Churches cancel midnight mass over crime

CRIME is changing the way the Christian community celebrates Christmas.

In the past, midnight mass on Christmas Eve was the focal point of the celebrations which ushered in the Christmas season, usually with packed congregations at midnight. However, the change to earlier celebration of mass began slowly in recent years due to rising crime which, this year, has reached a peak with a record high of 223 murders. There have also been a significant number of deaths as a result of accidents (191), most because of speeding. As a result, many midnight services have been cancelled at many churches tonight.

Checks by Newsday showed a general pattern of earlier services this evening, all being held between 6 pm and 9 pm to enable churchgoers to get home early and safely. At least two churches, St Finbar’s RC, Petit Valley and Mount St Benedict, St Augustine, said their services had been shifted to earlier times to accommodate the elderly, who mostly comprise their congregation. St Finbar’s will have two services, one at 6 pm and another at 9 pm, while Mount St Benedict’s mass will be held from 8 pm. The Nativity Church, Diego Martin, will celebrate mass at 6 pm, likewise St Theresa’s which will also have a second mass from 9 pm. Both Sacred Heart, Richmond Street, PoS and St John’s, Diego Martin will celebrate mass from 7 pm. The Santa Rosa RC Church, Arima, which stopped its midnight mass a few years ago, will also celebrate mass from 10 pm tonight.  

Our checks however revealed midnight masses will be held at the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception in Port-of-Spain. Tonight’s service, scheduled for midnight, is expected to be conducted by Archbishop of Port-of-Spain, Edward Gilbert. There will also be  masses from 11 pm at the Holy Saviour Anglican Church, Curepe and Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Harris Promenade, San Fernando, while the Holy Trinity Cathedral, Queen Street, Port-of-Spain will hold its mass from 11.30 pm. Meanwhile, in Rome, the head of the Catholic Church, Pope John Paul II, will celebrate his usual midnight mass, which will be broadcast live here in Trinidad and Tobago from 7 pm local time on the Trinity Network, cable channel 10.