Following the Guidelines on the Resumption of Public Worship Services in Churches in Hong Kong issued earlier, the Provincial Office now provides the following Coronavirus Guidance on Receiving Holy Communion, and a video clip has been made to provide demonstration to churches and parishioners.
The Coronavirus Guidance on Receiving Holy Communion reminds parishioners who are about to take Holy Communion to follow the instruction of the servers to form a line and wait for their turns to receive the Host. They must keep wearing facial masks, refrain from talking, and maintain a physical distance of one metre from one another when queuing. Hands should be sanitized using alcohol-based handrub before taking communion.
When hands have been sanitized, they should not be used to touch the mask or any other surfaces.
When a parishioner reaches the head of the queue, they should follow the four steps below to receive the Host from the cleric:
1. Place one palm over the other and wait for the priest to put the Host on their palm; do not reach out to take the Host to avoid touching other surfaces by accident;
2. Once the Host is on their palm, the parishioner should use the other hand that has not touched the Host to remove the loop of the mask from one of the ears, without touching either side of the mask;
3. Consume the Host on the clean hand while the other hand is still holding the ear loop;
4. Put the removed loop back around one’s ear and adjust the mask properly.
Children can take Holy Communion only when accompanied by a parent or a guardian. Parents or guardians should first sanitize their own and their charges’ hands. After receiving the Host, the child should consume the Host immediately. The adult must then sanitize their hands again before taking Holy Communion themselves.
After taking Holy Communion, parishioners should use alcohol-based handrub to sanitize their hands again as soon as possible. Parishioners should avoid touching their eyes, nose, mouth, or any other surfaces before they have sanitized their hands. Upon returning to their seats, they can keep a moment of silence for prayers and should still maintain physical distance with one another.
29 May 2020
