Many Roman Catholic churches in Mexico City, including its main cathedral, celebrated the first Mass Sunday after three months of lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Restrictions, however, are still in place, including mandatory face masks, shortened services, and church occupancy not more than 20%.
"We are filled with joy to be able to receive our faithful and to be with them at this time when it has been so hard for them not to participate in the celebrations," Auxiliary Bishop Salvador Gonzalez Morales said.
Observing the sanitary measures to protect themselves from COVID-19, parishioners were nevertheless happy to attend Mass.
"I felt very happy because I had been wanting to come for a long time and I couldn't. The Church wasn't open. And now I was very pleased to be able to visit the Blessed Sacrament, to talk to him," Maria Juana Flores, a church attendee, said.
Another parishioner felt spiritually empowered to be able to go to church.
"Peace and quiet. The spirit, one receives a spiritual force that lifts us up, right?" Hugo Perez, a church attendee, said.
Mexican federal authorities left the decision on opening places of worship to state governments and city councils.
The Mexican clergy has been hit hard by the coronavirus, with 46 priests, six deacons and three nuns dead as of July 15, according to data provided by the Catholic Multimedia Center of Mexico.
The country now has over 385,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 43,000 deaths.
