Fr Paul Dunne celebrating Sunday Mass in Our Lady Mother of Divine Grace Church, Raheny, Dublin via webcam.
Pic John Mc Elroy 
ChaiBrady,Róise McGagh and Aron Hegarty
Irish churches plan on staying open as places of prayer during the coronavirus scare, so long as authorities permit it. It comes as Pope Francis pleaded for churches to remain open for people.
Bishop of Waterford and Lismore Dr Phonsie Cullinan told The Irish Catholic that it is important for churches to stay open so people can “go in and find a quiet space and pray – that’s wonderful”. However, he said that parishes must be prudent.
“We draw a distinction between the health of the body and the health of the soul, we do have to listen to the medical people about these things and heed their good and prudent advice but we also invite people to reach out to go and pray and reach out to others and be inspired by that faith in Jesus,” he said.
Fr Bill Dailey CSC of Dublin’s popular Newman Church said it is “very important” for people to be able to visit churches to pray.
He said that the “safety and well-being of our community is our first priority. That said, so long as we are permitted to keep these buildings open for quiet prayer and reflection, we must”.
Meanwhile, millions of people tuned in to weekend Masses online according to figures obtained by this newspaper.
MCN, which provides streaming services for many Irish parishes, confirmed that approximately 12 million people watched Masses online over the weekend using their platform. Joe Brannigan, operations manager, said that this was up on the approximate half a million viewers they expect on a normal weekend.
Platform
ChurchServices.tv, which provides a similar platform, said it did not have figures but that that there was four to five times more people watching their livestreams compared to average figures.
At Knock Shrine, Fr Richard Gibbons said they saw the number of people watching online Masses rise by a third from 20,000 to 30,000.
“It’s an extraordinary thing, it took us by complete surprise. It’s great people are joining in in from our parish and all over the world.
“There was a great sense of solidarity. Even for our own parish, neighbours and family are setting up computers for older people in their homes that wouldn’t be tech savvy as it were and they can connect with it,” he said.
In Wexford, Fr John Carroll said that prayer at a time like this is vital.
“I think it would be important to take the lead from the Pope: he said it’s easier to get pizza in Rome than Holy Communion.
“If people have the desire to go to a church and it is considered still safe, and it doesn’t defy regulations, surely we should be respecting the deep felt beliefs of people and allowing them to draw strength from where they draw strength,” Fr Carroll said. Ferns Diocese did not introduce a blanket ban, some parishes proceeded with Mass, others did not.
In Dublin, Fr Gerry Kane said that it was vital for the Church to “co-operate with the principle of social isolation”.
He said that his plan, for now, was to keep his Booterstown church open. “We also have a webcam so we can celebrate Mass and put it on the webcam.
“We’ll probably look at other devotions that we have, Eucharistic adoration, maybe a live rosary, and keep the church open during the day for people to go to pray,” he said.
