For Father Charles Gallagher, the pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Washington, D.C., although things look different amid the coronavirus shutdown, his mission for ministering to his parish remains the same.
“As a priest, I try to meet the spiritual needs of all my people, whatever their age or state in life,” he said. “I try to meet them where they are.”
And while he may not be able to meet them in person at Mass following government restrictions on public gatherings to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Father Gallagher has continued to reach his parishioners through phone calls, video meetings, livestreamed Masses and prayer.
“It has been a good opportunity to realize that the priest is not what he does, but who he is,” Father Gallagher said. “It’s always very tempting as a priest to be swept away by a type of activism, doing more things, programs, initiatives. At a time where a lot of that is off limits, personally for me (I’ve found time) to pray about my identity as a priest, which is independent of what I do day to day.”
This summer, Father Gallagher will celebrate his 10th anniversary of ordination, and so he said he finds this time to be a “good moment after nine years of active service just to focus on my identity as a priest.”
“Whether a priest is active or not he is no less of a priest,” Father Gallagher said.
As priests around the world continue to celebrate private Masses daily, Father Gallagher said that while the pews may not be filled with the local parish community, they are filled with the angels and saints.
Despite the cancellation of public events, Father Gallagher said that normal gatherings such as Bible studies in his parish have gone virtual to help continue cultivating community among the groups.
Each day, Father Gallagher hears Confessions outside the church and the inside is open in the evenings for private prayer, following social distancing guidelines.
“I want to give them a chance to pray so that they can try to continue to cultivate their prayer life,” he said.
Additionally, on Thursday evenings, Father Gallagher livestreams a holy hour for people to view from the safety of their homes.
In speaking with his parishioners, Father Gallagher said while they are respectful of the current situation and happy to follow social distancing guidelines and stay-at-home orders, they are getting discouraged, especially in being away from their community for such a long period of time.
He tries to dedicate time each day to call his parishioners, especially those who might not be plugged into the many virtual resources online.
Another concern he mentioned was for the many young adults that may be spending this time away from people in small living spaces.
“I’m concerned about them not being able to have a lot of space,” he said. “It can be pretty discouraging.”
As directed by the Archdiocese of Washington, Father Gallagher said that the parish did apply for the payroll protection program, but was unsure of the status of the application at the time of the interview. But given the fact that public Masses have been cancelled for more than one month now, Father Gallagher said the parish is doing all right financially, with the help of online giving that was already in place through Faith Direct and Venmo.
“Generally, we’re doing okay because probably over half of our collection is by electronic giving,” he said. While Father Gallagher did say that he has had to make cuts, for the time being, they are able to carry on.
The main message Father Gallagher said he hopes to bring to his parish during this time away from the parish physically, is to spend time with Scripture.
“The main thing is to just open your Bibles and encounter the Risen Lord and the Easter season by reading the Gospels,” he said. “Jesus wants to give us peace, calm, serenity and comfort us in this time.”
