After three months, the "Ahunan sa Antipolo 2024," otherwise known as the Antipolo Pilgrimage Season 2024, will officially end on Tuesday, July 9, with various religious activities happening in Antipolo City.
The International Shrine of the Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage, otherwise known as the Antipolo Cathedral, announced that a concert by choral groups, the recitation of the Holy Rosary, Eucharistic celebration, and a grand procession will happen starting on July 8 to signal the end of the pilgrimage season this year.
At 8 p.m. on July 8, Monday, a concert, ‘Laudate Mariam’ featuring the various choirs will happen at the Antipolo Cathedral in honor of the Nuestra Señora dela Paz y Buenviaje, the title of the Virgin Mary bestowed upon the 17th century old image which is housed in Antipolo City’s international shrine.
(Photo from Antipolo Cathedral's FB page)
Shrine rector and administrator Fr. Reynante “Nante” Tolentino told the Manila Bulletin that music lovers and the public are welcome to watch the concert as the singers pay tribute to the miraculous “Birhen ng Antipolo” (Virgin of Antipolo).
Those who can’t visit the Antipolo Cathedral may view the concert online via the official Facebook page of the Antipolo Cathedral or its broadcast channel, https://m.me/j/AbZ1ddHI-5BhCFLu/.
On July 9, the praying of the Holy Rosary and novena will happen at 3 p.m while a Holy Mass will be officiated by Antipolo Bishop Ruperto C. Santos at 5 p.m.
At 6 p.m., a grand procession will be held from the Antipolo Cathedral to the major streets in the city by the parishioners of the shrines and basilica under the Diocese of Antipolo namely- Minor Basilica and Parish of St. John the Baptist (Taytay, Rizal); Shrine of the Holy Face of Jesus of Manoppello (Sampaloc, Tanay); Shrine and Parish of St. Paul of the Cross; Diocesan Shrine and Parish of St. Joseph (Baras, Rizal); Diocesan Shrine and Parish of Saint Mary Magdalene (Pililla, Rizal); Diocesan Shrine and Parish of St. Therese of the Child Jesus (Antipolo); Diocesan Shrine and Parish of Saint Clement (Angono); Diocesan Shrine and Parish of Our Lady of Light (Cainta); Diocesan Shrine and Parish of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary (Cardona, Rizal); Diocesan Shrine of the Our Lady of Aranzazu (San Mateo); and the Diocesan Shrine and Parish of the Our Lady of the Abandoned (Marikina).
The procession is expected to gather thousands of pilgrims and devotees of the Virgin of Antipolo along with the devotees of the patron saints of the respective shrines and basilica under the Diocese of Antipolo.
The pilgrimage to Antipolo City, which hosts the international shrine that houses the miraculous image of the “Birhen ng Antipolo, will remain all year round as the devotion to the revered image will continue and is even expected to increase as the Antipolo Cathedral is now an international shrine.
Antipolo City’s tourism officer, Mar Bacani, a devotee of the Virgin of Antipolo, said Antipolo’s delicacies such as suman (glutinous rice wrapped in buri or palm leaves) , kasoy (cashew fruit and nuts) and mangga (mango) will remain available all year round at the Pasalubong Center beside the cathedral and nearby streets leading to the cathedral.
The Diocese of Antipolo has given two replicas of the Virgin of Antipolo to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) during the Mass for Peace held in Antipolo's international shrine.
Fr. Nante said one of the two pilgrim images will be brought to the various PCG stations in the country while another will soon be housed in a chapel at Pag-asa Island in the West Philippine Sea.
