How awful. You still have communion rails? That's so pre-Vatican II. (just kidding, of course!)
My error.
We don't have the rails any more. I should have written "the former communion rail area."
I went to Mass in Marianplatz, in Munich this year.
The BIG church, the one all the tourists go to, the Frauenkirch, was innaccessible because of a giant race-run (10k) being put on by the city. So, I went to a smaller but equally gorgeous church right off this main plaza in old town Munich. This was the day after Germany beat Argentina in the World Cup this past June.
Anyway, the priest faced away from the congregation, as in the old days, and there still was a communion rail.
Some people knelt at the rail, some stood. Some received communion by mouth, some by hand.
I also went to Mass at St. Peter's in Rome, at the chapel of St. John, which is in the left hand apse of the bascilica. The masses are held on the hour, every hour.
The priest faced AWAY from the congregation but there was no communion rail. We all stood in line, just like here.
Sidenote: the entire RIGHT hand apse of St. Peter's is dedicated to confession. There was a barrier and a guard who let people in that area only for confession. I had never been to confession at St. Peter's so I went in. Why not? I was 50 feet from the bones of Peter himself.
Anyway, there were about two dozen confessionals, all in different languages. NO ONE was in there but me. The rest of the bascilica had 10 zillion people milling around and I was ALL ALONE in that enormous apse.
I asked where the English confessional was. The confessionals had the language listed on them. My old priest's languages were CHINESE, English and Polish. Harhar.
After confession I felt very moved. I realized that I could now STAY in the apse and say penance and walk around the area ALL BY MYSELF.
Then I went to Mass across the way at St. John's chapel.
What a moving morning for me. I felt very lucky, very blessed.