[Breaking] Nationwide Catholic Churches to Suspend Masses from the 27th... First Time Ever

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] The Korean Catholic Church will completely suspend Masses starting from the 27th due to the 'Novel Coronavirus Infection (COVID-19) crisis.' This is the first time in the 236-year history of the Korean Catholic Church.

According to the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea on the 26th, 14 out of 16 dioceses nationwide had already taken measures to suspend Masses by the previous day, and the Jeju and Wonju dioceses, which had not yet made a decision, also suspended Masses.

The Jeju Diocese announced in an official document on the same day that Masses would be suspended from the 27th until March 7. The Wonju Diocese also issued guidelines in the afternoon, stating that from the 27th until further notice, 'Masses celebrated with parishioners' would be suspended.

The suspension of Catholic Masses began with the Daegu Archdiocese. As a large number of COVID-19 confirmed cases emerged in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions, the Daegu Archdiocese was the first in the diocese to suspend Masses from the 19th until the 5th of next month.

The Andong Diocese, where many parishioners who recently returned from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in Israel tested positive, temporarily suspended Masses on the 22nd, and on the same day, the Gwangju Archdiocese also suspended Masses.

The Suwon Diocese announced on the 24th that it would temporarily suspend all parish community Masses, including Sunday Masses, as well as all education, events, and various group meetings within the diocese until the 11th of next month. On the same day, eight other dioceses?Cheongju, Busan, Military Ordinariate, Incheon, Jeonju, Chuncheon, Uijeongbu, Daejeon?and the Military Ordinariate also joined the movement to suspend Masses.

Meanwhile, as of 2018, the number of believers in the Korean Catholic Church was 5,866,510, accounting for about 11% of the total population. The Wonju Diocese has 78,427 believers.