The Vatican has decreed that priests may celebrate up to four Masses on several important feast days, including Christmas, to accommodate the participation of more of the faithful.

Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, said the decision was made “in view of the situation brought about by the worldwide spread of the pandemic.”

According to the Code of Canon Law, while a priest “may not celebrate (Mass) more than once a day,” a bishop may “for a good reason allow priests to celebrate twice in one day or even, if pastoral need requires it, three times on Sundays or holy days of obligation.”

By allowing priests hold more masses, more lay Catholics could attend especially in churches with limited seating due to social distancing measures.