“When one door closes,” the old saying goes, “another one opens.” When the coronavirus closed that proverbial door this year, the church doors closed, too, but the livestreamed Masses and Zoom meetings started.
So did an airplane propeller. On March 18, 2020, a Cessna 182 Skylane took off with two priests aboard so they could pray the Litany of the Saints and Prayers for Deliverance during a flyover of the Diocese of Camden at 1,000 feet. Prompted by the dangers of the coronavirus, Father Anthony Manuppella, pastor of Saint Gianna Molla Parish, Northfield, and his parochial vicar, Father John Seo, made the 207-mile journey, with pilot Brad Berry and co-pilot John DeCastro, both parishioners, in the cockpit.
Back on the ground, Catholics throughout the diocese have been busy this past year finding ways to consistently practice their faith in a world in which most norms have been disrupted. For example, earlier this month, the Camden Diocese’s Office of Discipleship and Leadership had a full schedule of pre-recorded and livestreamed Advent events, from a night of reflection and a retreat to a Christmas concert at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Camden. As Donna Ottaviano-Britt, director, said, “Advent can’t be cancelled.”
During much of this past year, the pandemic has meant emptier pews, increased demand for Catholic Charities, and cancelled parish and school events. Nonetheless, on both the diocesan and parish level, masked and socially-distant local Catholics have found ways to worship, perform the acts of charity, learn and even socialize.
With in-person participation limited, some events, such as the annual wedding anniversary Mass, had to be cancelled. (Disappointed they could not attend the Mass this year, Rudolph and Louise Lista had their 71-year marriage blessed by Bishop Dennis Sullivan during a Zoom call.)
But the Chrism Mass, priesthood and diaconate ordinations, Blue Mass and other diocesan events, were livestreamed, allowing Catholics in all corners of the diocese to attend virtually.
At a time when technology became increasingly important in connecting people, the diocese’s social media initiatives — all initiated and developed in recent years — became essential in unifying Catholics in the six counties of the South Jersey. And with parish retreats, missions and educational programs limited or non-existent, Catholics could, and still can, listen to the diocese’s Talking Catholic and Talking Saints podcasts to hear discussions on social justice, evangelization, spirituality and theology.
VITALity Healthcare Services used technology to educate seniors about the coronavirus by hosting a webinar series in the fall, and kept its education program for parish nurses going. The members of the Renaissance Senior Ministry of Saint Andrew the Apostle Parish in Gibbsboro moved their meetings to Zoom calls these past months, as did the bereavement ministry at Our Lady of Peace in Williamstown, the Walking With Purpose women’s Bible study group at Christ the King in Haddonfield, and many other groups.
Usually the participants of these Zoom groups express both feelings of joy and dependence at being part of a virtual community.
“This ministry is exactly what I needed,” said Carol Antonelli, a Renaissance Senior Ministry member.
Susan Booker, who is part of the bereavement ministry, said, “I think if I don’t have anyone to talk to, it makes it a lot harder.”
Many devotional services were held outside through the spring, summer and fall, and even now in colder weather. It was not unusual to see small groups on parish grounds praying the rosary, often while sitting in lawn chairs.
Meanwhile, the coronavirus has helped some parents decide to send their children to Catholic schools.
“The families that have come, even from great public school districts, are floored by (our) academic standards. One family said they were grateful that they were forced to make the decision to switch to private school. Otherwise they would never have known what they were missing,” said Melissa Cheseboro, advancement director at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Regional School in Berlin.
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