Around New England
Public Masses Continuing in Vermont – But Nowhere Else in New England
March 18, 2020
Public Masses are continuing in Vermont until the end of the week but nowhere else in New England during the coronavirus pandemic.
Bishop Christopher Coyne, the bishop of Burlington, which includes the entire state of Vermont, has announced that public Masses will be suspended in Vermont starting Friday, March 20 – meaning they are continuing before then.
The four Roman Catholic bishops in Massachusetts, one bishop in New Hampshire, one bishop in Maine, one bishop in Rhode Island, and three bishops in Connecticut have all already closed Masses to the public.
Catholic priests are expected to continuing celebrating Mass — which is the central act of worship in the Roman Catholic Church — but they are not supposed to allow members of the public to attend.
Below is a link to the statement from each bishop of each of the 11 bishops (known as “ordinaries” in Church language, meaning they are the ordinary authority in their diocese) of the six New England states:
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
Maine
Rhode Island
Connecticut
Vermont
In New York state, the Diocese of Albany, the Diocese of Ogdensburg, and the Archdiocese of New York have also cancelled public Masses.
That means every diocese in New England and every diocese that borders New England will have cancelled all public Masses by the end of the week.
