Around New England

Rhode Island Churches To Ring Bells On Sunday Mornings

March 25, 2020

Catholic churches will not offer public Masses in their buildings next Sunday in Rhode Island, but their bells will be heard nonetheless. 

Bishop Thomas J. Tobin asked Catholic churches in the Ocean State to ring their bells for five minutes at 9 a.m. each Sunday morning during the coronavirus pandemic, “as a sign of faith and unity,” as WJAR reports. 

“This symbolic gesture will speak to our whole community of the presence of God, will help to unite the Diocese spiritually, and will signal hope for our people, reminding them that their churches are still there, eager to welcome them home in the very near future,” Bishop Tobin said, according to WJAR.

Like all the other bishops in New England and in most of the country, Bishop Tobin has suspended all Masses held in Rhode Island for the time being. However, he declared that funerals and weddings may be permitted, but must be held without Mass.


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