SCRANTON, Pa. — Andrea Petrillo traveled three hours from Lancaster to pray in the same place she has prayed every year since she was a little girl.
Attending the Solemn Novena to St. Ann is a must-do every summer that has been passed down through the generations in her family.
Now she gets to bring her daughters to the basilica in her hometown of Scranton.
"It's nice to keep the tradition going. And it's a good feeling to know it's something I can pass down to them that their grandmother passed down to me," said Petrillo.
Last year though, the tradition had to change. Like thousands of others, Petrillo participated in the Novena virtually.
"It was really weird. It felt really weird, and really strange not to be able to be here," she said.
Streaming the services online is still an option this year, as is sitting outside or in your car.
"People are spreading out all over the lawn in their own chairs and all of that. They want to be here," said Father Francis Landry.
Although things are not 100% back to normal - the tents are not set up this year, for example - it's enough to give people the same feeling they've had in years past.
"It feels like we're walking on holy ground here. There's a great energy, there's a nice crowd of people, it's just a special place to be," said Kelly Ann Lynch, who also made the trip from Lancaster.
Father Landry says many people are anxious to come back to the church and renew their faith after not attending mass for over a year.
"People, I think, are seeing that there's so much that does go on in our world that challenges us spiritually, and they're paying attention to that, and I think that's one of the reasons why the response is so good."
The Novena continues through Monday, July 26.