March 20th, 2020

Governor Pritzker's mandatory shelter-in-place order for the State of Illinois means the following for our parishes effective 5 p.m. Saturday, March 21 through Tuesday, April 7:

• All churches and adoration chapels must be closed and locked until the order is lifted by the governor. Private prayer in any parish building must be discontinued until the order is lifted.

• There can be no live Stations of the Cross or any other gatherings anywhere on parish/school property, nor can any parish personnel be involved in organizing them on any other site.

• All weddings and baptisms must be postponed and can be re-scheduled only once the order is lifted. There are no exceptions to this, regardless of the size of the group. However, in case of an extreme emergency for baptism, please seek the permission of your bishop.

• Funerals and wakes must be postponed until the order is lifted.

(Note: Priests can – and are encouraged – to continue celebrating Mass privately and to livestream their Masses for their parishioners, if possible. Moreover, anointing of the sick and confession/absolution guidelines will be forthcoming.)

• Parish offices must be closed until the governor’s order is lifted. That stated, each pastor and his staff must identify essential functions that need to continue as follows:

  • Determine ongoing operations plan: Though parish offices must close, parish staff should work from home where possible.

  • Determine communication plan: Ensure parishioners have a way to call and reach someone in person. Guidelines on how to forward calls via the internet are posted at the bottom of this with other parish resources. Please email ITServiceCenter@archchicago.org with any questions.

  • Determine remote payroll plan: See the attached memorandum that was previously issued to Ops managers about remote payroll (also posted at the bottom of this page with other parish resources). Please email ParishOperations@archchicago.org with any questions.

  • Determine parish redundancy plan: To prepare for an instance in which any staff members become ill, identify appropriate back-up for essential roles (payroll processing, communication management, minister of care, building maintenance, etc.).

  • Determine security plan and share the plan and measures with DVOs and episcopal vicar. Specifically:

• Identify and put into place all steps you can to secure consecrated hosts, critical parish/school records and files, essential assets and access points to your buildings.

  1. Ensure all windows and exterior doors are locked and secured, and all interior doors are locked to the extent possible.

  2. Any valuable or sacred items should be stored in locked cabinets or rooms.  All parish buildings should be checked daily, including walking the interiors, to make sure they are secure and operating as intended.

  3. Heat can be reduced but should not be turned off entirely.

While parish facilities will generally be unavailable to staff and visitors, appropriate staff needs to be present, at least periodically daily, to maintain building operations and safety.