Paris priest is fined for celebrating Mass in behind-closed-door ceremonies that broke coronavirus lockdown – as French woman reveals she discovered her father had died when funeral director rang her about cremation

• Images from inside Saint-Nicolas du Chardonnet, in Paris, show the service
• Priests and parishioners clustered together and nobody was wearing face masks
• Neighbours finally alerted officers when they heard music coming out of church 
• Learn more about how to help people impacted by COVID

A French Catholic priest has been fined for celebrating Mass in behind-closed-door ceremonies that broke the coronavirus lockdown over Easter.

Astonishing images from inside Saint-Nicolas du Chardonnet, in Paris, show those taking part in the Latin language services, clustering together and ignoring all other safety procedures.

Servers and priests paid no attention to social distancing rules, nor did a handful of parishioners, and nobody wore masks.

Neighbours finally alerted officers when they heard music coming out of the ancient place of worship during the Easter vigil on Saturday – a service that was being live streamed on YouTube.

Astonishing images from inside Saint-Nicolas du Chardonnet, in Paris, show those taking part in the Latin language services, clustering together and ignoring all other safety procedures

Servers and priests paid no attention to social distancing rules, nor did a handful of parishioners, and nobody wore masks.

It comes as French woman only found out her father had died of coronavirus after she received a text from a funeral home asking for her permission to cremate the body.  

A complaint was filed by relatives of four dead residents in an government-run nursing home in Mougins, near Cannes, where COVID-19 killed 36 people. 

Catherine Guilleux, whose father Jacques Petitgirard, 87, was staying in the nursing home claims her father died on March 29 but the nursing home did not notify her.

She says that she instead later received a text message from a funeral home, adding: ‘I was asked for my identity card and authorisation for cremation. My eyes widened, I read it three times, I didn’t get a phone call.’

Her lawyer said: ‘They have learned of the tragic deaths of their parents in aberrant and dramatic conditions, without being able to be at their side at the painful end of their lives, and sometimes without being able to pay them a last tribute.’

Meanwhile, an investigating source involved in the Paris Mass services said: ‘There were around 40 people inside, all celebrating Easter Sunday Mass in contravention of the lockdown.’

‘Police arrived and found the doors of the church shut but managed to get inside to break up the service, which was being conducted in Latin.

‘Everybody was told to go home immediately, but the priest was later contacted and fined for breaking the rules.’

The first punishment for non-compliance with France’s strict restrictions is currently the equivalent of around a £120.

This rises to £330 if it is not paid within 45 days and persistent offenders face prison sentences of up to six months.

Neighbours finally alerted officers when they heard music coming out of the ancient place of worship during the Easter vigil on Saturday – a service that was being live streamed on YouTube

The Mass service was held at the Saint-Nicolas du Chardonnet church (pictured) in Paris 

Despite the police action, the Church continued with live-streamed services on Sunday and Monday, although social distancing rules were observed.

All religious services have been banned in France for the past month as the country seeks to slow the spread of Covid-19, which is killing thousands around the world. 

Following the story of the Frenchwoman who wasn’t told of the death of her father, reports state that other elderly people have died without their loved ones being informed.

A woman named Marie-Louise Borgnet, who was placed in a government-run nursing home in January, died on March 23 at the age of 87 without her family knowing the circumstances.

The lawyer said: ‘It would appear that the establishment had in fact taken away Marie-Louise’s mobile phone.

‘Her nephew still knows nothing about the circumstances of her death.’ 

Reacting to the news, the Mayor of Mougins, Dr Richard Galy, said: ‘This is a potential cluster, we have to react very quickly and that’s what hasn’t been done.

Despite the police action, the Church continued with live-streamed services on Sunday and Monday, although social distancing rules were observed

‘This drama must never happen again in France.’   

A five-day evangelical congregation at a French megachurch was originally blamed for sparking the country’s biggest cluster of coronavirus infections.

Worshippers at the Christian Open Door church in Mulhouse, near the Swiss border, had travelled across the world for the week-long event on February 18.

The prayer meeting triggered the biggest cluster of Covid-19 cases in France – one of Europe’s hardest-hit countries.

Around 2,500 cases have been linked to it after congregants took the disease to Burkina Faso, West Africa, Corsica in the Mediterranean, Guyana in Latin America and Switzerland.

Church officials said 17 members of the congregation have since died of complications linked to the disease.

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