The Easter Drive-Through

2020 was when COVID-19 turned life upside down. There were travel bans, stay-at-home orders, border closures, masks, social distancing, businesses struggling, and supermarket shelves mysteriously stripped of toilet paper. Even playgrounds were forbidden territory.

At St Paul’s, the changes came quickly. Numbers at Mass were restricted, everyone sat in designated numbered seats well apart from one another, pews and door handles were sanitised before and after every Mass, the holy water fonts were emptied, and Communion was received only under one kind.

Then, in late March, public Masses were suspended altogether. The church doors were locked, Mass was live streamed from an empty church, baptisms ceased except in emergencies, First Holy Communion and Confirmation were postponed, Bible study and RCIA moved online, and weddings and funerals were reduced to only a handful of people. Lent in 2020 seemed dark.  Some were lonely, some were fearful. Most felt isolated. 

As Easter approached, Fr Tim knew how deeply parishioners longed to receive the Eucharist. So he came up with an unusual idea.  If people could legally queue in their cars at the Hungry Jack’s drive-through, why couldn’t they queue in their cars to receive the Bread of Life?

The proposal carefully complied with the Government’s Emergency Management Act. People would remain in their vehicles, not gather in the car park, and there would be no public service, simply a drive-through distribution of Holy Communion after the live-streamed Easter Mass.

It sounded practical, although probably only a few people might come.

Fr Tim couldn’t have been more mistaken.

After celebrating Easter Mass in an otherwise empty church, Fr Tim and Fr David Watt took their places in the church driveway to distribute Holy Communion, expecting a trickle of cars.

Instead, for about 4 hours, there was a continuous bumper-to-bumper procession winding through the driveway, with Peter Keenan driving through as the final blessed parishioner.

Neighbours were seen to come out to their driveways watching the number of cars of people patiently waiting for Holy Communion. It became a quiet but powerful witness to our Catholic faith.

Many parishioners were emotional as they received Our Lord for the first time in weeks. Fr Tim later reflected that witnessing such devotion was deeply moving and affirming for both priests.  Cars came from both South and North of the river and one determined lady even drove all the way from Joondalup simply to receive Holy Communion that Easter Sunday.

As the months passed, restrictions gradually eased, although accompanied by fresh announcements and changing rules, often inexplicable. Churches were among the last places allowed to reopen fully, making that extraordinary Easter drive-through an unforgettable chapter in the history of St Paul’s.