Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 13, 2025 /
13:50 pm
The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic five years ago this week, on March 11, 2020.
Every diocese in the U.S. curtailed public Masses in some way during the ensuing lockdowns, many in response to state or local laws. Secular authorities varied widely in their treatment of houses of worship during the pandemic, with some imposing harsher rules on churches than on other entities deemed “essential.”
Legal protections afforded to churches have evolved considerably since the start of the pandemic, however. Many states have since passed explicit protections for houses of worship, ensuring either that they will not be forced to shutter again amid a future health emergency — or, at the least, that they will not be treated more harshly than other “essential services” allowed to remain open.
CNA compiled data on which states now protect houses of worship as “essential” and which do not. Peruse the map below and see where your state falls.
The Supreme Court ruled in late November 2020 that New York state restrictions, which included restrictions on the number of attendees at worship services during the coronavirus pandemic, constituted a violation of the First Amendment’s protection of free religious exercise.
This means there is now legal precedent at the federal level suggesting that states may never shut down worship entirely again and can limit indoor capacity at houses of worship to, at most, 25% of normal.
Some bishops lifted the dispensations they had issued as early as late 2020, while a few held out until 2022 before lifting the dispensation and inviting Catholics back to Mass in person.
After years of uncertainty over whether in-person Mass attendance numbers would ever rebound after plummeting during the COVID-era lockdowns, recent data has suggested that Mass attendance levels — at least nationally — have quietly returned to 2019 levels.
The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University, a premier Catholic research organization, found that between May 2023 and the first week of 2025 attendance has averaged an estimated 24% nationwide.
By comparison, weekly Mass attendance in the U.S. averaged 24.4% prior to the pandemic in 2019.
Jonah McKeown is a staff writer and podcast producer for Catholic News Agency. He holds a Master’s Degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and has worked as a writer, as a producer for public radio, and as a videographer. He is based in St. Louis.
Zelda Caldwell is News Editor at Catholic News Agency based in Washington, DC. She previously worked for Aleteia, as News and Culture editor.
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