Nationwide Lockdown from 23:59 Thursday 26 March 2020

• All public Masses, both weekdays and weekends, are suspended during the lockdown.
• Baptisms are not allowed except in an emergency (danger of death).
• Funeral Masses are not allowed. Funeral services without Mass may be held at the graveside (we recommend less than 5 people). A Memorial Mass can be scheduled for later.
• Weddings to be postponed until after the lockdown.
• Communion to the sick and housebound is suspended. Discretion is needed in danger of death.
• Easter is the heart of the liturgical year and cannot be transferred to a later time. There will be no Easter Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Vigil).
• Sacraments for full initiation for catechumens and candidates in RCIA will be postponed to later in the year.

Archbishop Buti Tlhagale, Archbishop of Johannesburg, encourages us to dispel our fears and never lose hope. “Although we do not at this time publicly celebrate Holy Mass, we can still encounter Christ in our lives. Let us invoke God’s grace of strength and courage as one faith family, so we can withstand our trials and difficulties. Let us together seek the maternal intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, that our trust in God’s power and through His Son, help us end this pandemic and grant us salvation.”

May the Lord always be with us in these times.

God bless,

Fr Keith Gordon-Davis