St. Leonard church with history of defying COVID measures holds in-person Sunday service
Parishioners at Good News Chapel in St. Leonard gathered Sunday for morning services, despite COVID-19 regulations requiring churches to stay closed.
The service, led by Pastor Stefano Gesualdi, was broadcasted online.
“We got quite the welcome this morning, but that matters not,” said Gesualdi, refererring to the reporters who gathered around the church that morning. “It doesn’t change who we are, it doesn’t change what we do, it doesn’t change our motives for being here.”
“It’s wonderful to be together, in person."
People living near the church told CTV News they’re frustrated to see people gathering in the middle of a lockdown.
“Stores are closed for the next few weeks, kids are at home doing their schooling, [everyone is] working from home, not going anywhere and then I see this event happening,” said one woman, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal.
Current COVID-19 measures prohibit places of worship from offering in-person services, with the exception of funerals.
Although Good News Chapel was in direct violation of these rules on Sunday, police did not intervene.
However, a spokesperson for the SPVM said they’re gathering information, and that the Crown will decide to whether to proceed with fines or criminal charges.
Gesualdi said the government's attention doesn't mean anything to him.
“I don’t want to get the attention of Francois Legault, I don’t want to get the attention of Justin Trudeau, they’re nothing to me,” he said during his sermon. “We surround ourselves against this one absolute truth, that Jesus Christ is Lord.”
A HISTORY OF NON COMPLIANCE
This isn’t the first time the Good News Chapel has defied COVID-19 rules.
In January 2021, a protest was held in front of the chapel, with demonstrators calling for the church to be reclassified as an essential service.
A month later, the church defied a public health measure which limited religious gatherings to 10 people per room. More than 100 people attended a service on Feb. 14.
Then, almost exactly one month ago, a 61-year-old woman named Diana died following an outbreak at Good News Chapel, according to her family.
Diana’s cousin, Fuoco, is a former follower of the church. She and other former attendees told CTV News that the church leadership foster a culture of vaccine hesitancy and resistance to health measures within the congregation.
“Her family, Diana, and her husband decided they didn’t need to be vaccinated based on what they were being told at church,” said Fuoco.
In a now-deleted Instagram video, Gesualdi addressed rumours that COVID-19 was spreading within the church.
“There are a few people who have called and said they have the symptoms of COVID-19, and they’ve gotten tested,” he said.
“The thing is, it has nothing to do with the church… we’ve seen God’s hand of protection on our church.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.