St.
Patrick P A R I SH
St. Patrick Parish in t Facing a Global Crisis w O
ne year ago, the global pandemic that began changing the way Americans live — and worship — was an entirely unprecedented event. While St. Patrick, like Catholic churches across the world, had to adapt to new ways of serving God’s people, one thing remained the same — the strong faith and active discipleship of our parish family. Throughout this time, Fr. Estrella has continued to provide spiritual nourishment for parishioners and has, in turn, been inspired by the acts of love and service he has witnessed taking place in our faith community over the past year. While the Catholic faithful of the world were dearly missing the gift of the Eucharist with the suspension of public Masses last spring, St. Patrick was able to keep our parishioners as closely connected to the sacraments as possible. Thanks to the livestream of Masses, parishioners were able to watch these liturgical celebrations from the beginning of the national quarantine. In fact, video streaming of the evening Rosary began the very first day of our church closure! Flocknote and the myParish app also facilitated
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communication between the church and parishioners. Diving into the world of possibilities offered by modern technology, Fr. Estrella also sent out regular video messages, including an “Ask Father” series. During Holy Week, he encouraged parishioners to put wooden crosses in their yards and wrap them in white lights with the idea of illuminating them on the Easter Vigil. As a result, more than 50 crosses lit up around the county on the night of the Vigil. Similarly, Father asked parishioners to create May altars in their homes and share photos of them with the parish.
By finding creative ways to stay connected throughout the time of church closure, our faith community remained vibrant. “People enjoyed the community projects we did and the nightly Rosary,” Fr. Estrella says. “And even during the 12 weeks we didn’t have public Masses, we still had Adoration, confessions, and visited the sick. We tried to make confessions and Adoration even more available so people would have that solace. “Of course, we all keenly felt the suspension of public Masses,” he adds. “But we were able to keep a strong sense of community and connection going as we navigated that rough period. So once Masses resumed, we were strong in numbers. About half of the parish came back for Mass, which is a high number compared to other parishes.” When public Masses started and then were restricted to only outdoor gatherings, countless parishioners stepped up to help make the outdoor Mass space both functional and reverent. “Even moving to the outdoor Masses is a testament to the spirit of St. Patrick’s, because when we had to make that change, it was difficult to do it well,” Fr. Estrella says. “I wanted to keep a sense of
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