BATANES – The parish priest of Basco has been driving around the community, using his tricycle as a mobile confessional box to prepare young parishioners here for their first Holy Communion.
Fr. Ronald Manabat of the Sto. Domingo de Guzman Parish has been driving his Mobile Kumpisalan, which is has a wooden frame and thatched roof, to personally take the confession of children set to take their First Communion on the occasion of the feast of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception on December 8.
Of course, Manabat and the young parishioners wear face masks and face shields, and the natural distance between driver and passenger account for the required physical distance between them.
"Isang malaking okasyon ito sa mga bata at kanilang mga pamilya kaya pinilit nating maituloy ang lahat (This is a big occasion for the children and their parents that’s why we are trying hard so that it would push through," Manabat wrote in his Facebook post.
And considering that children are still not allowed to leave their homes as mandated by health protocols, Manabat said he thought of offering confession right at the doorsteps of these children’s homes.
"Upang manatiling ligtas ang mga bata, tayo na ang nagpunta kung nasaan sila (To keep the children safe, we are the ones going to them)," he said.
The Prelature of Batanes has been continuously instructing its churches and parishioners to bserve minimum health protocols to avoid any possible transmission of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Batanes currently enjoys a free-COVID-19 status after the only positive cases already recovered from the disease months ago.