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SALT LAKE CITY — The Rev. Joseph Delka was a bit taken aback when he looked out into the small congregation that had gathered for a Saturday evening Mass at the Cathedral of the Madeleine last weekend.
For two months, the parochial vicar of the Cathedral of the Madeleine and vocation director of the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City had been preaching into a video camera and out into empty pews. Now, suddenly there were faces looking back at him. It was an amazing feeling.
“It was jarring in a good way,” Rev. Delka said. “Like, ‘Oh, this is really weird, but this is great.’ It's good to have families coming in again.”
Last weekend, for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic took hold in Utah, the cathedral held its regular schedule of Masses. It wasn’t the same as it was before things shut down — attendees were all in masks and pews were roped off in order to keep family groups socially distanced — but there was still a sense of reunion.
In many ways, it was like a family had been brought back together.
“We come to take it for granted,” Rev. Delka said. “We have so many things that have suddenly been taken away from us from this pandemic. So I think it's helped me grow in appreciation of the community, and of this family that we are as a church and what it means for us to come together every Sunday. That really is a gift that was very suddenly taken away from us, and we are only now slowly getting it back.”
The cathedral held two Masses last Saturday followed by four more on Sunday. The first one was sparsely attended, with only about 20 people showing up, Rev. Delka said. But during Sunday’s meetings upwards of 80 people once again gathered together to worship.
The current limit for a Mass at the cathedral is 150.
On May 6, Utah officials said churches were allowed to reopen as long as guidelines were followed.
Under Utah’s orange (moderate risk) and yellow (low risk) heath risk guidelines, faiths are able to hold in-person services of any size as long as a 6-foot distance can be maintained between household groups.
“I think right now people are just happy to be in the same room together — even if they are apart,” Rev. Delka said. “For us, as Catholics, the Mass is that supreme moment where the community comes together to worship God. And so, that communal aspect is hugely important.”
With these weekend services at the cathedral, the Catholic church is believed to be the first of the major religions to resume religious meetings in Utah . The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Tuesday announced some of its congregations could begin weekly services starting this coming weekend.
“It was just great to have people back,” Rev. Delka said. “For two months now, other than the handful of ministers that assist us at Mass, the pews have been empty and I was preaching to a camera — which is not the same on so many different levels.”
Things still aren't the same for Rev. Delka, but they're at least closer.
For each Mass, pews are sectioned off with rope to allow a 6-foot gap all around visitors. There are ushers to help escort people to proper places to avoid confusion and gathering in groups. Those same ushers also help keep worshippers separated when the clergy distributes Holy Communion and help attendees exit the mass after the service. The cathedral is cleaned and the pews sanitized following each Mass. It's the new normal for the cathedral for the foreseeable future.
“Communicating virtually is never the same as meeting in person, so it really was a joy to have people back,” Rev. Delka said. “Obviously not everyone, and with certain limitations in regards to spacing, and masks and how many people we can have in there at one time. Nevertheless, It was good to have the community back, and we were able to gather together to pray and to worship.”
There are still things he misses. The Sunday school has yet to resume and the kids in the choir school didn’t sing during last weekend’s Mass as a precaution.
“There are still aspects that breathe a lot of life to this place that we don't have right now,” Rev. Delka said. “We're moving in that direction.”
But there was still plenty to breathe life into the cathedral last weekend. After two months of preaching into an empty hall, it was special for Rev. Delka to be with those he ministers to again.
“We have a new appreciation for what it means to come together and being able to worship on Sunday,” Rev. Delka said.
