Drive-in "Pasterka" or Midnight Mass- The Pandemic Modification

Updated: Feb 10

Author: Grzegorz Litynski

Christmas 2021 is the second Christmas celebration since the COVID-19 restrictions were put in place. Starting on December 15, all clubs and dance venues are closed in Poland. In restaurants, bars, hotels, cinemas, and theaters, guest limits are reduced to 30 percent capacity (down from the current 50 percent). The same restriction applies to churches.

In Warmątowice, a small village in southern Poland, Pasterka or midnight mass was modified to follow the restrictions. Instead of the typical Warmątowice Midnight Mass, with several hundred participants crowded in the barn, Father Józef Krawiec introduced the Midnight Mass drive-in —the altar in a truck. The concept of a catholic drive-in mass is practically unknown in Poland.

Most participants stayed in their cars, but some got of their vehicles. There were about 80 cars.

All photographs by Grzegorz Litynski.

More about "Pasterka":

https://www.pamsm.org/post/unconventional-pasterka-midnight-mass-in-the-barn

Wikipedia - Pasterka https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasterka