BEAUMONT, Texas — Pews were packed in churches across Southeast Texas as pastors excitedly welcomed people to in-person services.
With pandemic restrictions less strict, Easter Sunday of 2022 was a big day for Southeast Texas churches.
The last Easter Mass of Sunday at St. Anne’s Catholic Church in Beaumont had a large turnout. Church goers filled the sanctuary excitedly due to the fact that for the last couple years, in-person services were few and far between.
For some Southeast Texans, Sunday was the first time in three years they were able to gather together in person for an Easter service.
Churches around the area have held mass all week, including on Holy Thursday and Good Friday. The Easter season remembers Jesus’ passion and death, ending in the celebration of his resurrection during Easter Sunday mass.
Texas pastors said they were happy to welcome parishioners back for mass.
“But, I think just kind of showing up, the music and the song to be with one another, to realize we are not alone in our journey of faith,” Father Stephen McCrate, pastor at St. Anne’s Catholic church, said
Father McCrate said the main takeaway from Sunday's mass was the virtue of hope.