SAN ANTONIO — It's been a long few months for Father Pat O'Brien of St. Pius X Church, but Sunday marked a new beginning—a new normal.
"It was amazing. I never intended to be a televangelist," he said jokingly.
But for religious leaders across the city, it has certainly felt that way as churches streamed their services for the last few months to empty rooms. It was the only option they had after Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller announced the temporary suspension of in-person weekend services, earlier this spring.
"We had to totally rethink how we do things," O'Brien said. "The goal has always been this is not something that should stop us; instead, it's how do we find different ways to reach people?"
If Sunday's in-person numbers are any indication of the church's efforts to stay connected with the community, it looks like it worked.
"Today I feel very fortunate," parishioner Tammy Martin said.
She hasn't physically been to church in about nine weeks.
"Seeing it live-streamed, it feels very disconnected," she said. "Certainly not very reverent and you don't have the aspect with the community. Today was a privilege."
It's a privilege that she and her church didn't take lightly. Parishioners at St. Pius X were greeted with masks and hand sanitizer as soon as they walked in Sunday, and every other pew was closed off while the others were filled with groups social distancing from one another.
Rather than walk up for communion, the offering came to them. And church donation baskets sat in the back instead of being passed around.
St. Pius X will continue to live-stream their services and have added masses to minimize crowd size.
But the real difference on Sunday was the presence in the room.
"It's being here in the sanctuary and experiencing a live mass with our beloved priest," Martin said.
An experience they will never take for granted as they left Sunday's mass, feeling a little more connected.