At a church closed for COVID, elderly woman attends Mass by standing outside a window

The faithful can show great determination to attend Mass.

This touching testimony of love for the Most Holy Eucharist comes to us from the Brazilian city of Patos, in the northeastern state of Paraíba. It was shared by the parish of Our Lady of the Snows on its Instagram account, and soon the story went viral and was picked up by news outlets.

The event took place in March, when the faithful were not allowed to attend Mass in person due to preventative health measures at a time when Brazil was being struck particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The parish’s office of communications explained to Catholic blog Ancoradouro what happened in this unusual case. As Fr. Espedito Caetano was celebrating Mass, around the time of the consecration he noticed an elderly woman with a walker at the church window. Seeing her devotion, at the appropriate time he took the Blessed Sacrament to her so she could receive Holy Communion.

Someone from the parish was on hand helping the priest, and took photos of the moment, which were later shared on Instagram. The parish reports that the comments on the post are uniformly positive, expressing admiration for the elderly woman’s willingness to stand at the window with her walker to participate “remotely” in the Mass. Her example is an invitation for us to examine what we have been willing to do in our own lives to nourish our souls during this pandemic.

The limitations on Mass participation are currently still in effect in Brazil, where COVID death rates remain high. We can only hope that the woman in question (whose name was not shared with the media) will soon be able to sit in the front row and participate, under better conditions, in the liturgy that clearly means so much to her.

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