COVID-19 Response

St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church is closely following information and directives from the Diocese of Austin and the City of Austin in regards to Coronavirus (COVID-19). Please view below for the latest updates.

In order to serve our community in the best way possible, St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church is implementing ways to keep us connected in the weeks to come.

• We are live streaming the Daily Mass & Sunday Mass at the following times:

Daily Mass:           Daily at 12 p.m., Monday through Friday
Weekend Mass:   Saturday, 5:00 p.m. Vigil
                                 Sunday, 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.

• Give Online: With the recent changes to our worship life arising from COVID-19, St. Catherine is facing many concerns. Although our work at the church continues, we fear that tithing will diminish. Although public events may be canceled or postponed, we are still here for our parishioners and need to continue to pay our staff and meet all of our financial obligations.

• Mail checks to the Parish Office: 4800 Convict Hill Road, Austin, TX 78749
• ONLINE:  Establish an online arrangement through our Stewardship page. If you need assistance, please contact Erin Hummel at (512) 892-2420 or erin.hummel@stcatherine-austin.org
• You may also give using PayPal

• Weekday Schedule:
  • Monday – Friday:   Mass at 12:00 p.m. (also available via live stream)
  • Tuesdays:                 Confessions at 6:00 p.m. in the Reconciliation Room
                                        Mass at 7:00 p.m. in the Day Chapel

• Weekend Masses: 
  • Saturday:                 Confessions   3:30 - 4:30 p.m. in the Reconciliation Room                                             Vigil Mass      5:00 p.m.* 
  • Sunday:                     7:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m.*, 11:30 a.m.*, 1:15 p.m., and 5:00 p.m.  

• We will continue the policy of wearing masks whilst in Church but we will begin to consider when this restriction might be lifted. All barriers and restraints in the Church have been removed. People will seat themselves in Church and we will cease all disinfection of the pews and other surfaces. We will introduce more ministries in the Church to help with the larger numbers of people. 

• At the weekend Masses, there will still be a cap on how many people can gather in the Church. Beyond the acceptable number of people attending Church, we will invite those who cannot be seated in the Church to go to the Parish Center and to watch the live stream of Mass and participate in the Eucharist. Johnson Hall is also available for those who wish to be seated in a fixed social distanced environment.

• Important Livestream Changes: We will continue to live stream the Masses listed above.  However, all parishes have been instructed by the Diocese that the faithful are to participate in each Mass as a gathered community – whether at church or at home – only at the actual time the Mass is being celebrated. (The practice of archiving video of Masses for ‘On Demand’ viewing has now been prohibited in the Diocese of Austin.  Click here to read the interview with Bishop Vasquez in the November 2020 issue of the Catholic Spirit explaining his decision.)  We do regularly post our weekend homilies on the Homily page.

• The Church Office is currently open to the public.  All unvaccinated visitors are asked to wear masks.

• Staying Connected to the Parish

OPENING UPDATE AND VACCINE REQUIREMENT
Special Announcement from Fr. Pat and Sue

We are pleased to announce that we will be opening the campus for group meetings effective Oct. 18, 2021.  We ask all ministry group leaders advise those attending that they must wear a mask covering both nose and mouth.  As with the Church, the safety of everyone in attendance at the meeting is the responsibility of everyone.  While there have been no size limitations imposed on any group, for the time being, we will not allow any food or beverages to be served at any meetings.  We will reevaluate this limitation once we reach stage 2.

The requirement that all persons engaged in ministry, including catechists at every level and general volunteers, be vaccinated remains in effect.  This limitation was imposed to protect the vulnerable members of our community from exposure to COVID as a consequence of engaging with unvaccinated individuals who may be infected.  This is wholly a public safety measure.  We do not know how long this limitation will be in force but we will advise promptly once it can be lifted.

With love, 
Fr. Pat and Sue

August 5, 2021 - Stage 5 Notice

We have reached the Stage 5 level of risk for COVID and hospitalizations are climbing daily and rapidly. For these reasons, we strongly recommend and expect that every person above the age of 5 will wear a mask covering their nose and mouth.  While the nursery remains closed, the Café is open and available for families with young children.  Johnson Hall also remains available for everyone desiring greater social distancing.  The health of this beloved community remains everyone’s responsibility.

July 23, 2021  - Stage 4 Notice

Austin Travis Country has again moved to Stage 4 levels of risk for COVID. As a consequence, everyone should again wear a mask covering the mouth and note. The health of this beloved parish community is everyone's responsibility. 
 

July 10, 2021 - Message from Fr. Pat 

Opening Update and Vaccine Requirement 

We are pleased to announce that we will be opening the campus for group meetings effective August 2, 2021. A letter has been sent to each ministry group leader advising of this development. This letter states that each ministry group leader is responsible for the safety of all meeting attendees. As is the policy in the Church, we have asked that all ministry group leaders advise those attending that persons who are vaccinated are free to attend without a mask but those who are not are strongly encouraged to wear a mask covering both nose and mouth. As with the Church, the safety of everyone in attendance at the meeting is the responsibility of everyone. While there have been no size limitations imposed on any group, for the time being, we want everyone to know that we will not allow large social gatherings such as coffee and donuts, receptions, and parties. We will reevaluate this limitation once the threat of the delta variant and other COVID issues have been resolved.
 
We announced a few weeks ago that we will require that all persons engaged in ministry, including catechists at every level, and general volunteers must be vaccinated to serve. This limitation was imposed to protect the vulnerable members of our community from exposure to COVID as a consequence of engaging with unvaccinated individuals who may be infected. This is wholly a public safety measure. We do not know how long this limitation will be in force but we will advise promptly once it can be lifted.
 

With love,
Fr. Pat

My Beloved Parish Community,         

Starting Pentecost Sunday, the Bishop’s dispensation for devout Catholics to attend Church at least once a week has been lifted. Going forward we wish to lay some ground rules. We are taking into consideration that currently only 35% of people in the nation have been fully vaccinated. That means 65% of the people are not yet vaccinated. That includes most/all of our children. Families with young children are still concerned. Some people who are fully vaccinated wonder why the whole world is not open yet. We have been guided by the public health guidelines which are beginning to change.  Right now we have moved to Stage 2.   There are still some restrictions on public gatherings indoors in place. For now, we will abide by these restrictions but will begin to consider when we might be able to open the campus for gatherings. 

Given these restrictions, there will still be a cap on how many people can gather in the Church. Beyond the acceptable number of people attending Church, we will invite those who cannot be seated in the Church to go to the Parish Center and participate in Eucharist on live-stream in the Johnson Hall. Johnson Hall is also available for those who wish to be seated in a fixed social distanced environment.
 
The Bishop has delegated responsibility and decision-making to the local Pastors. Because of that, we are mandating that those who wish to volunteer as Ministers in any St. Catherine ministry or activity and in any capacity be vaccinated. Those who have not been vaccinated yet we ask that you do not volunteer until you have been vaccinated.  Those requiring vaccination include the following: Eucharistic Ministers, Lectors, Ushers, Wedding Coordinators, Funeral Ministers, Mass Coordinators, Baptismal Coordinators, Choirs, Musicians, Environmental ministers, Pre-School personnel, Catechists at all levels for adults and children, Parish staff, Volunteers in the Office, Café workers, R/E volunteers, Senior ministry, RCIA staff, Sacristans, Community Ministers and St. Vincent de Paul. 

For the time being, we will continue the policy of wearing masks whilst in Church but we will begin to consider when this restriction might be lifted. All barriers and restraints in the Church have been removed. People will seat themselves in Church and we will cease all disinfection of the pews and other surfaces. We will introduce more ministries in the Church to help with the larger numbers of people. 

We intend to cut back our live streaming of Masses. Live streaming will be made available only for the following:  All Daily Masses, the Saturday 5:00 p.m. Vigil Mass, the Sunday 9:30 & 11:30 a.m. Masses. 

Eucharistic visitors to the homebound and nursing homes will begin again within specific guidelines. We will assess the situation daily and make changes as needed.  It is our hope that we can return to a more normal schedule as soon as possible.
 

With Love, 
   Fr. Pat

Dear Parishioners,

Last week the Bishop issued a letter stating his desire to return to near normal liturgical practices starting at the end of May. The Bishop was speaking about Catholic worship and sacraments. He wants parishes and parishioners to return to Church and to fulfill their Sunday obligation. He also wants us to celebrate Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals as near to normal as possible.
 
His statement did not address the communal life of the parish. We in the parish office are getting people asking for rooms and meetings because they have interpreted the Bishop’s letter to mean that we can all return to normal. They expect the Coffee Shop to open. They expect to play Bridge. They expect to go to meetings and life to return to normal. Please dear parishioners and friends, STOP. 

We continue to follow guidelines issued by Austin Public Health. These guidelines speak to wearing masks, social distancing and how many people can gather indoors in safety. We are committed to operating in a manner that best serves the public health of the entire St. Catherine of Siena community. For these reasons, at all Masses we will continue to follow the protocols that are already in place. These protocols include masking and social distancing. Our focus in the near future will be to celebrate the sacraments as fully as we are able. We are not focused on opening up the community life of the parish with meetings and other gatherings. This might all happen later, but not now.

As we all know, COVID-19 is still here and everywhere. For example, currently 500,000 are getting infected in India every day. The State Department has issued an order stating that Americans are not allowed to travel to many countries in the world. There is a spike in infections among children in Michigan. Only 30% of our population are now fully vaccinated. There is still no vaccination available for children. People remain very afraid. 

I meet parishioners who have been fully vaccinated and they tell me that they continue to be afraid to come to Church. One parishioner worried that we were not disinfecting the Church enough. Others have told us that disinfecting the Church is a waste of time. I have seen people coming to Communion rubbing sanitizer as they approach the altar. 

In the background we are contacting Nursing Homes asking them if they are willing to allow Eucharistic ministers to visit. We are discussing the possibility of having sacramental prep classes for our middle and high school youth. Our intention is for the Pre-School to open up fully in the fall. Everyone’s personal safety is our No. 1 priority and this effort will continue to consume enormous amounts of our time. Please don’t dismiss that lightly as nothing. If you are fully vaccinated and yearning to return to your previous life, I am delighted for you. Unfortunately 70% of our parishioners don’t have that luxury. So, please, wait. When we know that we can do more, you will know. 
 

With love,
Fr. Pat

This weekend, Bishop Vásquez issued a pastoral letter to the faithful informing us of his plan to rescind the temporary protocols for the celebration of the sacraments and lift the dispensation from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass on May 23, Pentecost Sunday.  Click below to see his full letter.

Letter from Bishop Vasquez dated 04/25/21

MASKING AND SOCIAL DISTANCING AT ST CATHERINE OF SIENA: Contrary to the Governor's decision regarding masking and social distancing, we will continue with our current policy regarding these and other related issues.  At present only a mere 7% of the Texas population has been fully vaccinated.  We believe that it is too soon to make any substantive changes that may compromise the safety of our Parish community.

Yours in Prayer,
Fr. Pat Coakley and Sue Lefevre

We have now been living with Covid-19 for nearly a year. Initially we were very concerned and scared. We didn’t really know what it was we had to do. In all kinds of ways, we have experienced limitations on what we can and cannot do for safety. A year later there is the danger that we are now complacent. Our attitude has become that if we do the things we are asked to do, everything will be fine. Right now everything is not fine. We have entered Stage 5 of the pandemic. The Governor’s office has advised people to stay at home as much as possible. We are to continue with social distancing and wear our masks when we are out and about.  Hospitals are now at full capacity. This is the time when we must be make a commitment to be safe.

For that reason, may I remind people of some of the regulations that were handed down by the Diocese.  “The following members of the faithful are dispensed from the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and other holy days of obligation during the time of this pandemic. These include
 

1. those who are sick;
2. those who are 65 or older
3. those who have been advised by health care workers or caregivers to not attend     Mass;
4. those who sincerely believe that attending Mass will jeopardize their health or the health of a person with whom they reside; and
5. those who sincerely believe that because of the limitations imposed by the temporary protocols attending Mass is not reasonable; and that those who are dispensed from the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays or holy days of obligation are to make other acts of spiritual devotion such as a spiritual communion, and viewing Mass by remote means.”

For the time being, the parish offices will be closed to the public. If you wish to conduct business with the office, you may do that on the phone. The priests will not be taking appointments in person. You may speak to your priest on the phone. Business with parish reception must be conducted on the phone. The priests will not be visiting the nursing homes right now. They will only visit a loved one who is sick under very strict circumstances. We will continue to monitor the situation. When we feel it is safe to do so we will revisit these regulations again.
 

May God bless you,
Fr. Pat and staff

Pastoral Message to the Faithful from Bishop Joe S. Vásquez
regarding recently released vaccines for COVID-19

I am grateful for the recent news from Governor Abbott that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has earmarked over 1.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for the state of Texas to start arriving in mid-December. While this is wonderful news, we know that vaccinating an entire country will take several months and our precautions to stop the spread of the virus remain as important as ever.

As these vaccines have been developed, concerns as to the moral permissibility of using them have arisen from the faithful, particularly the vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has deliberated on these concerns thoroughly and specifically clarified that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are not derived from cell lines originating from fetal tissue of aborted babies. While it is true that there was a tainted cell line used in confirmatory testing, Catholic moralists have determined that any cooperation in the evil of this tainted cell line is so remote, and the good to be gained for society so valuable, that one may take these vaccines in good conscience.

Brothers and sisters, I want to assure you that it is morally permissible to receive these vaccines.
The USCCB has also discerned that the AztraZeneca vaccine, while originating from fetal tissue of aborted babies, remains acceptable from a moral theology perspective, provided it is the only vaccine available in an area and will serve the health of the greater good of society.1
Join me in continuing to pray for those who have lost their lives from COVID-19 and the families that have been affected. I also ask that we continue to pray for our health care workers who serve every day on the front lines of this battle against the pandemic, that God will give them the strength and grace they need to serve all people.

Printed letter from Bishop Vasquez
 

Corona Virus Update from Fr. Pat

We have received this information from the Bishop’s office: 

Temporary COVID-19 Protocols for the celebration of the Sacraments in the Diocese of Austin. Parishes are to return to their pre-pandemic Mass schedules for Sunday and Daily Mass and confessions no later than October 4th, 2020. 

The following members of the faithful are dispensed from the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and other holy days of obligation during the time that the Temporary COVID-19 Protocols remain in effect: 

Those who are sick; 
Those who are 65 or older; 
Those who have been advised by health care workers or caregivers to not attend Mass; 
Those who sincerely believe that attending Mass will jeopardize their health or the health of a person with whom they reside; 
Those who sincerely believe that because of the limitations imposed by the temporary protocols attending Mass is not reasonable. 

The Bishop’s office has informed us that if you are 65 or older and you feel fine, you are welcome to come to Mass. Masks must be worn in the church at all times. Sanitizers are available at all the church doors. 

I wish to announce that beginning the weekend of Oct. 3 – 4, 2020, St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church will return to the normal schedule of Masses.  Click here to read the full letter.
 

Dear Parishioners and friends,
 
This is an official announcement on behalf of the Bishop of the Diocese of Austin. On Thursday, April 30, 2020, Bishop Joe Vasquez issued a decree authorizing the parishes of the Diocese to begin to offer Masses and Sacraments with the people of the parish present. The celebration of public Masses will resume under very restricted conditions beginning on Tuesday, May 5.  The Bishop has also given a dispensation from attending Mass to those over 65, those who have underlying health conditions or those who feel unsafe attending, and to those who live with persons in these circumstances. The arrangements we are about to announce are temporary. (Click here to read Fr. Pat's complete letter.)