On Thursday, March 19, Bishop DiMarzio mandated the closing of all church buildings and rectory offices in our diocese in response to the spread of the coronavirus. A copy of the announcement at available at dioceseofbrooklyn.org/coronavirus-updates. Based upon that guidance, we have responded as follows:
- Our church will no longer be open for Eucharistic Adoration prayer and private prayer until further notice.
- The rectory office is now physically closed; however, we will remain available by phone or email. Please call us at (718) 625-1177 or email us at rectory@stcharlesbklyn.org.
- We will stream a private Mass this Sunday at 11:15 AM from the rectory chapel, which we expect will include hymns and music recorded by the St. Charles musicians for the occasion. You can watch it live, and it will also be available on our website for later viewing.
- Starting next Sunday, March 29, we will adjust the format of our Sunday program. Instead of streaming the Mass live, we will pre-record the program. This will allow you to see and hear it more clearly. It will also allow us to prepare it while abiding by the new mandates issued by the state and the diocese. We expect that, starting next weekend, the recorded Sunday program will include a homily from one of our priests and hymns sung by our musicians, but will not be a recording of a full Mass.
- Full Masses are available online and on TV. Fr. Bill recommends the Mass from St. James Cathedral, which is broadcast on NET-TV on Sunday at 11 AM and weekdays at noon. NET-TV can be seen in the New York City are on Spectrum (Channel 97), Optimum (Channel 30) and FIOS (Channel 48). Viewers can also tune in online at www.netny.tv.
- Our priests continue to say daily private Masses, which are offered for the special intentions of our parishioners.