Catholic Obligation to Attend Mass in Person to Resume

Dispensation from attending church services at Seacoast Catholic churches because of the pandemic comes to an end on Father's Day Weekend.

Separately, the dioceses and archdioceses of the Boston Province - which includes the Dioceses of Manchester and Portland and the Archdiocese of Boston - relaxed many of their pandemic protocols in the past few weeks about attending mass, wearing masks and singing, but the dispensation remained in place.

"The opportunity to participate in Sunday Mass is increasingly available and increasingly safe for our Catholic people," the dioceses and archdiocese wrote in a joint statement.

It's no coincidence that Father's Day was chosen as the day to end the dispensation.

"In this year of Saint Joseph, who was always a faithful observer of the sabbath, we chose Father’s Day as an appropriate day to encourage all of our people, and especially our families, to return to the Sunday celebration of the Eucharist," the province wrote in their statement.

Exemptions to the end of the dispensation include those who are ill, those who have been recently exposed to COVID or any other communicable illness, those who are confined to their homes or to hospitals or other facilities due to illness, infirmity, frailty, or age.

Parishioners who are not yet able to be vaccinated due to age or any health considerations are also not obligated to come to service.

Leaders at the dioceses and archdiocese have said they are not checking the vaccination statuses of those coming to service.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNH