After Christmas and Easter, Corpus Christi can only be celebrated small due to Corona.
Processions do not take place as usual in the Freising district.
Freising
- Christmas was only celebrated on a small scale, Easter was affected by the corona pandemic for the second time this year.
Now Corpus Christi is just around the corner next Thursday.
And this solemn celebration of the Catholic Church will not take place in Freising as usual this year either.
Normal Sunday services instead of parades
The seven-day incidence is low in the Freising district and falling nationwide. “The next talks between the government and the churches will not take place until around Corpus Christi. "But that would be too short-term for our planning," reports parish administrator Stephan Rauscher in an interview with the FT. “There are therefore no Corpus Christi processions in the Freising parishes, instead normal Sunday services take place in the catchment area.” This was agreed upon with Auxiliary Bishop Bernhard Haßlberger. Freising thus also followed the recommendation of the Archbishop's Ordinariate not to organize street parades in the traditional sense.
That would not be possible anyway due to the current corona rules, says Rauscher.
Because in order to keep the minimum distance, the procession would have to take place without the "sky".
The fabric canopy under which the clergyman walks through the decorated streets with the monstrance is a central part of the procession.
"And that would be difficult to implement even with all the flag delegations."
Procession has been canceled several times
The solemn festival, which takes place on the second Thursday after Pentecost, is also celebrated to a limited extent in the parish association of Holledau, which Rauscher leads. "The church services take place as usual, the processions are also canceled here." Alternatively, Rauscher wants to carry out local blessings "in a small circle", i.e. with only a few acolytes and a long distance - depending on the community in the cemetery, in the parish garden or at the Marian column .
"Of course it is very sad that we cannot celebrate Corpus Christi as usual," says Rauscher. "Precisely because the festival is a sign in the most positive sense that we stand by faith and carry the joy of faith out into the world." At the same time, it is important for the Freising parish administrator to emphasize: "That the Corpus Christi procession is canceled is not so unusual - for example, when it is pouring out of buckets. ”The positive thing about this festival: Even if the parades have to be canceled, the holy of holies can be exposed on site. "Adoration can take place in spite of everything."
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