Vatican: Permission for more Masses

Published February 5, 2021

Bishop Anthony B. Taylor announced Jan. 29 to priests, deacons and seminarians that the Diocese of Little Rock has been granted permission by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacrament to allow priests to celebrate up to four Masses on Sundays and holy days of obligation and three Masses on weekdays “in cases of true necessity” during the pandemic. This Vatican permission is only related to Arkansas and will cease “when the circumstances relating to the COVID-19 pandemic have ceased.”

Normally, priests are allowed to celebrate a maximum of three Masses on Sundays and two on weekdays.

In parishes with only one priest, it has been necessary for a priest to celebrate more Masses on Sunday to allow adequate spacing inside the church.