ANTIPOLO CITY- Catholic churches in the diocese are set to welcome back church goers starting Friday (July 10) as the celebration of the holy mass resumes, but on limited attendance.
At the Antipolo Cathedral, or the National Shrine of the Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage, only 100 persons will be allowed to attend at a time as part of the 10 percent seating capacity protocol set by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).
Ushers and volunteers will be assisting church goers as they go through the step-by-step procedure before being allowed entry into the cathedral.
The cathedral has posted on its Facebook page the safety reminders for all who will attend a mass.
All church goers are required to wear masks entering the cathedral gate. Temperature checking follows before the registration process. Hand sanitizing and stepping in a disinfectant foot bath are also mandatory prior to entering the cathedral.
Ushers will be guiding the church attendees where to sit to ensure that physical distancing is observed.
In Tanay, the San Ildefonso Parish Church is also set to receive the mass attendees starting Friday.
Ryan Flores of the parish office told the Manila Bulletin that around 50 to 60 persons only will be allowed to enter the church at each mass. There are only two mass schedules during Mondays to Fridays, the 6 a.m. and the 6 p.m. mass.
For those who will not be accommodated inside the church, mass attendees may be allowed to stay outside but they will be required to practice physical distancing.
Receiving Holy Communion will be different now as the mass attendees will altogether answer “Amen” after the priest saying "Ang katawan ni Kristo (the body of Christ)" prior to receiving the host.
A one-way entry and exit flow of church goers will be strictly implemented, ensuring physical distancing inside and outside the church.
Occupying a seat in San Ildefonso Church will follow the ‘same registration number, same seat number policy’ for each mass goer for easy tracing of individuals should contact tracing be needed.
Online masses, however, will continue to be held in all the parishes of the diocese to ensure that those above 59 years old and below 21, as well as those who are sick, will be able to hear mass in their own homes.