Hoping to see and bless the faithful in person on Easter Sunday, Archbishop Bernard Hebda and Bishop Andrew Cozzens said they will stand outside the Cathedral of St. Paul to do just that from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. April 12.

People are invited to drive down Selby Avenue at the cathedral in St. Paul to receive an Easter blessing even as they remain in their vehicles — well within the social distancing guidelines set out by state health officials to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus that has caused a global pandemic.

Archbishop Hebda suspended public Masses in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis beginning March 18, a directive that will be in place at least through April 19, the octave of Easter. It is a loss keenly felt by the bishops, priests, deacons and many others across the archdiocese.

“We really want to wish you a blessed Easter Triduum,” Bishop Cozzens says in a video with Archbishop Hebda on YouTube. “And actually, this coming Easter Sunday, as we celebrate the Lord’s resurrection, we would love to see you, in person.”

Archbishop Hebda recounts growing up in Pittsburgh and piling into the car with his parents and siblings each Easter Sunday afternoon to receive the bishop’s blessing.

“We’d love to have the opportunity as you drive by to offer you an Easter blessing,” the archbishop says in the video. “See you there.”