SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Parishioners returned to the Cathedral of the Madeleine for a special Palm Sunday Mass after last year’s services were held virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic.
With masks and a socially-distanced choir, believers like Allen and Eleando Miller were welcomed back inside.
“Last year, we sat at home and watched mass on TV,” said Allen Miller.
“It was worth it to be here this time again,” said Eleandro Miller.
The virus took the lives of many members of the Catholic Diocese, including two priests.
“We constantly remember them in our prayers,” said Bishop Oscar Solis with the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City.
It’s why Bishop Solis said he was grateful to see his parishioners sitting in the pews once again.
“I still vividly remember my first mass last year after the declaration of the pandemic,” said Solis. “I was celebrating mass with an empty church with no congregation, and now our churches are filled with a beautiful beginning of a new life, ushered by the celebration of the holy week.”
Likewise, President Russell M. Nelson of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints shared an Easter message online with a special invitation to find peace through service and prayer.
“On this Palm Sunday, I invite you to make this coming week truly holy, but remembering not just the palms that were waived to honor the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem, but by remembering the palms of his hands,” said Nelson.
Both leaders reminded parishioners that hope is always there.
“God still loves us, and I hope that once we take off this mask, we can reveal again the love of God and our love for him and for one another,” said Bishop Solis.
An Easter Mass will be offered at the Cathedral next week.
The General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will also be held online Easter weekend.
