Bishop David Zubik Announces Additional Directives Regarding Allowable Mass Attendance

Priests in the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh are preparing to begin offering daily Mass on Monday, June 1, and weekend Masses on June 6 and 7, as allowable in Phase 2 of the diocesan reopening plan. In continued alignment with local, state, and federal health and safety guidelines, Bishop David Zubik is announcing the following additional directives:

Monday, June 1, 2020: Churches may open for daily Mass, in addition to private prayer and confessions, weddings, funerals, and baptisms, with no more than 25 people in attendance. Social distancing of six feet and all other safety guidelines must be followed.
Saturday, June 6 and Sunday, June 7, 2020, until further notice: Churches may open for weekend Masses, respecting social distancing of six feet, which equates to about 25% capacity. Each pastor will assess his specific situation and determine a method for keeping track of the number of people attending and controlling attendance so it does not exceed allowable limits.
Monday, June 8, 2020, until further notice: Daily Mass attendance is allowed to increase to 25% of the church seating capacity, maintaining social distancing, and all other safety directives. As the weeks progress, the percentage rate may increase based on the smoothness of this reopening process.

Read Bishop Zubik's Entire Announcement Here

Great News!! Although the world may not return to “normal” (at least as we knew it pre-pandemic) for quite some time, there are some aspects of our lives that are starting to come back. Most significantly for the Catholic Faithful, is the resumption (albeit with modifications) of the Sacramental Life with which we are so blessed. We have already begun celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation (using special locations and procedures within the church). Weddings, Baptisms, and Funerals can also take place (although there are limits on the number in attendance). And finally, we will begin, on Monday, June 1, the celebration of daily Masses which people may attend. While the priests of the St. Joan of Arc and St. Louise de Marillac Faith Community have been celebrating Masses privately on a daily basis on behalf of all the faithful, and many have been joining in through the internet for our live-streamed Mass each day at 11am, as of next Monday, there will be the opportunity to join in person once again! However, while we look forward to being able to gradually welcome more and more people, initially there are some limitations and special considerations.

Guidelines and procedures have been rather “fluid” throughout this pandemic, and this may progress the same way. But at present, out of concern for the health and safety of all our parishioners, staff, and visitors to our churches, and being respectful of the public health guidelines that we have been given, we will begin with a modified schedule of Masses and a few special procedures. Our Mass schedule for the immediate future is shown in the table below, but please note that for each of these Masses, the following procedures will be in place:

All those who enter the Church, for any reason (such as private prayer, the celebration of the Mass or Confession), MUST WEAR A MASK, covering their nose and mouth.
PLEASE USE HAND SANITIZER upon entering the church.
Please be attentive to the seating restrictions, sitting only in pews that are not taped off and at least 6 feet from anyone else in the pew. The exception being that you can sit in closer proximity to the people you came with (i.e. spouses, family members, etc.)
FOR THE COMING WEEK, June 1 to June 6, as we ease back into things, there is a limit of 25 people that can gather for our Masses. This will be expanded as of the weekend, to 25% of our seating capacity. But please be aware of the need to limit the number of people and to space them throughout the church at safe distances from one another.

To help in adherence to this directive, for this coming week, we will utilize a “Sign-up Genius” through our parish website: https://sja-stl.org/

Mass-goers will be able to sign up for any of the Masses during the week, but we ask that you please only sign up for ONE Mass initially, in advance (i.e. more than a day ahead). This is to give others a reasonable opportunity to attend. If you wish to attend more than that, please check the Sign-Up Genius within 24 hours of the Mass you want to go to and if there are less than the allowable number of people, you are then welcome to sign-up and attend.

If you are not able to sign-up through the internet, simply call the parish office (412-833-1010) and our receptionist can add you to the count for the Mass you’d like to attend, if it’s not full, or assist you in finding an alternative time.

All sign-ups, online or by phone, will begin on Friday (May 29)

Even though Masses with a congregation are resuming, please note that the obligation to attend Mass on Sunday is still suspended. So if you are in a high-risk category for contracting the corona virus, if you are uncomfortable being in gatherings of people or in public places, and certainly if you are not feeling well, please stay home and participate in Mass via the internet or television.

OUR TEMPORARY MASS SCHEDULE WILL BE AS FOLLOWS:

Monday – Friday

9:00 AM
- St. Louise de Marillac
11:00 AM
- St. Joan of Arc (live-streamed)
6:00 PM
- St. Louise de Marillac (NOT on Wedesday June 3 or Friday, June 27)

Saturday

11:00 AM
- St. Joan of Arc (live-streamed)
4:00 PM
- St. Joan of Arc (Anticipated Mass for Sunday)
6:00 PM
- St. Louise de Marillac (Anticipated Mass for Sunday)

Sunday

8:00 AM
- St. Louise de Marillac
9:00 AM
- St. Joan of Arc
10:00 AM
- St. Louise de Marillac
11:00 AM
- St. Joan of Arc (live-streamed)
12:00 PM (Noon)
- St. Louise de Marillac
4:30 PM
- St. Louise de Marillac

All Night Eucharistic Adoration beginning on the Vigil of Pentecost

We will continue Adoration from 9 pm on Saturday, May 30, through the hours of night, and the morning of Pentecost Sunday, May 31, up until our normal daily Adoration beginning time of 12 noon.

I like to think that this all night prayer Vigil, and indeed our daily prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, is in imitation of the apostles who gathered around Mary in the Upper Room, praying to receive the promised Holy Spirit, the Comforter.

Sign Up for Pentecost Vigil

Eucharistic Adoration will be available every day, 7 days/week from 12 noon until 9 pm throughout the month of June

A word of thanks to our parishioners and staff who have continued to work together to schedule our daily Eucharistic Adoration. Thanks also to all of our committed ‘adorers.’ You all have helped provide a much needed and much appreciated opportunity for our parishioners and neighbors to spend time in prayer with Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.

The Blessed Sacrament will continue to be exposed in the Monstrance, placed in the bay window at the front of St. Louise Rectory (312 McMurray Road, 15241).

'Adorers' may drive up and park near the rectory and pray from their cars. Two spaces will be reserved for those who have committed to an hour and signed up.

Please use the SignUpGenius link below to sign up for your Holy Hour.

Sign Up for Adoration During June

Catholic Men's Fellowship - New Program on Saturday Morning

Everyone knows we should be evangelizing, but how do you do it? The Catholic Men's Fellowship group that meets on Saturday morning will be reading and discussing a short document on how to evangelize through friendships. This document was written by the Prelate of Opus Dei. The CMF group meets virtually Saturday mornings at 7:30am via Zoom video conference call. Please join us!

For more information please contact Brad Tupi at bradtupi@gmail.com

Road Closure Notification from The Municipality of Bethel Park

PennDOT will be closing State Rt. 88 at Clifton Rd. on Saturday, June 6 – Saturday, June 13 to complete a bridge replacement. A pedestrian bridge will be in place to enable local foot traffic to safely navigate the area. Once the bridge is replaced, the road will reopen.

The area will be closed again tentatively from Sunday, July 5 – Sunday, July 12 for a second bridge replacement.

For more information, visit https://gis.penndot.gov/paprojects/Construction.aspx

Thanks for your cooperation!