Archdiocese of Manila Apostolic Administrator Bishop Broderick S. Pabillo is asking the Catholic faithful for prayers for the speedy rehabilitation of the Santo Nino Parish in Pandacan, Manila after it was gutted by a fire yesterday, July 10.
Pabillo, who personally visited the site yesterday, said over Church-run Radio Veritas, “Let us pray for the Santo Nino de Pandacan’s speedy recovery from this incident."
"It is good that nobody got hurt and that the residential houses in the area were spared. I believe that the damage caused by the fire is substantial," he added.
Reports said the fire broke at around 1 p.m. on Friday, the first day the government allowed churches to open.
The Bureau of Fire Protection said the fire reached the third alarm before it was finally put under control at past 2 p.m.
The cause of the fire and the extent of the damage is still being assessed.
Aside from the Santo Nino de Tondo Parish in Manila, the Santo Nino de Pandacan, which houses a more than 400-year-old image of the Child Jesus, serves as the center of celebrations in Metro Manila during the Feast of the Santo Nino every third week of January.