Updated Covid-19 Protocols

The following protocols are newly mandated by Daniel Cardinal DiNardo and the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, effective the weekend celebrating Pentecost on May 23, 2021. We thank our Pandemic Team Members who have given their time throughout the pandemic to ensure the safety of our parishioners. Please treat our clergy, staff, and volunteers with kindness as we navigate these new guildelines. Thank you for your patience and your presence! Click here to read the full statement from Daniel Cardinal DiNardo.

Firstly, masks are optional, but if you have not been vaccinated, we request that you wear a mask out of Christian charity to others. Please sanitize your hands upon entering. The church and restrooms will continue to be sanitized after each Mass.

The church capacity has been opened to 100% which allows for seating in all the pews of the church and chapel. All persons will be seated in the church. If needed, an overflow in Tiger Gym will be available for viewing the livestream, and Eucharist will be brought during Communion. The ushers will continue to help with finding space for everyone. If you are not feeling safe about sitting close to others, please ask an usher to help you find a distanced space.

Please read below for more specific information about the procedures. We are grateful for your cooperation as we gather fully as the Body of Christ. Please continue to check the bulletin and church website for more updates.
 

Entrance

• Please utilize hand sanitizer upon entering. Entrance into the church will continue to be through the narthex glass doors only, and these doors will no longer be locked at the start of the liturgies.
• If you arrive while Mass is in progress, please enter the sanctuary through the doors along the side aisles.

Seating Process

• Seating in the church is now open 100%. Pandemic Team Members will continue to help facilitate seating. If you wish to be socially distanced from others, please let a team member know, and they will seat you accordingly.

During Mass

• Standing or gathering in the narthex and old narthex during Mass will not be allowed, except for assigned liturgical ministers.
• The cry room will be opened for parents and their children. Please do not allow children to run about in the narthex.
• The collection will be taken up by our usual practice of passing baskets.

Communion

• The priest and a deacon, acolyte, or Extraordinary Minister will offer Communion up the center aisle, forming two lines.
• The official posture for Holy Communion is to receive the Eucharist standing and in the hand. This demonstrates our unity as the Body of Christ. Please do not kneel to receive.
• If you wish to receive the Eucharist on the tongue, you may do so from the Extraordinary Minister positioned further down.
• The Blood of Christ will continue to not be served for the time being.

• The candle room will be opened for two people at a time for prayer, and the church will continue to be open for visitation and personal prayer on weekdays from noon until 2:00 pm.
• Holy Water is available in the container in the narthex, but you must bring your own receptacle. Holy water will not be in the bowls at the entrance at this time.
• Confession procedures will remain the same.
• Mass will continue to be live-streamed at the 5:00 pm Vigil on Saturday and 9:00 am on Sunday.
• The dispensation for Sunday Mass is still in effect.

Update 9.21.20
In order for St. Michael Catholic School children to have an opportunity to attend Mass, as of Monday, September 21, 2020, one grade level will attend the 8:15 am Mass each day with their teachers, Monday through Friday. To maintain their safe social distancing only the school children will be seated in the main body of the church. Adults attending the 8:15 am Mass will be seated in the chapel pews marked for social distancing.

The chapel doors will not be available for entry or to exit. All must enter through the main narthex glass doors and procedures for wearing a mask, temperature taking, and hand sanitizing remain in effect. The main doors will be locked when Mass begins and unlocked at the end of Mass.

Our parish deacons will be present for 8:15 am Mass to assist the priest to distribute Holy Communion to both areas so that the daily Mass will not be any longer than usual.  

Thank you for your cooperation and patience as we continue to make every effort to safely gather in prayer. May God bless you!