As COVID-19 infections increased in Minnesota the last few months, at one point marking it as the worst outbreak in the nation, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ COVID-19 Anointing Corps visited more patients as well.

From Aug. 29 to Oct. 9, the number of people gravely ill from COVID-19 who received anointing of the sick by priests never rose above 20 per week. By Nov. 14-20, that number had nearly doubled.

Instituted early in the pandemic in 2020, a varying number of priests of the archdiocese, many wishing to remain anonymous, have volunteered for the corps. A network of volunteer nurses evaluates requests for anointings and ensures that those who are dying are connected with a priest for the sacrament. People who wish a loved one to be anointed request it through their parish, or at a medical center, through a nursing director or spiritual care director.

With the delta variant increasing infections nationwide this year, Minnesota reported the worst seven-day rate of infections in the country Nov. 15, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported. The state dropped to second the next day, surpassed only by Michigan.

The most recent numbers, according to the Minnesota Department of Health, show the cumulative number of COVID-19 infections in the state, including reinfections, for the week ended Nov. 11 reaching 836,787, and rising to 866,055 Nov. 18, an increase of 29,268, or 3.5%.

From Sept. 26 to Oct. 2, five priests from the Anointing Corps anointed nine people suffering from COVID-19. The next week, seven priests anointed 19 people. That jumped to eight priests anointing 31 people in the week of Oct. 10-16, then dropped to eight priests anointing 16 people from Oct. 17-23 and four priests anointing eight people from Oct. 24-30.

But, the numbers rose again Oct. 31 to Nov. 6 and Nov. 7-13, with priests anointing 31 people each of those weeks. From Nov. 14-20, 10 priests anointed 38 people.