Monsignor John F. Barry, the pastor at American Martyrs Catholic Church in Manhattan Beach since 1983, told parishioners Sunday that he had been hospitalized with the COVID-19 virus.
“I did go to the hospital on my doctor's advice so they can keep a closer eye on me,” the 82-year-old, who started feeling symptoms of the virus on March 16. He was tested the next day, went into self-quarantine and found the results on March 26, when he released the information in an email to parishioners, while revealing he has had “no life-threatening incidents” and was not using a ventilator.
“I ask that you continue to pray as my recovery continues,” Barry said Sunday, March 29. “I hope to come home in the next couple of days. And please pray for all who are ill, and also for all the healthcare workers at this time that God may continue to give them strength and keep them healthy. I continue to pray for all of you every day.”
American Martyrs School transitioned to remote learning on March 13, said Adrian Alarcon, Director of Media Relations for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
“Monsignor Barry did not have interaction with the student body at the school on the last day of school,” Alarcon said. “The last school Mass that he celebrated for the students at the school was three weeks ago, on March 6.”
American Martyrs has been doing live-streamed Masses, of which Barry last presided at the 9:30 a.m. Sunday, March 14, with those in attendance seated following distancing guidelines. Associate pastors Fr. Joe Kammerer and Fr. Rick Prindle have not shown symptoms of COVID-19 and have been celebrating livestreamed Masses on the past two Sundays. They have been in self-quarantine as the church has been closed.
On Tuesday, March 31, American Martyrs Church shared that Barry had been released from the hospital. He will continue his recovery from home.
