Haywards Heath daily mass recorded to photos of parishioners by Catholic priest

Father Vladimir Nikiforov, who has been the Father of Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church in Haywards Heath for eight years, has been live-streaming the daily mass on Facebook.

To make him feel like his congregation are with him, he has lined the pews of the church with enlarged photos of his parishioners.

He said: “They’re my people, and I’m trying to make them feel better in this terrible time of crisis.

“It gives them support and shows that somebody cares for them, and they’re not alone, they’re in a community.

“People comment and say hello, that it’s good to see me, they just show me that they’re there, and they send me photos to put on the benches.”

Vladimir live-streams a daily mass at 9.30am from Monday to Friday, and on Saturday evening celebrates Sunday Mass in the evening.

He said that he addresses a relevant problem every time, or tells his congregations about heroes or people who have lost their jobs that they can pray for.

He said: “I try to connect everything to the gospel readings – Jesus’ disciples were often very afraid too, but I hope this comforts people.

“Rituals are very important, and it helps to take your mind for a while off of what is going to happen to us.

“People are watching from abroad – someone from Sweden that I’ve known for a long time asked me to put her picture on the bench.

“And some people from America who can’t watch live because of the time difference watch later.

“People might be reluctant to go church sometimes, but here anyone can go.

“There is nothing that is demanded of you.”

To watch the livestream, visit the Facebook page here.

A message from the Editor, Gary Shipton:

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news, I am asking you to please purchase a copy of our newspapers.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspapers.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

Stay safe, and best wishes.