St. Raphael
Catholic Church

Churches and most venues in the District of Columbia and all five Maryland counties in the Archdiocese are now no longer subject to governmental capacity or social distancing limits given the dramatically decreased level of coronavirus in the community following increasing numbers of vaccinated persons. Masks will not be required in any jurisdiction of any person inside churches or most other venues as of 5:00 p.m., Friday, May 28. Masks are recommended, but not required, for unvaccinated persons inside churches.

• Liturgical celebrations no longer need to abide by capacity restrictions.
• The use of masks while gathered indoors is not required for fully vaccinated individuals, but is recommended for non-vaccinated individuals. There is no requirement to check vaccination status.
• The use of masks by ordinary and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion while distributing Holy Communion, vaccinated and non-vaccinated, is still required during the distribution.
• Per archdiocesan policy, social distancing is still required between individuals from separate households for indoor gatherings as follows: Pastors are permitted to reduce distancing to 3 feet for indoor celebrations (which may allow the use of all rows) if they feel it would be beneficial. Pastors may also choose to set aside a section of the church that maintains 6-foot distancing for those who wish to maintain more social distancing.
• Parishes are to continue to have hand sanitizer available at all of the entrances of churches.
• Cleaning and disinfecting after every liturgical celebration is no longer required unless a person with a confirmed or suspected Covid-19 case is known to have been in an indoor space, per CDC guidelines, cleaning with ordinary soap and water once per day is sufficient to remove viruses that may be on surfaces and help maintain a healthy facility. However, such shared indoor spaces must be disinfected at least once a week in addition to being cleaned once a day. If a person with a positive Covid-19 case is known to have been in an indoor space, cleaning and disinfection must occur immediately.