A photo taken at Annunciation Church in Waimea in the last couple of months showing social distancing in the pews. (Courtesy photo)
Has church attendance gone back to normal now that the Mass dispensation is lifted in the Diocese of Honolulu?
By Anna Weaver
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Bishop Larry Silva lifted his dispensation from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass due to the COVID-19 pandemic on Easter Sunday. The pass on going to Mass had been in place for a little over a year.
The Hawaii Catholic Herald checked in with parishes throughout Hawaii to see if they have seen church attendance numbers go up after the Sunday Mass obligation went back into place in the Diocese of Honolulu.
The answer: Yes, no, maybe so.
Father Ernesto Juarez, pastor of St. Michael Parish in Waialua and Sts. Peter and Paul Mission in Waimea on Oahu said that while Mass attendance has gone up at his churches, the numbers had started going up during the Advent season.
“We used some spaces to accommodate those who made reservations and all walk ins,” he said on Easter.
Molokai Mass attendance has not changed since Easter for two reasons. Sacred Hearts Father Brian Guerrini, pastor of St. Damien Parish on topside Molokai, said that most of his parishioners had already returned to church prior to Holy Week.
Sacred Hearts Father Patrick Killilea said that his very small congregation on the Kalaupapa peninsula at St. Francis Parish hadn’t varied in numbers. The peninsula has been on lockdown since the start of the pandemic.
Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Wahiawa, Oahu, has seen its numbers fluctuate between 100 to 130 people, the latter being the maximum the church can seat inside with social distancing measures in effect.
9 a.m. overflow
“For the Easter Sunday celebrations we used our lanai for extra seating and had overflow seating in our new parish hall where the Mass was livestreamed,” according to Father Falaniko Atonio, Our Lady of Sorrows pastor. That allowed for 217 people at the 9 a.m. Easter Sunday Mass. The parish plans to keep using the hall for overflow attendance at Sunday 9 a.m. Masses.
“We have seen a number of parishioners return who have been away from Mass the past year,” said Father Arnold Ortiz, pastor of St. Elizabeth Parish in Aiea, Oahu. “However, because of the remaining social distance requirement, I’m fairly certain that not all who want to attend Mass will be able to return … we still require tickets.”
St. Elizabeth did add a second Vigil Mass on Saturdays to allow more people to attend, but Father Ortiz said the extra Mass “has been very lightly attended,” and he canceled it after two weekends.
Augustinian Father Norlito Concepcion said that attendance continues to be low at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Papaikou on the east side of Hawaii island. Before the pandemic, at least 50 people came to a Mass, and now the average attendance is 25.
Father Nick Brown, pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in Ewa Beach, Oahu, said Mass attendance spiked on Easter Sunday, so much so that they added extra chairs to the 7 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. Masses. However, he said, “It seems like these were the seasonal Christmas/Easter attendees,” as the following weekend for Divine Mercy Sunday, the numbers went down to their pre-Easter COVID counts.
Father Stephen Macedo, parochial vicar at St. John Apostle and Evangelist Parish in Mililani, Oahu, said that attendance after Easter was about the same as before the dispensation ended.
“I believe we are going to have to go out and evangelize, evangelize, evangelize to get people back,” he said.
Father Alapaki Kim, pastor of St. Rita Parish in Nanakuli, Oahu, said that Easter Masses were “filled with as many people we could get seated, inside the church and outside on our lanai, with social distancing.” The parish asked overflow attendees to stay in their cars, watch the Mass on their smart device and come in to the church to receive Communion. St. Rita also gave out 4-ounce bottles of holy water that were blessed for Easter.
However, attendance at St. Rita the following weekend was back to the same numbers as prior to the Mass dispensation’s removal.
Back to pre-Easter attendance
Numbers are not back to pre-COVID levels at St. Anthony Parish in Kailua. While Easter Sunday Masses were well-attended, with overflow seating on the church lanai and in the parish hall, the weekend Masses since have gone back down to pre-Easter counts, said St. Anthony Deacon Michael Weaver.
At St. Theresa Parish in Kihei, Maui, Mass attendance has remained the same after the dispensation was lifted, according to Msgr. Terrence Watanabe.
“A number of Sundays ago, we added a fifth Mass and that has been helping us to handle the numbers of people who are coming to Mass,” Msgr. Watanabe said. “We are very dependent on the visitors/tourists for attendance. So far, we have only turned away a few people from a couple of Masses a few Sundays ago.”
On Easter Sunday, there were 838 people at Mass. But pre-COVID, about 2,000 came on Easter.
At Sacred Heart Parish in the Punahou-area of Oahu, Father EJ Resinto said there’s been a steady influx of old and new parishioners coming back to Mass since Christmas. At Easter, the parish added two extra Masses, and there was socially distanced standing-room-only for all the services. By the third Sunday of Easter, the Sacred Heart Mass attendance numbers were back to pre-Holy Week counts.
“We do accommodate all who come to Mass and turn no one away,” Father Resinto said. “We have seating available on the lanai and courtyard with speakers so people can hear the Mass. Thank God for favorable weather and a very patient and understanding parish.”
Ascension Church in Puako’s overflow seating outside. (Courtesy Photo)
At Annunciation Parish in Waimea on the west side of Hawaii Island and its Ascension Mission nearby on the coast in Puako, Mass attendance has gone up from Easter and stayed up, particularly at the 8 a.m. Mass in Waimea. But Mary Erickson, the parish office manager, said that the parish hasn’t needed to add more Masses yet, despite less seating being available due to social distancing.
For the 5 p.m. Saturday vigil Mass at Annunciation Church, benches on the lanai have been able to accommodate overflow attendance. The parish added extra chairs at the back of the church and outside to fit all the attendees for the 8 a.m. Sunday Mass. The 10 a.m. Sunday Mass at Ascension in Puako could accommodate extra people with seating in the yard by the church parking where the Mass would be live-streamed, but that hasn’t been necessary to do yet, said Erickson.
“In general, we had more people the last Sundays of Lent (and, of course, Easter); but since then, the numbers have declined at 5 p.m. and at Puako primarily because many tourists left after Easter,” Erickson added. “However, Father Tony [Pangan, pastor,] is seeing many new faces of parishioners coming back, who have been absent since the start of the pandemic.”
