At the heart of the mission of the Church is to carry out and continue the work of Jesus Christ on Earth.  Keeping the whole People of God safe, physically and spiritually, is a responsibility shared by each of us and rooted in Christian charity.
 
After more than an year, the pandemic remains part of our lives, with the Omicron variant ushering in this spike in infections.  In light of this reality, we continue to monitor data from both our healthcare and civic leadership and endeavor to make our communities as safe as possible while keeping the sacraments available for those who most need the comfort of God’s real presence at this time. We continue to ask pastors, administrators, and school principals to use their prudential judgment with the guidance of diocesan leadership in implementing proven protocols that best fit their particular communities and help mitigate the spread of the virus. The Church holds that receiving the vaccination for COVID-19 is not morally objectionable and encourages all who can safely receive the vaccine to do so. The Church also holds that reception of the COVID-19 vaccine is not morally obligatory and must be a free decision based on a well-formed conscience. 

We continue to ask the intercession of St. Joseph, universal patron of the Church and Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, patroness of the Diocese of Austin and of United States, that God will bring to an end this world wide pandemic. We also hold in our prayers those for whom this pandemic has caused such sadness, especially those who have lost loved ones as a result of COVID-19. Let us remain focused on Christ who unites all people in His infinite mercy, being assured that he will not leave us to face this pandemic alone.