When a Woman Collapsed at Mass, The Priest Kept Going

I witnessed something at Saturday afternoon Mass in Lynn, MA that I'm still processing days later.

A 76-year-old woman sitting directly in front of me fainted and collapsed onto the hard marble aisle, hitting her head. My fiancé, who's a nurse, immediately rushed to her side. The woman was unconscious for about 10 seconds before coming to.

I called 911. The fire department arrived. Paramedics quietly worked on her in the middle of the aisle while she lay there conscious but shaken.

And through it all, the collapse, the 911 call, the arrival of first responders, the gurney, the priest never stopped Mass. Not even for a moment.

Now, we were about 30 rows back from the altar, so maybe he didn't see it happen. But the commotion was impossible to miss. Emergency personnel walking up the aisle. A woman on the floor. Parishioners visibly concerned.

The Mass continued without pause. No acknowledgment. No "let us pray for this woman." Nothing. If the priest did say something, I missed it!

It wasn't until after Mass ended that the priest came up to us and thanked us for our assistance.

I was not angry. I was just confused. Should he have paused? Should he have said something? Was this the right call?

According to Catholic sources I looked into after the fact, there's no official rule. It's entirely up to the priest's discretion. Some priests pause. Some help directly. Some continue Mass and trust that others are handling it.

Maybe that's protocol. Maybe that's pastoral wisdom I don't understand. But it didn't feel right.

The woman is okay, thank God. My fiancé stayed with her until paramedics arrived, and the firefighters were incredible.