As local government coronavirus restrictions eased and public Masses continued to resume in the Archdiocese of Washington, Archbishop Wilton Gregory on June 14 celebrated an outdoor Mass at Jesus the Good Shepherd Parish in Owings, Maryland, where parishioners gathered in a pavilion and an adjoining field, and some stayed in their cars and followed the Mass on a local radio station. 

That marked the third straight weekend that Archbishop Gregory celebrated Mass in Southern Maryland, where public Masses could resume beginning on May 25, after the Archdiocese of Washington had suspended public Masses beginning in mid-March due to safety precautions mandated by local governments limiting the sizes of public gatherings to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. 

Since then, leaders in other Maryland jurisdictions have announced the easing of their coronavirus restrictions, allowing public Masses to resume in those localities. 

In addition to maintaining social distances from each other, Massgoers also wore face masks as a safety precaution. 

In the photo below, Archbishop Gregory bows before the altar, joined by his priest secretary, Father Conrad Murphy, and moments later, he addresses the congregation as the Mass begins. (CS photos by Mihoko Owada)

Father Michael King, the pastor of Jesus the Good Shepherd who concelebrated Archbishop Gregory's June 14 Mass at the Calvert County parish, is shown above giving First Holy Communion to Ryan Russell in the pavilion. Parishioners joining the Mass from the parking lot and field also received Communion. (CS photos/Mihoko Owada) 

After the Mass, Archbishop Gregory posed with First Communicants Sebastian Johnson (at left, wearing the black face mask) and Ryan Russell (at right, wearing the blue face mask), and the archbishop smiled at parishioners in the parking lot. (CS photos/Mihoko Owada)