Churches embrace technology

Live streaming of mass for the Holy Week planned

04/04/2020, KATHELENE ANTONY,TIRUCHI

Praying in solitude: A priest conducts mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral without members, in Tiruchi on Friday. M. MOORTHYM_Moorthy

With Holy Week and Easter round the corner, churches in Tiruchi are making special arrangements to make use of technology to reach out to the faithful in view of the prohibitory orders in force. Many churches are looking to stream sermons online, especially for Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

At St. Mary's Cathedral in Melapudur, it has been an unusual season of Lent. The 40 days prior to Easter, nearly 5,000 devotees gather at the church every evening to pray while keeping a Lenten fast. This year, however, they have been asked to follow the mass proceedings on television, says Fr. T. Sagayaraj, parish priest at the cathedral.

The church is mulling live streaming mass for the Holy Week, beginning with Palm Sunday on April 5, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday which will culminate with the Easter Sunday mass.

“It has been difficult to convince the devotees to stay at home. They are not satisfied with watching the masses on television too. For their satisfaction, we will be live-streaming it on our website and on Facebook,” he said.

At the church, three priests, including the parish priest have been conducting the regular mass proceedings through Lent in the absence of church members.

At the Infant Jesus Church, Edamalaipattipudur, Fr. Irudhaya Raj encourages his parishioners to read prayers and Bible verses. “Through the Bishop of the Tiruchi Diocese, all churches have been given booklets for people to read and pray at home. We are a little old-fashioned here,” he laughed.

At St. John's Church, the masses are recorded and shared by pastor Rev. S. Sudharshan and his assistant from the beginning of Lent season.