The priest had left Facebook's augmented reality feature turned on. Viewers saw video of the clergyman superimposed with an astronaut helmet, sunglasses and sparkles.
The tougher restrictions were announced after criticism from officials, including Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, following scenes over the weekend of friends and family thronging an airport parking lot.
Many churches have moved worship services online, but there are some problems technology can't solve. Pastoral associate Kathie Amidei says she must find new ways "to be a conduit of God's love."
Father Scott Holmer sits on a chair in the parking lot of St. Edward Church in Bowie, Md., and parishioners confess from the front seat of their cars. The drive-thru lane is open seven days a week.
NPR's Michel Martin speaks with three faith leaders about coronavirus and how it's impacted their congregations and work: Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld, Imam Rizwan Ali and Pastor Thomas McKenzie.
Lynn Bryson, who will livestream services to his congregants at Twin Falls Adventist Church in Twin Falls, Idaho, says there is value in embracing this experience of being alone, quiet and still.
NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks to a rabbi, an imam and a Episcopal bishop about what they've been hearing from their congregants, and what words of comfort they are offering.
Communal Friday prayer is a touchstone of life for Muslims. But African and Arab communities have halted those prayers to prevent spread of the coronavirus. In Pakistan, clerics are defiant.
"Islam doesn't permit practices that would put human life in danger," said the head of religious affairs in Turkey, one of a host of Muslim-majority countries to curtail gatherings at mosques.