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Negotiations are underway to have Easter services screened on television.
“Our celebrations during the Easter period, which for us begins with a Mass on Holy Thursday evening, April 9, a special service on Good Friday afternoon and a Mass on Easter Sunday morning,” said Lyndsay Freer spokeswoman for the Catholic Diocese of Auckland.
“Because our churches are in lockdown, we are attempting to provide recorded daily Masses to our Catholic people via our diocesan website and the Bishop’s Facebook.”
Besides screening through these channels, Freer said they were in talks to have the services aired on TV.
“We are negotiating to have some television time during this period, and are very grateful that this is likely to be a possibility,” Freer said.
She said the Church remained committed to keep connected to Catholics and provide for their spiritual needs “as best as we can in these troubled times”.
Many thousands usually crammed St Peter’s Square, and a few lucky ones will get to attend Easter Sunday mass conducted by the Pope.
However, there will be no such celebrations this year after the Vatican confirmed one resident who lived with the Pope tested positive for coronavirus, resulting in testing being done for 170 people in the complex.
Six of those tested came back positive but Pope Francis tested negative for COVID-19, according to a Vatican statement.
“Pope Francis celebrates a daily Mass which is live-streamed from the Vatican, and the Easter liturgies will also be coming to us from there via the Vatican website,” Freer added.
The Church is posting online Mass links on its National Liturgy Office website.
The page has regular updates of links in New Zealand and overseas, including to the Pope’s daily Mass, held at 7 pm New Zealand time.
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