No funerals to be held inside churches for Catholic parishioners - Requiem Mass to be held at later date

In the letter, Bishop Treanor, said: “Today, I wish to let you know of a further decision that I have taken after much thought and prayer. This decision concerns the funerals of our dead, of our beloved deceased.

“As of today, our sisters and brothers in Christ, who die will be taken directly to the cemetery for burial.

“In the cemetery, a short funeral prayer service will take place, respecting the determinations of the public authorities in regard to inter-personal social distancing and any other provisions deemed necessary.

“Requiem Mass will be celebrated in memory of the deceased person at a later date, when this pandemic has passed and when the conditions permitting gatherings of people in buildings and in Churches prevail.

“It is, however, necessary to recognise that if arrangements have been made at this point and time for funerals, those arrangements will be honoured and carried through.

“It is simply too risk-laden to gather inside buildings even in small numbers. We must proactively exercise extreme care for each other and for ourselves. To do otherwise would be unchristian”.

He added that he realised the pain “this will cause to many, to many families, to many individuals”.

“I ask for your forbearance, for your charity and for your care for others. And as I do so, on behalf of all of us, I wish to salute the heroism of all who work in our hospitals, nursing homes, in health care services, in the administration of our health care systems and in the National Health Service.

“I thank all who support the Nursing and Medical teams in the front line, the Ambulance and Paramedical teams and the chaplains, and all who work from laundry to laboratory in and around our hospitals. We salute their heroism, their courage and their dedication”.