Archbishop Wilton Gregory in Washington D.C. on Friday announced he was shuttering St. Matthew’s Cathedral and canceling Masses across the archdiocese amid the outbreak of the coronavirus.
The Archdiocese of Washington also announced that St. Matthew’s would be locked following daily Mass on Friday evening.
“We are profoundly saddened that we are not able to celebrate our sacraments as a community for the time being,” said Archbishop Gregory, in a statement. “But we know Christ remains with us at all times — specifically in times of worry like this.”
The archbishop also released Catholics in the nation’s capital from their obligation to attend weekly Mass.
Earlier on Friday, the Diocese of Rome announced it would open parishes, after exhortation by Pope Francis, according to news reports. Masses remain suspended in Italy.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle previously suspended all public Masses in response to the coronavirus emergency.
• Christopher Vondracek can be reached at cvondracek@washingtontimes.com.
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