THE LAST ANOINTING

For The New York Times; June 2020

Unable to visit her father in the hospital as he died of Covid-19, Dunia Barrios watched through a Facetime livestream as Fr. Ryan Connors administered the Anointing of the Sick to her father, Otto. Donned in full PPE, Fr. Connors took a cotton swab dipped in holy oil, and lightly anointed Otto’s arms and forehead, giving him the final sacrament in the middle of an isolated ICU. Dunia watched the rite in silence and after a brief two minutes, Fr. Connors finished the sacrament and quickly left the room.

In April, the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston assembled a team of priests under 45 years old to administer Last Rites to Catholic patients dying of Covid-19 in hospitals and nursing homes. The selected priests lived in quarantined homes—three priests per home—where together they ate, studied, said Mass and waited for calls from the hospitals. With consent from the Archdiocese, the hospitals and the patient’s families, I followed a team of priests for three weeks as they anointed Covid-19 patients throughout the Boston area. The Catholic Church has dealt with plague and pandemic over the centuries, and this story looks at how it is being forced to evolve during the Covid era. The story published on June 6, 2020 in The New York Times under the title “A Reminder That We Are Not Alone: The Final Anointing” and was written by NYT religion reporter, Elizabeth Dias.

This story is a top-three finalist for the 2020 Feature Award in photojournalism for Visa pour l’image in Perpignan, France
Fr. Ryan Connors prays over a patient diagnosed with Covid-19 while he administers the Anointing of the Sick at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center.
Father David Barnes takes off PPE after anointing a patient dying of Covid-19 at Newton-Wellesley Hospital.
Father David Barnes dons personal protective equipment at St Elizabeth's Medical Center before he anoints a patient with Covid-19.
Father Ryan Connors wheels in an iPad and enters the ICU of Otto Barrios, who is Covid-19 positive at St Elizabeth's Medical Center. Because of the virus no family is allowed to enter hospitals and the man's daughter is only allowed to watch via video conference.
Dunia Barrios watches Father Ryan Connors administer Anointing of the Sick to her father, Otto Barrios.
Father Ryan Connors rubs oil on Otto Barrios, who is positive with Covid-19 during the Anointing of the Sick. Mr. Barrios died of complications from Covid-19 three weeks after this anointing.
Fr. Barnes, left, stands in the kitchen after finishing a weekly Zoom meeting with other priests who are anointing Covid-19 patients at Boston hospitals. The priests are part of a small group of priests who have chosen to be a part of the Boston Archdiocese's Covid-19 response team.
Fr. David Barnes, left, Fr. Tom MacDonald, center, and Fr. Ryan Connors, right, say Mass at their quarantined home in Brighton. Every morning before hospitals start calling, the three priests in this Brighton house say Mass together.
Fr. Ryan Connors, left, and Fr. David Barnes, center, during a weekly Zoom meeting with other priests who are anointing Covid-19 patients at Boston hospitals.
Fr. Tom MacDonald walks downstairs after saying Mass with two fellow priests at their quarantined home in Brighton.
Fr. Ryan Connors prepares all his materials including masks, holy oil and cotton swabs before anointing two Covid-19 patients at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center.
Fr. David Barnes dons personal protective equipment at St Elizabeth's Medical Center before he anoints a patient with Covid-19.
Diane Robiero in the ICU before Father David Barnes administers the Anointing of the Sick to her at St Elizabeth's Medical Center.
Fr. Ryan Connors prays over Skip Dempsey, a paramedic who was diagnosed with Covid-19, during the Anointing of the Sick. Mr. Dempsey made a recovery and was released from the hospital a month later.
Fr. David Barnes administers the Anointing of the Sick to Diane Robiero at St Elizabeth's Medical Center. Though the anointing typically occurs on a patient's forehead, during the pandemic, priests were advised to anointing Covid-positive patients on parts of the body that were away from the face.
During the pandemic priests are not allowed to touch patients, so they are using cotton swabs or q-tips dipped into holy oil, and here, Fr. Barnes leaves a room after anointing a patient's feet.
Nurses have given Ms. Bunel a doll to hold as a form of doll therapy, which is used to provide touch and comfort to some people who have dementia or Alzheimer's. Ms. Bunel has dementia and Covid-19, and Fr. Barnes prays over her during the Anointing of the Sick.
A patient crosses her hands as a priest administers the Anointing of the Sick to patient at a nursing home in Boston.