The Virus Drove Churchgoers Away. Will Easter Bring Them Back?

Churches across New York are hoping increased attendance for Holy Week services will help bring back lost donations that have led to financial hardship during the pandemic.

The Rev. Henry Torres told his parishioners, who had gathered on Palm Sunday in socially distanced rows of half-empty pews, that God had not abandoned them. The virus had killed dozens of regulars at the church, St. Sebastian Roman Catholic Church in Queens, and the pandemic forced it to close its doors for months last year. But the parishioners were there now, he said, which was a sign of hope. “Even through difficulties, God is at work,” Father Torres said. “Even when people are suffering, even if it may seem that God is silent, that does not mean that God is absent.”