Italian churches are preparing to resume funerals after an eight-week ban

After eight weeks without a funeral, Italian families will finally be able to gather to cry and pray at funeral masses for coronavirus victims starting May 4.

In Milan, the largest city in the Italian coronavirus epicenter, priests are preparing for an influx of funeral requests in the coming weeks in the Lombardy region, where 13.679 died.

Mario Antonelli, who oversees the liturgies on behalf of the Archdiocese of Milan, told CNA that the archdiocesan leadership met on April 30 to coordinate the guidelines for Catholic funerals since more than 36.000 people remain positive for COVID- 19 in their region.

"I am moved, thinking of so many loved ones who have wanted [a funeral] and still want one," said Fr. Antonelli said on April 30th.

He said that the church of Milan is ready like the good Samaritan to "pour oil and wine on the wounds of many who have suffered the death of a loved one with the terrible agony of not being able to say goodbye and hug".

A Catholic funeral "is not just a solemn farewell from loved ones," explained the priest, adding that he expresses a pain similar to childbirth. "It is the cry of pain and loneliness that becomes a song of hope and communion with the desire for eternal love."

The funeral in Milan will take place on an individual basis with no more than 15 people present, as required by the "second phase" of the Italian government's coronavirus measures.

Priests are invited to inform local authorities when a funeral is scheduled and to ensure that social exclusion measures defined by the diocese are followed throughout the liturgy.

Milan hosts the Ambrosian rite, the Catholic liturgical rite called for Sant'Ambrogio, which led the diocese in the fourth century.

“According to the Ambrosian rite, the funeral liturgy includes three 'stations': the visit / blessing of the body with the family; community celebration (with or without mass); and burial rites at the cemetery, "explained Antonelli.

"Trying to reconcile the sense of the liturgy ... and the sense of civil responsibility, we ask the priests to refrain from visiting the family of the deceased to bless the body," he said.

While the archdiocese of Milan is limiting priests to the traditional blessing of the body in the family home, the funeral Mass and burial rites may take place in a church or "preferably" in a cemetery, Antonelli added.

During the almost two months without masses and funerals, the dioceses of northern Italy maintained the telephone lines for mourning families with spiritual counseling and psychological services. In Milan, the service is called "Hello, is he an angel?" and it is run by priests and religious who spend time on the phone with the sick, bereaved and lonely.

Aside from funerals, public Masses will not yet be authorized throughout Italy based on governmental restrictions of 4 May on the coronavirus. While Italy facilitates its blockade, it is not clear when the public masses will be authorized by the Italian government.

The Italian bishops criticized Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte's latest measures on the coronavirus, announced on April 26, stating that "they arbitrarily exclude the possibility of celebrating mass with the people".

According to the Prime Minister's announcement on April 26, the easing of blockade measures will allow retail stores, museums and libraries to reopen starting May 18 and restaurants, bars and hairdressers on June 1.

Movement between Italian regions, within regions and within cities and towns is still prohibited, except in the most rigorous cases of necessity.

In a letter of April 23, Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti of Perugia, president of the Italian episcopal conference, wrote that "the time has come to resume the celebration of the Sunday Eucharist and the funeral of the church, baptisms and all other sacraments, following of course those measures necessary to guarantee safety in the presence of several people in public places “.