ILOILO CITY – The Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral here is reminding Catholics to adhere to the dress code, especially during Mass.
THE interior of the Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral in Iloilo City. (Tara Yap)
In a public announcement, the church suggested that men wear a pair of pants or slacks as well as T-shirt or polo shirts or long-sleeves.
For women, suggested attire is unfitted jeans or slacks or skirts and dresses that are below the knee as well as collared blouses or long-sleeves.
But the Archdiocese of Jaro clarified that the dress code is not mandatory.
“It’s a reminder and guide only,” said Fr. Angelo Colada, the archdiocese’s social communications director.
Colada said the church is open to all and the dress code is not a discriminatory act.
He said the announcement merely urged churchgoers to have respect when entering the cathedral that has the distinction of having the country’s only Marian image to be crowned by a Roman Catholic saint.
In February 1981, then Pope John Paul II, now Saint John Paul II, crowned the Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria.
It is unclear if other Catholic churches under the Archdiocese of Jaro will have similar dress codes.