El Paso Area Catholics Will Continue To Worship from Home

The Catholic Diocese of El Paso has decided to keep churches closed a while longer while the COVID 19 pandemic rages on.

As COVID 19 case numbers continue to rise in El Paso, the Catholic Diocese of El Paso has decided to extend the closure of area Catholic Churches for a yet to be determined amount of time. The original church closure was due to expire Sunday, November 8th but has now been extended. According to our news partner KVIA, El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz said back in October that:

“Our entire community ought to be very concerned about the unprecedented number of positive cases that have been reported over the last several weeks," he said. “This virus is a mortal threat to many and is spreading unchecked at this time. We must come together as a community out of concern for all who are vulnerable among our families.” - KVIA

His order to temporarily close El Paso's Catholic Churches also includes a suspension of various activities including weddings, funerals, baptisms, and other liturgies. (Those already scheduled had to be postponed.)  Furthermore, the Bishops order bans everyone from church services other than those necessary to perform the service and/or handle the live streaming of them, called for all church meetings and classes to be held virtually, and made confession available only by appointment. (Call (915) 872-8400 for more info.)

The new closure order will remain in effect until further notice so, right now, there is no way at all of even guessing when normal services, activities, and schedules will resume.