CHURCHES closed their doors in accordance with Federal Government health advice last week but that has not stopped local Catholics congregating in online communities to pray the Rosary together.
Jeremy Fraser, who was a member of Surfers Paradise parish, led one of these groups.
“The Rosary, and groups like this, I think are so important,” Mr Fraser said.
Mr Fraser said it was as much about nourishing the spiritual life as it was about easing the psychological side of isolation.
He said it was important “just to show people they’re not alone”.
“It’s a good way of fostering community,” he said.
“The Church is more than the buildings and the clergy, (the people) are as much a part of it, just as important as the buildings and the institution.”
Mr Fraser joined regularly in virtual sessions of five to seven people to say the Rosary.
The group only started last week in response to COVID-19 but had already grown from three members to 17.
The group was a cross-section of ages from people in their late 30s to seniors aged in their 70s and 80s, he said.
The group’s goal was to meet up a few times a week.
He said he loved to say the Rosary and prayed it regularly as a member of the Angelic Warfare Confraternity and Holy Rosary Confraternity run by the Dominican Friars.
Mr Fraser said he hoped the Rosary group could continue to grow into the future as the impact of coronavirus was set to grow.
