Bands accompanying feast processions this year are only allowed to play processional marches and religious hymns which should be previously agreed upon with the parish priest, the Church said in directives on feasts which had been announced in a circular in March.

Village feast celebrations have been drastically scaled down this year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, with the Church saying events will be limited to a Mass and pilgrimage.

The directives, issued on Tuesday, provide feast organisers with further details about how this year's more muted celebrations can be held. The directives are applicable between July 1 and the end of the year without prejudice to any legislation enacted by government or the health authorities. In case of new legal obligations or directives, the Church said it could withdraw its instructions without notice.

The Ecclesiastical authorities warned that breach of the directives could lead to consequences on the feast in future. Moreover, the directives should not be taken as permission for other initiatives which normally required permission from the church to be undertaken.

They should also not be considered a precedent to future feasts. What was being done this year would not be automatically permitted in future. Permits would have to be requested in line with procedures, the church said.

It said that the feast should be celebrated on its liturgical day or on the Sunday it was usually celebrated on in the summer months.

At those parishes where both these days have already passed, or where the feast cannot be celebrated on its day, another day for its celebration should be found. This should be approved by the vicar-general before it is announced and it should not be September 14, when a diocesan pilgrimage led by the Archbishop will be held.

Feasts this year should only be celebrated on one day with Mass and a pilgrimage of prayer and thanksgiving with the statue. The pilgrimage can be held either in the morning or in the evening.

The statue should be taken out of the niche in a private ceremony not more than two days before the feast and should be put back in, also in a private ceremony, not more than two days after the feast.

Wherever possible, altars should be decorated as was usual during festa time.

The rest of the church should be decorated modestly and with respect to the traditions of the place. Decorations should not exceed the norm and the parish should not enter into any expense for decorations, except for flowers and candles.

Although the church facade could be decorated, as could the roads, the parish should not go into any expenses for this to be done. This did not count for the equipment needed for prayers.

Solemn Mass should be celebrated in a dignified manner with hymns and music being chosen by the parish prise.

The Curia suggested that parish choirs should be used for more involvement by parishioners. But when circumstances did not permit this, other choirs, musicians and singers could be commissioned.

The length and route of the pilgrimage should be decided by the parish priest and it should not be longer than two hours.

As the statue is returned to the church, a liturgical celebration including sacramental blessing may be held.

All local bands should be invited to take part in the pilgrimage during which only religious hymns and processional marches agreed upon with the parish priest may be played.

Any type of contract or agreement which regulated the participation of different organisations in the feast was being suspended, the Ecclesiastical authorities said.

They appealed for maturity and cooperation by all for the feast to honour the saints being celebrated.