WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. (WKBW) — A Williamsville church held a Holy Thursday mass despite New York state's stay at home order banning all gatherings during the COVID-19 crisis.
Cell phone video obtained by 7 Eyewitness News, taken around 7 p.m. Thursday night, shows what appears to be a small group of people in the pews at St. John Maron Maronite Church on Wehrle Drive.
The church is not connected to the Diocese of Buffalo. The Maronite Catholic Church is part of the Eastern Catholic rite. It is affiliated with the Epichary of St. John Maron in Brooklyn.
Many churches are holding virtual services during the coronavirus outbreak, and St. John Maron Maronite's website states it is doing the same for Easter week.
The church, founded in 1904, calls itself a "traditional church for the modern faithful."
The pastor could not be reached for comment as of early Friday afternoon.
