As Victoria rapidly moves towards 80% of eligible Victorians being fully vaccinated the Premier has moved the next stage of reopening to today, Friday, 29 October, at 6.00 pm. This is great news for our parishes and means that we can bring forward our weekday Mass schedule to commence next week. We will now be able to celebrate Mass for the Feast of All Souls on Tuesday, 2 November at 9.15 am at All Hallows Church.
As advised previously our regular Sunday Mass program will commence on Saturday, 6 and Sunday, 7 November for parishioners who are fully vaccinated. A Mass with up to 30 participants of unknown vaccination status will be celebrated at Our Lady of Victories Basilica at 9.30 am each Saturday during November.
A reminder that as we return to our Churches we will still need to follow a number of protocols to keep everyone safe and minimise any chance of the spread of the virus. To that end we require all those involved in Liturgical Ministries to provide the Parish with evidence of vaccination. This includes all musicians, readers, leaders, Eucharistic ministers, Communion to the Sick ministers, Children’s Liturgy of the Word leaders, Welcome and Hospitality team members, and Sacristans. Thank you to those who have assisted in this task thus far. For information on how to provide your vaccination evidence visit our website.
All other parishioners will need to check in on arrival for Mass via the Services Victoria QR app which now has the facility to link your vaccination certificate. For those unable to do that a pen and paper service will be provided.
The following grid outlines how we intend to open up our parishes. This information may change as further directions come from the Chief Health Officer and Premier over the coming weeks.
| Date | Weekend Mass | Weekday Mass | Sacraments |
| Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 October |
Sunday Mass will continue online. | Baptisms and weddings will go ahead across our parish Churches. | |
| Tuesday 2 November | Weekday Masses will resume. Mass on Tuesday, 2 November will be at All Hallows Church and from then on the regular weekday timetable will resume. | ||
| Saturday, 6 and Sunday, 7 November |
All five Churches will be open for Sunday Mass and the regular timetable will resume. The congregation size will vary from Church to Church as required by the 4sqm rule. Online Mass will continue to be provided until the end of November for those not ready to return or those not yet fully vaccinated |
Saturday morning Mass at 9.30 am at Our Lady of Victories Basilica will be celebrated each week for those of unknown vaccination status (limited to 30 people) | Sacrament of Confirmation will be celebrated at 1.00 pm and 3.00 pm on Sunday, 7 November for 2020 Candidates |
Our Parish Clergy and staff are looking forward to seeing you all soon and welcoming you back into our Churches.
Fr Brendan
19 Brenbeal Street, Balwyn VIC 3103
Telephone: 03 9816 9291
Email: [email protected]
Office Hours:
Tue - Fri 9:00am – 5:00pm
Caridad Iannucci says:
Please advise if we could present our COVID vaccine certificates on a PDF copy in our phones. Also, for my sister in law who no longer uses mobile phone, if she can just provide a hard copy of her vaccination certificate.
Thank you.
Fr Brendan says:
Yes that is fine. A PDF version on your phone or in hard copy is just fine. Looking forward to seeing you all.
Brendan
Unknown says:
This sacrilege the fact churches are participating in this madness …locking unvaccinated people out of Gods house screams out to heaven …goes against Christ’s teachings… shame
Paul Nieuwenhuizen says:
1. Love God. 2. Love your neighbour.
During a pandemic what better way than to be vaccinated!