Catholic dioceses will have Jubilee churches as part of the celebration of the 500 years of Christianity here in the Philippines.
The designation of Jubilee churches was among those discussed by the members of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) during their virtual plenary assembly held January 26 to 27.
"We discussed about the Jubilee churches to be designated in each diocese, the opening of holy door in the cathedral and other activities," CBCP president Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles said in a virtual press briefing Thursday.
"The Jubilee Year would open on April 4, Easter Sunday and will close on April 18, 2022 with the Second National Mission Congress in Cebu," he added.
Since many of the faithful cannot be accommodated in church amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Valles said parishes will have to be creative and look for other venues where to celebrate Mass.
"On the liturgical side of celebration, we will celebrate it according to the present health protocols...That would mean also creativity on the part of the diocese and parishes to look for other Mass mass can be celebrated," he said.
"With the limitation, we would continue to use the social media platform and livestreaming of activities," added Valles.
The prelate said webinars will also be conducted on church history.
"The bishops are very concerned of wide participation either actual oŕ virtual because of the situation... I hope time would not come that authorities would say that the public cannot attend," Valles said.
The bishops have earlier announced that the Great Jubilee will be extended for another year due to the pandemic.
The original culmination of the celebration in April 2021 will now be the launch of a yearlong celebration that will end in April 2022.