St. Clare Church in O’Fallon reopens to public, will follow COVID-19 guidelines
St. Clare Parish in O’Fallon reopened its doors for public Masses June 6-7 with a “welcome home” theme — after 12 weeks of Masses without a congregation during the quarantine.
Parishioners attending also had a chance to see the construction underway for the additions to the church.
“It is with genuine joy that I am able to say, ‘welcome back’ to our parish family,” said Father Jim Deiters, St. Clare pastor. “We’ve been given permission now to have Masses open to a congregation, and we are thrilled to be back open. We also respect those who are not ready to return or feel ‘at risk,’ and thus, we will continue to offer live stream mass at 10:30 each Sunday.”
As with other Catholic churches in Illinois, St. Clare Church is now following the bishops’ and state’s safety protocols for reopening to the public after being closed at the start of the coronavirus pandemic
“Our return to church this weekend also gave people a chance to see the progress we are making on the addition to our fellowship hall and the new wing for offices and meeting rooms,” Deiters noted. “The construction began right as we started the quarantine for the pandemic, so our parishioners were not able to watch the progress weekly as we had planned. Many people were surprised to see how far along we are on this exciting project.”
During the week, the church continues to be a beehive of construction activity. The project includes desperately needed parish offices and meeting rooms attached to the west wing of the current church — with a new close-in circle drive for better access to the building — and an expansion of the church’s fellowship hall, kitchen and storage space to the east.
Foundations are complete and exterior walls are going up this week.
“The building project shows optimistic signs of growth for our parish, as well as construction jobs to boost our local economy,” Deiters said. “We are truly blessed by the continued prayers and financial support for the project.”
The addition is expected to be completed in October. The Korte Company is the general contractor for the project.
Want to go to St. Clare Church?
St. Clare Mass schedule
- 5 p.m. Saturday
- 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. Sunday
- Noon Monday and Thursday
- 7:30 a.m. Tuesday and Friday
At this time, parishioners and visitors must follow safety protocols by wearing masks inside the church and following the social distancing rules. Hand sanitizers will be provided, and masks will be available for people who forget to bring one.
In addition, Mass will continue to be livestreamed at 10:30 a.m. Sundays for those who do not yet feel comfortable attending.