MANILA (UCAN): On March 1, Pope Francis granted a request from Archbishop Jose Palma of Cebu, to declare a special jubilee year with an attached plenary indulgence to faithful who participate in celebrations marking the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Christianity in the Philippines.
“In commemoration of the 500 years of the arrival of Christianity in the Archdiocese of Cebu, His Holiness Pope Francis, through a decree from the Apostolic Penitentiary, has graciously granted a request … to declare within the archdiocese a special jubilee year, along with the attached plenary indulgence,” the archdiocese announced on social media.
The pope has also granted Archbishop Palma the authority to grant his papal blessing to the faithful who participate in the jubilee celebrations from April 4 this year to 22 April 2022.
A plenary indulgence will also be given to churchgoers who attend festivities and church services during those dates.
“An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints,” the Cebu Archdiocese said, quoting the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
The archdiocese said indulgence would be given under usual conditions like when one goes to confession, receives communion or prays for the pope’s intentions.
Visiting churches declared by the archdiocese as pilgrimage sites also entitled a person to receive the indulgence.
“The plenary indulgence is granted to the faithful under the usual conditions to Christians who, with a spirit detached from any sin, participate in the jubilee year celebrations and/or who devotedly make a visit, in the form of a pilgrimage to the 12 declared pilgrim churches,” the archdiocese added.
Activities would include the re-enactment of the arrival of Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan, on the island, as well as the Battle of Mactan, when Magellan died.
As we celebrate the 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines. The Chaplaincy to Filipino Migrants organises an on-line talk every Tuesday at 9.00pm. You can join us at:
https://www.Facebook.com/CFM-Gifted-to-give-101039001847033
Priests were hopeful the faithful would join the celebrations despite Covid-19 pandemic protocols.
“We pray for that as the entire Church in the Philippines and, in particular, the Church in Cebu, the cradle of Christianity in the Far East, looks forward to the fifth centenary of its evangelisation,” said Father Mhar Balili of Cebu.
