Published April 12, 2021, 3:29 PM
CEBU CITY – Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, some bishops will skip a major event which is part of the 500 Years of Christianity (YOC) Celebrations here.
There will only be about 10 bishops who will attend the April 14 religious activity commemorating the quincentennial anniversary of the first baptism in the country.
Fr. Mhar Balili, secretary general of the 500 YOC Celebrations, said that due to health protocols, only limited invitations were sent and there were some last-minute cancellations.
Among those who cancelled were Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) President Romulo Valles and CBCP Vice President Pablo David.
(Photo by Jansen Romero / MANILA BULLETIN)
“As we receive the Eucharist today we thank God for the gift of our Catholic faith. We thank God for the gift of the very successful traslacion of the Black Nazarene yesterday,” he said during a Mass at Quiapo Church in Manila.
“[On] behalf of Pope Francis, thank you volunteers who worked so hard yesterday to make sure that in this time of COVID-19 the traslacion was done in [as safe a] manner as possible,” added Brown.
It was the first time the nuncio presided over a mass at the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene or Quiapo Church in Manila.