Church extends quincentennial celebration to 2022

CEBU, Philippines —  The Catholic Church has opted to prolong by one year the quincentennial celebration of Christianity in the Philippines due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Acting Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) President and Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David said the health crisis brought about by the coronavirus disease has compelled them to move the celebration for the 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines.

“Due to the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it was necessary to change the schedule of our celebration of the 500 years of Christianity. So, it is now going to be a whole year celebration until 2022,” David said.

The culminating activity was supposed to be held in April 2021, but the bishops have agreed to make it the launching date of the quincentennial celebration of Christianity until April 2022.

An article on CBCP said that the kick-off will be held on April 17, 2021, Easter Sunday, to commemorate the first East Sunday mass in the country.

Part of the celebration will be the commemoration of the First Baptism, which will be held on April 14 at the Archdiocese of Cebu.

Moreover, the bishops also moved the International Mission Congress (IMC) and the 2nd National Mission Congress to April 2022. It was originally scheduled in April 2020.

The National Retreat for the Clergy set on August 4 to 6, 2021 has also been cancelled.

Instead of a retreat, David said, the bishops’ Commission on the Clergy decided to organize a series of conferences on the Church’s history in the Philippines.

“Each (CBCP) Commission will also have adjustments of their plans due to the crisis that we are going through,” he said. — Philippine Star News Service, KQD (FREEMAN)