Extra masses could be arranged in Catholic Churches across the country at Christmas to allow more people to attend.
Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said this may mean more cleaning of churches between services.
He was responding to Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s confirmation that the relaxation of lockdown next month will allow religious services to resume.
There has been no statement from Bishop of Raphoe, Alan McGuckian, on the matter but it is thought Donegal will follow the national guidelines of the church.
Dr Martin said people do not necessarily juts have to attend mass on Christmas Day.
“I would encourage people to attend mass over a particular period, not necessarily Christmas Day,” he said.
“In the United States, they’re asking people to register in advance and that’s not easy to impose on people,” he told RTÉ.
The longer services are allowed to resume, the easier it is for “people to get some sense of Christmas”.
However, he said it is important that Christmas should not be confined to within church walls, and it is also important for children to “have a sense of the wonder of the birth of Jesus, even if it means seeing a crib through a church door”.
The archbishop also expressed concern about the homeless and said their traditional Christmas dinner at the RDS, which he attends, is cancelled this year.
“We can watch mass on television, but we’re “really a people who gather and come together”, he added.
It is also important for people’s mental health and the good of society, he said.
Dr Martin said he expects places of worship to be open for Christmas week, and the aim was to reduce restrictions to Level 3 next month in a staged approach with additional concessions.