Proclamation of Our Lady of Manaoag church as minor basilica today

Proclamation of Our Lady of Manaoag church as minor basilica today

MANAOAG, Pangasinan, Feb. 17 — Three Catholic cardinals will grace the official proclamation of the Our Lady of Manaoag Church into minor basilica this afternoon.

One cardinal has arrived and two more, including papal nuncio Archbishop Guiseppe Pinto will concelebrate the solemn proclamation of the Holy Rosary of Manaoag church into a minor basilica at 4:00 p.m. today, Tuesday.

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Orlando Cardinal Quevedo of North Cotabato arrived this morning while Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales and Luis Antonio Tagle have left Manila at 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., respectively, and are now heading towards Manaoag.

Cardinal Tagle will be the celebrant in the concelebrated mass at the Manaoag church marking its proclamation into a minor basilica with Cardinals Rosales and Quevedo as co-celebrants.

Archbishop Pinto will be the official representative of Pope Francis who signed the decree in the Vatican as early as last year that proclaimed the church into a minor basilica.

Some 60 bishops and about 300 priests from around the country are attending the solemn proclamation.

Some 1,000 Catholic faithful, including government officials are expected to be in the church during the proclamation while thousand others will be attending the mass outside.

The decree issued by Pope Francis written in Latin will be read, followed by its English translation during the mass.

Rev. Father Jerry Manalangit, pryor of the Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag church, said that after the solemn proclamation, the church will be known as Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag Minor Basilica.

After the proclamation, a three-kilometer procession around the town follows to be led by Archbishop Socrates Villegas of the Lingayen-Dagupan Archdiocese, with some of the devotees carrying a replica of the original ivory image of Our Lady of Rosary of Manaoag.

(Photo: file copy of the Our Lady of Manaoag on a pilgrim visit to Legazpi city in 2013)

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