Pews are taped off and social distancing markers are seen at Rathmines Church Of Mary Immaculate Refuge of Sinners during Ash Wednesday, amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Dublin Ireland. February 17, 2021. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

People wearing protective face masks sit in pews with social distancing markers as they attend mass on the first day of the reopening of a church after government restrictions were eased, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Jakarta, Indonesia, July 12, 2020. REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana

Ropes are tied to pews to maintain social distancing measures at Sagrada Familia church during the start of gradual reopening of religious activities in Mexico City, as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak continues, Mexico July 10, 2020. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido

Ropes are tied to pews to maintain social distancing measures at Sagrada Familia church during the start of gradual reopening of religious activities in Mexico City, as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak continues, Mexico July 10, 2020. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido

Photographs of Peru's victims of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are seen on the pews of the Cathedral of Lima before a mass officiated by Archbishop Carlos Castillo (not pictured), in Lima, Peru June 14, 2020. REUTERS/Sebastian Castaneda

Photographs of Peru's victims of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are seen on the pews and walls of the Cathedral of Lima before a mass officiated by Archbishop Carlos Castillo (not pictured), in Lima, Peru June 14, 2020. REUTERS/Sebastian Castaneda

Archbishop Carlos Castillo blesses thousands of photographs, attached on pews and the walls of the Cathedral of Lima, of Peru's victims of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Lima, Peru June 14, 2020. REUTERS/Sebastian Castaneda

Archbishop Carlos Castillo blesses thousands of photographs of Peru's victims of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) attached on pews and the walls of the Cathedral of Lima, in Lima, Peru June 14, 2020. REUTERS/Sebastian Castaneda

A staff member puts a distancing mark on a pew at the Cathedral Church of St Mary's that is being prepared for its reopening for private prayer, in Newcastle, Britain, June 14, 2020. REUTERS/Lee Smith

A staff member disinfects a pew at the Cathedral Church of St Mary's that is being prepared for its reopening for private prayer, in Newcastle, Britain, June 14, 2020. REUTERS/Lee Smith

Women wearing protective masks kneel to pray in between social distancing markers placed on pews as a safety measure against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in St. Peter Parish in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, June 7, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez

A woman and a baby wearing protective masks pray on a pew with social distancing markers as a safety measure against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in St. Peter Parish in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, June 7, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez

A woman wearing a protective mask kneels to pray in between social distancing markers placed on pews in St. Peter Parish in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, June 7, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez

A bottle of disinfectant is placed in between pews with social distancing markers as a safety measure against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in St. Peter Parish in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, June 7, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez

Ribbons are tied on pews as social distancing markers inside the church where a man prays while volunteers deliver donated food at San Ramon Nonato Catholic parish, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Madrid, Spain, June 2, 2020. REUTERS/Susana Vera

A nun wearing a protective face mask sits in a pew as Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe holds a vial believed to contain the liquid blood of San Gennaro, patron saint of Naples, during a procession through Naples Cathedral, without public participation due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Naples, Italy, May 2, 2020. REUTERS/Ciro De Luca

Catholic priest Eduardo "Ponpon" Vasquez has worn a hazmat suit more than a vestment this past month. His parish in the populous Caloocan area of the Philippine capital Manila has been eerily quiet in the six weeks since the government put half of the country's population on a strict lockdown to try to curb coronavirus infections. Public gatherings, schools, transport services, and non-essential work has been halted, including that of the church. Priests in the predominantly Catholic nation have had to be creative in finding ways to keep the faithful engaged. Most have resorted to streaming online masses while others have set up pews outside churches. Some have printed pictures of parishioners and displayed them inside their closed chapels. But for Vasquez, the physical presence of the church is more important now than ever. These days, he wears his stole and oblate cross over a blue hazmat suit with a bottle of Holy Water in one hand and an alcohol spray in the other as he enters some of the poorest areas of his community to bring relief, both literal and spiritual. "The situation of many Filipinos these days is pitiful. Lockdown is not the same for everyone," said Vasquez. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez SEARCH "CORONAVIRUS PRIESTS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY. Matching text: HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/PHILIPPINES CHURCH

Pastor Emily Nesdahl is on her laptop doing church's work after leads a virtual Sunday service online broadcast due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions at Peace Lutheran Church, featuring drawings of parishioners taped to the pews, in Burlington, North Dakota, U.S. April 26, 2020. Picture taken April 26, 2020. REUTERS/Dan Koeck

Pastor Emily Nesdahl leads a virtual Sunday service online broadcast due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions at Peace Lutheran church, featuring drawings of parishioners taped to the pews, in Burlington, North Dakota, U.S. April 26, 2020. Picture taken April 26, 2020. REUTERS/Dan Koeck

Pastor Emily Nesdahl leads a virtual Sunday service online broadcast due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions at Peace Lutheran church, featuring drawings of parishioners taped to the pews, in Burlington, North Dakota, U.S. April 26, 2020. Picture taken April 26, 2020. REUTERS/Dan Koeck

Pastor Emily Nesdahl leads a virtual Sunday service online broadcast due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions at Peace Lutheran Church, featuring drawings of parishioners taped to the pews, in Burlington, North Dakota, U.S. April 26, 2020. Picture taken April 26, 2020. REUTERS/Dan Koeck

Rachel Johnson, 10, watches from the pews as her father, pastor Matt Johnson leads an Easter service that is live-streamed via the internet for parishioners due to social gathering restrictions implemented to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at One1Seven evangelical Anglican church in Sydney, Australia, April 12, 2020. REUTERS/Loren Elliott

Father Fabio Vassallo and faithful pose after a Holy Thursday Mass in a nearly empty church, with people replaced by drawings done by children of members of the congregation decorating the pews, as Italy celebrates Easter under lockdown due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Catania, Italy, April 9, 2020. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello

Father Fabio Vassallo holds a livestreaming Holy Thursday Mass in a nearly empty church, with people replaced by drawings done by children of members of the congregation decorating the pews, as Italy celebrates Easter under lockdown due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Catania, Italy, April 9, 2020. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello

Father Fabio Vassallo is livestreamed as he holds a Holy Thursday Mass in a nearly empty church, with people replaced by drawings done by children of members of the congregation decorating the pews, as Italy celebrates Easter under lockdown due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Catania, Italy, April 9, 2020. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello

Nuns belonging to the Daughter of Mary Help of Christians congregation, from the neighborhood of Librino, attend a Holy Thursday Mass held by Father Fabio Vassallo in a nearly empty church, with people replaced by drawings done by children of members of the congregation decorating the pews, as Italy celebrates Easter under lockdown due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Catania, Italy, April 9, 2020. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello

Nuns belonging to the Daughter of Mary Help of Christians congregation, from the neighborhood of Librino, attend a Holy Thursday Mass held by Father Fabio Vassallo in a nearly empty church, with people replaced by drawings done by children of members of the congregation decorating the pews, as Italy celebrates Easter under lockdown due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Catania, Italy, April 9, 2020. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello

Drawings done by children of members of the congregation replace people and decorate the pews during a Holy Thursday Mass held by Father Fabio Vassallo in a nearly empty church, as Italy celebrates Easter under lockdown due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Catania, Italy, April 9, 2020. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello

Father Fabio Vassallo poses with drawings done by children of members of the congregation decorating the pews, ahead of a Holy Thursday Mass in an empty church, as Italy celebrates Easter under lockdown due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Catania, Italy, April 9, 2020. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello

Father Fabio Vassallo poses in an empty church, with drawings done by children of members of the congregation decorating the pews, ahead of a Holy Thursday Mass, as Italy celebrates Easter under lockdown due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Catania, Italy, April 9, 2020. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello

Father Fabio Vassallo poses with drawings done by children of members of the congregation decorating the pews, ahead of a Holy Thursday Mass in an empty church, as Italy celebrates Easter under lockdown due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Catania, Italy, April 9, 2020. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello

Father Fabio Vassallo poses with drawings done by children of members of the congregation decorating the pews, ahead of a Holy Thursday Mass in an empty church, as Italy celebrates Easter under lockdown due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Catania, Italy, April 9, 2020. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello

Father Fabio Vassallo poses with drawings done by children of members of the congregation decorating the pews, ahead of a Holy Thursday Mass in an empty church, as Italy celebrates Easter under lockdown due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Catania, Italy, April 9, 2020. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello

Faithful attend a livestreaming Holy Thursday Mass held by Father Fabio Vassallo, in a nearly empty church, with people replaced by drawings done by children of members of the congregation decorating the pews, as Italy celebrates Easter under lockdown due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Catania, Italy, April 9, 2020. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello

Faithful attend a Holy Thursday Mass held by Father Fabio Vassallo in a nearly empty church, with people replaced by drawings done by children of members of the congregation decorating the pews, as Italy celebrates Easter under lockdown due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Catania, Italy, April 9, 2020. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello

People attend a Holy Thursday Mass held by Father Fabio Vassallo in a nearly empty church, with people replaced by drawings done by children of members of the congregation decorating the pews, as Italy celebrates Easter under lockdown due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Catania, Italy, April 9, 2020. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello

Father Fabio Vassallo holds a Holy Thursday Mass in a nearly empty church, with people replaced by drawings done by children of members of the congregation decorating the pews, as Italy celebrates Easter under lockdown due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Catania, Italy, April 9, 2020. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello

Father Fabio Vassallo poses with drawings done by children of members of the congregation decorating the pews, ahead of a Holy Thursday Mass in an empty church, as Italy celebrates Easter under lockdown due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Catania, Italy, April 9, 2020. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello

Father Fabio Vassallo poses with drawings done by children of members of the congregation decorating the pews, ahead of a Holy Thursday Mass in an empty church, as Italy celebrates Easter under lockdown due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Catania, Italy, April 9, 2020. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello

A hospital worker takes a phone call as she rests on a cushion placed on top of pews at a funeral chapel that temporarily shelters health workers from a nearby hospital taking in coronavirus patients (COVID-19) patients, in Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines April 1, 2020. Picture taken April 1, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez

A hospital worker wearing a protective mask rests on a cushion placed on top of pews as a funeral chapel temporarily shelters health workers from a nearby hospital taking in COVID-19 patients, in Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines, April 1, 2020. Picture taken April 1, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez

A hospital worker wearing a protective face mask rests on a cushion placed on top of pews at a funeral chapel that temporarily shelters health workers from a nearby hospital taking in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients, in Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines April 1, 2020. Picture taken April 1, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez

Hospital workers wearing protective face masks prepare to sleep on cushions placed on top of pews at a funeral chapel that temporarily shelters health workers from a nearby hospital taking in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients, in Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines April 1, 2020. Picture taken April 1, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez

A hospital worker wearing a protective face mask rests on a cushion placed on top of pews as a funeral chapel temporarily shelters health workers from a nearby hospital taking in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients, in Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines April 1, 2020. Picture taken April 1, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Zechariah Payton, 5, puts his head down on an empty pew, on the third day of California Governor Gavin Newsom's implemented statewide "stay at home order" directing the state's residents to stay in their homes in the face of the fast-spreading coronavirus disease (COVID-19), before a Facebook Live service at Rising Star Church in Oakland, California, U.S. March 22, 2020. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Janitors clean the pews at the closed National Evangelical Church, amid fears of the coronavirus outbreak in Kuwait City, Kuwait March 18, 2020. REUTERS/Stephanie McGehee

An alcohol is placed on a pew inside the chapel where a mass is live-streamed on Facebook due to the coronavirus outbreak, in Manila Cathedral in Manila, Philippines, March 15, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez

People sit in pews at Pope Francis' old church the Basilica San Jose de Flores, in the district of Flores, in Buenos Aires, Argentina February 3, 2020. Picture taken February 3, 2020. REUTERS/Matias Baglietto

People sit in pews in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosario, where the daughter of Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman got married recently according to local media, in Culiacan, Mexico February 1, 2020. REUTERS/Stringer

A dog sits on a pew with its owner at San Anton Church during celebrations on the day of Spain's patron saint of animals, Saint Anthony, in Madrid, Spain, January 17, 2020.REUTERS/Susana Vera

A dog sits on a pew at San Anton Church during celebrations on the day of Spain's patron saint of animals, Saint Anthony, in Madrid, Spain, January 17, 2020.REUTERS/Susana Vera

Pews of the church of San Juan Bautista block the entrance after the pro-government supporter try to dislodge while participating in a mass in support of the priest Edwin Roman, who is on a hunger strike with mothers of political prisoners inside the San Miguel church in the city of Masaya, Nicaragua November 21, 2019.REUTERS/Oswaldo Rivas

Pews of the church of San Juan Bautista block the entrance after the pro-government supporter try to dislodge while participating in a mass in support of the priest Edwin Roman, who is on a hunger strike with mothers of political prisoners inside the San Miguel church in the city of Masaya, Nicaragua November 21, 2019.REUTERS/Oswaldo Rivas

Workers sit on pews as they take a break from repairs outside St. Anthony's Shrine a week after a string of suicide bomb attacks across the island on Easter Sunday, in Colombo, Sri Lanka April 28, 2019. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

The St. Anthony's Shrine is reflected as personnel clean up the pews, days after a string of suicide bomb attacks on churches and luxury hotels across the island on Easter Sunday, in Colombo, Sri Lanka April 27, 2019. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

A worker cleans up the pews of the St. Anthony's Shrine, days after a string of suicide bomb attacks on churches and luxury hotels across the island on Easter Sunday, in Colombo, Sri Lanka April 27, 2019. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

The service sheet for the funeral of murdered journalist Lyra McKee lies on a pew at St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast, Northern Ireland April 24, 2019. Brian Lawless/Pool via REUTERS

The service sheet for the funeral of murdered journalist Lyra McKee lies on a pew at St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast, Northern Ireland April 24, 2019. Brian Lawless/Pool via REUTERS

Evolución del número de nacimientos de inmigrantes no autorizados en EEUU, según estimación del Pew Research Center. 15 cm de ancho. (SGN04)

A bible sits next to a box of tissues on a pew at the Chatlos Memorial Chapel, where a memorial for evangelist Billy Graham, who died Wednesday at his Montreat home aged 99, took place on the grounds of the Billy Graham Training Center in Asheville, North Carolina, U.S. February 22, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Drake