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From Poland to Western New York, churches find way to celebrate Lent

The Rev. Dominik Jezierski gave Mass for his Bowmansville congregation in Poland, where he's been since the European travel ban was announced.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Churches were empty again Sunday morning with Masses on hold for the coronavirus pandemic.

But they're finding different ways to connect with parishioners through video messages and masses, and some are even doing it from thousands of miles away.

The Rev. Dominik Jezierski, who is the pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Bowmansville, was in his hometown parish in Poland when the European travel ban was announced.

On Sunday, he gave Mass for his Western New York congregation, all the way from Poland, in the church where he celebrated his very first Mass 16 years ago.

"We celebrate now during the Lent season, but we are during the quarantine as well," he said. "We can find a few similarities between them. The Lent season is 40 days, the quarantine is 40 days as well. We need the time of Lent for our souls, and we need the quarantine for our bodies as well."

Elsewhere in Europe, the Pope once again celebrated mass alone at the Vatican, praying for those who are in quarantine and in the hospital, and calling for a global ceasefire.

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