TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. - For nearly 30 years, Monsignor Joe Pellegrino has prepared for a crowded church on Christmas at St. Ignatius of Antioch Parish in Tarpon Springs.

Like many church leaders, he’s now preparing for the unknown. 

“It’s really tied the limits of our imagination. Being able to take care of our people, while at the same time, being able to keep them safe,” Pellegrino said,

He says the church can usually fit up to a thousand for each mass. On Christmas, they usually have overflow rooms set up as well.

This year, the church is only allowing up to 300. A big difference for the usually crowded Christmas services.

In fact, Pellegrino took the unusual step of asking his regular church goers to skip the more crowded masses, especially the popular ones on Christmas Eve.

"There’s many people who only come to church on Christmas. I see this as a positive. They want to begin Christmas worshiping. And I don’t want to turn them away,” Pellegrino said.

In another solution, St. Ignatius put together virtual services for YouTube.

They came together for a big pre-produced Christmas mass that folks can watch online. The church says hundreds watch virtual mass each week.

For those who come in person, St. Ignatius has been open with restrictions in place, like many churches are doing.

Every other pew is taped off. Masks are required and the church is cleaned after every mass.

The church also added extra services and is spacing them out more to allow time for cleaning in between services.

While it’s a lot of work, Monsignor Joe knows it means a lot to his parishioners.

“It’s wonderful how proud the people are of their parish, even if they can’t be here. That makes the priests feel ok. It’s a lot of extra work, but this is what we’re supposed to be doing.”