TORONTO -- The COVID-19 pandemic has provided divine inspiration to a Catholic church in Ontario offering drive-thru confession.
Priests at St. Michael the Archangel church in Belleville have found a way to offer the sacrament by sitting at an open rectory window two metres from parishioners who drive up to confess their sins from the driver鈥檚 seat.
The church says this is in keeping with the physical distancing protocols put in place to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
鈥淲e have been very inventive鈥� people just drive up and the window opens, the priest is behind the window and receives the penitent,鈥� Rev. Richard Whalen told CTV鈥檚 Your Morning.
鈥淭he church has always been inventive, we鈥檝e been on battlefields and in prisons and in hospitals everywhere to offer the sacraments.鈥�
Under the state of emergency declared by the government of Ontario in March, places of worship across the province have been forced to shut their doors.
Confessions are offered two hours daily, 11.30a.m. to 12.30p.m. and 5p.m. to 6p.m. But that鈥檚 not the only vehicular-based worship available at St. Michael鈥檚.
Due to pandemic restrictions, the church has also reduced its 24-hour adoration, a Catholic devotion to Jesus in the eucharist, to the hours of 8a.m. to 9p.m.
鈥淭he blessed sacrament will be exposed in the north entrance behind the glass,鈥�
鈥淎dorers should park their cars in front of the north entrance and adore from their cars.鈥�
Rev. Whalen said some people sit for up to an hour, spending their time in prayer.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a great source of strength and help for people in this crisis,鈥� he said.
St Michael鈥檚, like many churches since lockdown, is also live streaming mass on Facebook, which is later posted on YouTube.
鈥淲hen I look at the camera, it鈥檚 an amazing gift of grace that I carry my people in my heart, I have a real sense of their presence,鈥� Rev. Whalen said.
鈥淚 know that I鈥檓 talking directly to them. I know they鈥檙e suffering not being able to go to church. I鈥檓 so blessed that I have an opportunity to speak God鈥檚 word to them.鈥�
