Dear Brothers and Sisters:

Following what I feel is a proper action of waiting for the Cardinal's recommendation as well as those of the USCCB's Secretariat of Divine Worship, here are our plans for St. Ignatius:

a. In accord with the Archbishop's desire for the entire Archdiocese, we will stop the use of the common Communion Cup until further notice.

b. All Eucharistic ministers - extra ordinary and ordinary - will be asked to wash their hands thoroughly before Mass begins and if they have hand sanitizer (which we do in the sacristy) they will be asked to sanitize as well.

c. In accord with the recommendation of the Archbishop (but not a mandate) and in accord with the USCCB office of Divine Worship, we will distribute Holy Communion in the hand only (too many ministers have their fingers licked as they place the consecrated host on people's tongues).

d. In accord with the recommendation of the USCCB office of Divine Worship - we WILL have a sign of peace. People will be encouraged to offer a sign of peace to their family members in their usual way. However, for those who are not members of your family, you will be encouraged to turn to the person next to you, acknowledge the person and the presence of Christ within by a simple bow of the head and say: "Peace be with you!" or "May the peace of Christ be with you!" The act of offering peace is integral to the Communion Rite which unifies us and brings Christ's peace into our lives. To negate the sign of peace would cause Communion to lose it's communal nature - make Communion only between me and Jesus.

e. The Facilities Administrator has instructed the weekend maintenance crew to wipe down the door handles, crash bars and bathroom countertops with a clorox anti-bacterial solution between all Masses. Due to First Holy Communions this weekend, the area of pews in the church where the children gather will be sprayed with anti-bacterial Lysol between the Masses.

f. The classrooms and their contents that are being used by the nursery and Mothers' Day Out are being sanitized between every session. Desk tops, chairs, counters and bathrooms are being sanitized regularly. Teachers are using hand sanitizer regularly and have been instructed to supervise the children as they wash their hands to make sure they are doing so thoroughly.

Be assured that we at St. Ignatius Loyola are staying on top of this very serious situation and are studying ways to keep the health of our parishioners as a top concern. We are in constant contact with the Archdiocesan Worship Office as well as the Risk Management Office to make sure we are being cautious while not adding to the possibility of unfounded panic.

In the meantime, let us all use what has been classified as "common sense" in taking care of ourselves: washing hands thoroughly, sneezing or coughing into disposable tissues. But, at the same time, let us all remember the Christ within our neighbor and our call to be a people for others. Let us keep all of those who are sick in our prayer and let us ask our Blessed Mother and St. Ignatius for their continued protection.

Cardinal DiNardo's letter on this subject can be found &downloaded on the 'forms' section of this page

The Archdiocese has promised a continual update on their website: www.archgh.org. Please visit the website for more information and a copy of the Archbishop's letter.

God's peace,

Fr. Norbert