Welcome Home

The Catholic Parishes of Arlington, a collaborative of St. Agnes and St. Camillus, reopened for Sunday worship on May 30, 2020. On that weekend, the larger of the parish Churches, St. Camillus, celebrated three public Masses, with St. Agnes reopening the following weekend.

Fr. Marc Bishop, Pastor of the collaborative, assembled a Reopening Committee of 19 people which included Parochial Vicars, parish staff and parishioners who discussed the issues in light of the reopening guidelines provided by the Archdiocese of Boston, Office of Risk Management. Sub committees were tasked with developing a worship schedule, establishing norms for social distancing and movement within the worship space, creating appropriate signage, updating the collaborative web site, registering attendees for the purpose of capacity planning and tracking, and greeting and welcoming our congregations back to worship. “Parishioners came forward and volunteered their time and effort to help us accomplish this challenging task,” noted Scott Morin, a member of the Reopening Committee. “The support was overwhelming and we were able to accomplish much in a short period of time.” A detailed MA-COVID19 Checklist for Places of Worship and Religious Services was completed, certified, and approved by the Archdiocese of Boston and the local Board of Health before any return to public worship.

It was decided to celebrate six public Sunday Masses, three at each parish Church. St. Camillus would offer one Mass on Saturday at 4pm, and two on Sunday at 8am and 10am. At St. Agnes, one Mass would be celebrated on Saturday at 5:30pm, and two on Sunday at 9am and 12noon. Parishioners were encouraged to register for the service they wished to attend using an online portal or a special phone line. Our congregation was welcomed back by a dedicated team of ushers and greeters who assisted in ensuring that our worship spaces provided a reverent, safe and welcoming environment. “It was an honor to welcome everyone from our community back to public worship,” remarked Bob Tosi, one of the team leaders St. Camillus Church.

“It’s good to be back!” was a repeated comment from many of those who gathered at the Eucharistic celebrations. Joan Connors, a member of St. Agnes, provided a thoughtful reflection on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. “St. Agnes is a consecrated sanctuary, our refuge, an escape from the world to worship and contemplate God’s love. When it closed, we had no place to go to lament our wounds and nourish our souls. I know that Jesus wept for us as the churches emptied, patiently expecting them to open, for which we are extremely grateful.”

Looking back on these past few weeks, Fr. Bishop observed, “The joy I experienced seeing people return to worship made all the work and worry worth it. My goal was to provide safe and reverent worship. We have met that goal. There are many challenges ahead but now we know we can accomplish what we need to do because we are willing to work together and sacrifice for one another.”

The current schedule remains in effect through the summer months. Masses are also celebrated daily, Monday through Saturday, at St. Agnes at 7am and at St. Camillus at 9am. As one regular attendee at St. Agnes joyfully exclaimed “It was so wonderful to be able to receive the Eucharist daily again.” The live streaming of Masses and other liturgical events, which was introduced during the pandemic shutdown, will continue to be offered on the Collaborative Web Site, www.cparl.org.