Temporary church closures lifted in New Brunswick and PEI

Churches in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island will be closed this weekend as the Martime provinces grapple with increased cases of COVID-19 due to the Omicron variant.

Amidst the bustling liturgical season that runs from the feast of the Lord’s Nativity to the Epiphany, it is easy to lose sight of the memorial of Dec. 29 on the Roman calendar. St Thomas Becket, the 12th-century Archbishop of Canterbury and martyr that the Church commemorates on the fifth day of the Octave of Christmas, is truly worth remembering here and now.

The beautiful paradox of Catholic faith is living itself out in Quebec where church pews are empty by State decree but parking lots outside Christ’s houses of worship are filling with prayer.

Fr. Emanuel Zetino snapped the photograph that has been striking an emotional chord with Canadian Catholic social media users in recent weeks.

Leisurely work-day walks provide a welcome respite from renewed restrictions brought on by the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

Except for funeral ceremonies with up to 25 attendees, Quebec’s churches will remain empty for the foreseeable future.

With Ontario moving into Step 3 of its reopening plan as of 12:01 a.m. July 16, there will no longer be capacity limits for places of worship. That won’t mean, however, that churches will be wide open for Mass.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- Sri Lankan churches once again have halted services, church weddings and Sunday schools due to a third wave of COVID-19 infections.

DUBLIN -- The Irish government said a COVID-19-related ban on Catholics attending Mass will be lifted May 10.

This past Easter Sunday, Fr. Harrison Ayre remembers walking back into St. Peter’s in Nanaimo, B.C., just to gather himself after celebrating the most stressful Mass of his life. Then, just as he sat down in a pew, he heard a bang.

DUBLIN -- The head of the Irish bishops' conference said the government's move to criminalize attendance at Mass as part of COVID-19 regulations was a "potential infringement of religious freedom and of constitutional rights."

VANCOUVER -- Three Christian churches are appealing a B.C. Supreme Court judge’s ruling in favour of the prohibition on in-person religious gatherings in this province.

The Holy Week chaos that hit Ontario churches when the Ford government slammed on its COVID “emergency brake” hours before Good Friday is part of the chain reaction of frustration faithful Canadians are experiencing.

OTTAWA -- Most Catholics and religious Canadians are trying to maintain a connection to their faith during the ongoing COVID pandemic.