Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna-Pangan called the recent declaration of Quiapo Church as a national shrine a "most welcome development."
A Mass was held on Monday, Jan. 29 to formally designate Quiapo Church as a national shrine.
Read more: https://mb.com.ph/2024/1/29/quiapo-church-officially-declared-as-nat-l-shrine
According to Lacuna-Pangan, the Quiapo Church or Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Jesus Nazareno has been long respected as a shrine by local and foreign Catholics, even before the declaration.
The mayor said the elevation of the Quiapo Church from its former status as an archdiocesan shrine to a national shrine will be a significant boost to the city's intense devotion as well as tourism.
“We expect more people to be drawn to our very popular Quiapo Church, which had created a huge religious and cultural impact on the nation as a whole, even bridging the gap between societal classes, particularly during the holding of the annual Traslacion, easily the most deeply-revered religious event in the country,” the lady mayor said.
Canonically known as the Saint John the Baptist Parish, the Quiapo Church was recognized by Pope John Paul II in 1987 as the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene for its cultural impact on the religiosity of Filipinos in 1987.
It became famous internationally for drawing millions of devotees to Traslacion every Jan. 9 as a highlight of the celebration of the Feast of the Black Nazarene.
Msgr. Bernardo Patin, secretary-general of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), handed over to Quiapo Church Rector Fr. Jun Sescon the decree that now classifies the church as a national shrine.
In July 2023, the CBCP announced that from being an archdiocesan shrine, the Quiapo Church would be officially declared as a national shrine after the approval of Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula’s petition to designate the home of the centuries-old image of the Black Nazarene as the nation’s 29th national shrine.
Read more: https://mb.com.ph/2023/12/14/quiapo-church-to-be-officially-declared-national-shrine-in-january
A national shrine is a Catholic Church or a sacred place that has met certain requirements and is given the honor by the national episcopal conference in recognition of the church's special cultural, historical, and religious significance.