BR Bishop: Return to Mass June 6, No Mask Mandate

We've all been anxiously awaiting the return to "normal" for Louisiana citizens. Some things are slowly coming back, and we are cautiously optimistic. And for religious groups across Louisiana, it has been difficult to not have the comfort of actually going to worship inside a church throughout the pandemic, but things are looking up.

According to WAFB, a letter was issued on Friday, May 21 by Bishop Michael Duca with the Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge stating that "the dispensation from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass and Holy Days of Obligation in the Diocese of Baton Rouge will expire on June 6, which is the Feast of Corpus Christi." Also in the letter, Bishop Duca states that masks will no longer be required to attend mass, but for those parishioners who are vulnerable, they are still recommended. The letter was read at all services across the Diocese over the weekend.

The letter goes on to say that it has been a long journey back to Sunday Mass and other church services after they were closed over 14 months ago to in-person worship due to the pandemic. In addition "pastors, at their discretion, will make decisions on a local level about their “return to normal operations” after weighing his own parish’s particular circumstances."  Read the entire letter issued by the Diocese of Baton Rouge. Welcome back, parishioners!