The coronavirus pandemic had struck at the very heart of the ministry of priests, curtailing their normal outreach to the sick, the elderly and the dying, the Catholic Archbishop of Armagh, Eamon Martin, has said.

The Archbishop was speaking on Thursday morning at Holy Thursday Chrism Mass, commemorating the founding of the priesthood at the last supper, in the Cathedral of St Patrick and St Colman in Newry, Co Down.

“Perhaps saddest of all, it has cruelly restricted our capacity to draw close to families who are bereaved,” he said.

He also said it had “driven our congregations indoors, forced us to stay apart, prevented us from having the public celebration of Mass and hindered us from offering the healing sacraments of reconciliation and anointing in the normal manner.

Nonetheless, he said “Our calling as priests remains strong in this crisis: to be with our people, to encourage them, to bring them the hope and consolation”.

But he added that “there will be more sacrifices for our people and ourselves to make before this Covid-19 crisis is all over”.

Meanwhile, Easter liturgies will take place behind closed doors across Ireland due to the coronavirus restrictions.

In addition, many clergy are cocooning. The Dublin Catholic archdiocese has almost 200 priests unavailable as they are over 70 and cocooning. In Kildare and Leighlin, 58 priests are cocooning, with 47 in active ministry. In Killaloe diocese 44 of its 93 priests are in active ministry with 49 cocooned.