with this request,” Rev. Dillon wrote. 

Rev. Dillon ended on a positive note, saying that he was so pleased to see the turnout for the blessing of the animals, which happens annually in time for the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi.