Priests, religious and parishioners of the National Shrine of the Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage, known as the Antipolo Cathedral, in Antipolo City will join Pope Francis in the praying of the Holy Rosary on May 31 at 6 p.m., Vatican Time, or midnight of June 1, Philippine Time.
Fr. Reynante Tolentino, shrine rector of the Antipolo Cathedral, told Manila Bulletin that some priests will be praying the Holy Rosary in the cathedral simultaneously with the activity at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome where Pope Francis will be praying.
In the post of a Catholic media network, EWTN, which was shared by the Antipolo Cathedral on its official Facebook page, it was announced that the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization has invited the Antipolo Marian shrine, together with other shrines in the world, to participate in the praying of the Holy Rosary with the Pope.
Aside from the Antipolo Cathedral, several other international shrines will also simultaneously join in the religious activity as the Pope prays in front of the image of Mary Regina Pacis inside the Rome basilica.
The EWTN news report says that the religious shrines chosen to join in the praying of the Holy Rosary are: Shrine of the Mother of God (Zarvanytsia) in Ukraine, Sayidat al-Najat (Our Lady of Salvation) in Iraq, Cathedral Our Lady of Peace in Syria, and Cathedral of Mary Queen of Arabia in Bahrain, Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage, International Shrine of Jesus Saviour and Mother Mary, Shrine of Jasna Góra, International Shrine of the Korean Martyrs, Holy House of Loreto, Blessed Virgin of the Holy Rosary, International Shrine Our Lady of Knock, Blessed Virgin of the Rosary, Our Lady Queen of Peace, Our Lady of Guadalupe, and Our Lady of Lourdes.
With the momentous religious activity to be participated in by Filipinos through the Antipolo Cathedral, the shrine is “inviting everyone to pray the Holy Rosary and spread the initiative of the Holy Father who desires to express his closeness to each country involved in conflict and war”.
Tolentino said the public can join the praying of the Holy Rosary as the activity in the Antipolo shrine will be shown live on its official Facebook page -- the Birhen ng Antipolo Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage -- as the live feed from Rome is simultaneously being shown through EWTN’s broadcast.
The Antipolo Marian shrine, the country’s first national shrine, also joined the rest of the world in the month-long prayer marathon for the end of the pandemic in May 2021.
The 17th century-old image of the Virgin Mary, known as the Nuestra Senora Dela Paz Y Buenviaje (Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage), is enshrined in the Antipolo Cathedral.
The Vatican-initiated global prayer for peace also coincides with the ongoing Maytime Pilgrimage Season which sees pilgrims coming from different parts of the country visiting the cathedral from May to July.