The 2015 World Meeting of Families will wrap up on Sunday, September 27 with a Papal mass on Philadelphia’s Benjamin Franklin Parkway, at the footsteps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. With a limited number of tickets available, many Philadelphians will be viewing the Papal mass from their homes or in conjunction with others, at a parish or in a campus ministry setting.
Additionally, some of those who would normally provide masses for the faithful are going to have to make adjustments so that they may attend on the Parkway. Here are some of the logistics involved with the Sunday obligation to mass and the Papal mass.
Those who attend the Papal mass will satisfy their obligation. This may seem rather obvious, but a mass on Sunday at 4:00 p.m. is out of the ordinary for some. To be sure, the Archdiocese recommended the following announcement for church bulletins:
Many Catholics throughout the Archdiocese of Philadelphia will fulfill their Sunday Obligation by participating in the Mass celebrated by our Holy Father on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway on Sunday, September 27, 2015 at 4:00 p.m. Actual presence on the Parkway fulfills this obligation. Many other Catholics will fulfill their obligation, as usual, by participating in the Mass in their parish churches, worship sites and chapels. In some places for this weekend, the Sunday mass schedule has been adjusted and published for priests and faithful to attend the Papal Mass on the Parkway. Viewing the Mass in a separate location from the Parkway, though spiritually beneficial, does not satisfy the Sunday obligation. Every effort has been made to provide for Sunday Masses all throughout the Archdiocese in light of this historic occasion.
The Office for Clergy and Office for Divine Worship offered some suggestions for parishes:
- Archbishop Chaput granted permission for “several” Anticipated Masses on Saturday evening, though the earliest they could begin is 4:00 p.m.
- Sunday mass adjustments should be made “in consultation with neighboring parishes” and be published accordingly.
- In the case of any eliminated masses, the persons who requested intentions be notified and the intention transferred
- Parishes collaborate to have contact information for Sacramental emergencies
Early in the process, some considered hosting a viewing in church, with distribution of communion. The Archdiocese made clear that this should only be in an emergency situation:
Only if there is truly no possibility for those viewing to attend Mass on Sunday, September 27, 2015, then, if the viewing is in a church or chapel, Holy Communion may be distributed by a deacon or, in his absence, an instituted acolyte or a properly commissioned Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion. The ritual book, Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharist Outside Mass, is to be used, with the distribution of Holy Communion taking place before or after the viewing but not during it.
The Archdiocese also encouraged those viewing the Mass to still make a Spiritual Communion, “spiritually uniting themselves to the Sacrifice of the Lord in the Eucharist and the reception of Holy Communion”.
An informal poll of parishes in Philadelphia revealed that since many of the clergy were invited to attend a Mass with Pope Francis at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul on Saturday morning, most kept their weekend mass schedules the same.
The largest parish in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Saint Andrew in Newtown, PA. has adjusted their mass schedule. Instead of a 5:00 p.m. Anticipatory Mass on Saturday and a 7:00 p.m. Sunday Mass, the parish will move their 5:00 p.m. Anticipatory mass to 7:00 p.m., canceling the 7:00 p.m. Sunday mass. Neighboring Saint Ignatius of Antioch Church reports that they will offer their 6:00 p.m. mass as usual, though they expect a lighter crowd.
Local college campuses are making trips for the campus to attend the Papal Mass, changing mass schedules, and hosting viewing parties.
La Salle University is heading out six hours prior to walk the seven miles from their North Philadelphia campus to the Parkway. Gywnedd Mercy University, in the northern suburbs, rented a motor coach that will take students down to the action. Back on campus, La Salle will offer a 4:00 p.m. Saturday anticipatory mass rather than their usual 6:00 p.m. mass and host a viewing party for students in the campus theater with a reminder that viewing the mass does not satisfy Sunday obligation.
At Cabrini College in Radnor, PA, Sunday mass was simply canceled. The Cabrini College Wolfington Center, the college’s center for peace, justice, and community partnerships, will host a viewing party on Sunday at 4:00 p.m.
The Newman Center in West Chester, PA is viewing the papal mass at 4:00 p.m., but will keep their Sunday evening masses at 5:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.
With all of this movement, one thing is clear: check your parish’s mass schedule before attempting to attend mass this weekend.
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