CEBU CITY—In what was described as a “saddening and heartbreaking” move, the Augustinian priests from the Basilica Minore Del Sto. Niño de Cebu on Monday, January 11, decided to stop holding public Novena Masses of the Fiesta Señor 2021.
The last public Novena Mass was held on Monday. It was the fourth of the nine-day Novena Mass.
Fr. Ric Anthony Reyes, spokesperson of the Basilica, said it had been observed that the number of devotees significantly increased as the Novena Masses progressed.
The Augustinian friars noted that the influx of attendees could contribute to the possible spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
“For the four days, we have observed that the surge of people coming to venerate and celebrate the Novena Masses has brought us into a conclusion that a greater action should be done to prevent us from the virus. Having this situation in mind and moreover reminded by Christian morals that the utmost goal of the Church is to bring each and every Christian to an integral salvation, not only of the soul but also of the body which includes our health and well-being, we decided to cancel all the public Masses in the Basilica,” the Augustinian friars of the Basilica said in a statement.
The remaining Novena Masses will continue but it will be done virtually or through online streaming.
According to the Augustinian friars, a total of 24,000 devotees attended the opening salvo Mass. As part of the Fiesta Señor, five Masses were scheduled to be held each day at the Basilica for nine straight days.
The Augustinian friars said they expected the number of attendees to increase further going into the last days of the Novena Masses.
“While it (cancellation) is saddening and heartbreaking, we cannot avoid the possibility of an increase in the crowd in the future Novena Masses,” said Reyes.
During the Novena Masses, a maximum of 1,500 churchgoers were only allowed at the pilgrim center of the Basilica as part of the set of health protocols imposed at the church.
The city’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) welcomed the decision of the church to stop the public physical Masses.
But City Councilor Joel Garganera, chief of EOC, clarified that the recent spike of COVID-19 cases in the city could not be attributed to the religious activities starting with the Misa de Gallo last December.
In the more than 300 new cases from January 1 to January 10, only four of the new COVID-19 patients had travel history to churches.
“One of them attended Misa de Gallo. The other three said they attended Masses but not necessarily from Misa de Gallo,” Garganera said in the same press briefing organized by the Augustinian friars.
Last Monday, the Department of Health-Central Visayas recorded 23 new COVID-19 cases in the city.
It was the 12th straight day that the new cases in the city reached double figures, hiking the active cases to 385 after going down to as low as 71.