The pews were mostly empty at St James Cathedral for Sunday's 9 a.m. mass. Parishioners say less than half the people who regularly attend the service were there. They say heightened fears about the coronavirus have been taking a toll on the congregation week by week.
"It definitely feels a little bit eerie in a way it was definitely light on people," said Cally Carbone, a parishioner.
Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, who oversees all churches in Brooklyn and and Queens, announced that mass this week would go on but was optional. He also advised those who planned to attend to take all the necessary precautions.
"Just carrying our hand sanitizer and trying not to our face," said Laura Hiatt, a parishioner.
But in the middle of the morning Sunday, the Bishop announced a change - saying all public masses in his Diocese would canceled beginning Monday until further notice.
"We were amazed that this was going to be the last one for a while," said Jenna Spurrier, a parishioner.
The Archdiocese of New York, which encompasses Manhattan, the Bronx, Staten Island and seven counties north of the city had already canceled all masses at its churches. Still, a small group of parishioners showed up at St Patrick’s Cathedral on Sunday for service. Instead, they found the doors locked.
"I would think if anything still remained open it would be church but unfortunately I was wrong about that," said one church goer.
Because the cathedral is both a place of worship and an international landmark tourists found the closure disappointing. Each year about five million people visit St. Patrick's from around the world. One couple who spoke with NY1 seemed to be understanding of the changes.
"It’s not an overreaction they are just thinking of the safety of people," said one tourist.
"It’s disappointing but it is what it is you know you got to protect yourself and others," said another.
Many synagogues across the city canceled shabbat services on Saturday. At Congregation Ansche Chesed on the Upper West Side, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmonofsky wrote congregants that in the absence of communal gatherings it was even more important for them to check in on friends and neighbors living alone — good advice for people of all faiths.
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Coronavirus Tests the Faith of Many New Yorkers - Spectrum News NY1
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