MANILA, Philippines — Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president and Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgillio David could not help but ask how much longer he will be celebrating masses before an empty church amid the surge of COVID-19 cases in the country?
“How much longer, o Lord? Celebrating mass for an empty cathedral again. I used to speak to the cameras, knowing at least that there are thousands out there who ‘attend’ our Eucharistic celebrations online through our posted live-streaming,” David said on his official Facebook page.
David said that this year’s live-streaming hit him differently as he shared that even the cameras used for streaming are unmanned as the technicians supposedly operating it had to isolate themselves as they too had tested positive for COVID-19.
“How much longer, O Lord?” he added.
The latest report from the Department of Health (DOH) showed that 21,819 individuals tested positive for COVID-19 as of Friday afternoon, which brought the country’s total tally to 2,910,664.
The surge in COVID-19 cases has also prompted some Catholic Churches in the metropolis to temporarily close their doors, as some of their parish priests have tested positive for COVID-19 while some require vaccination cards for individuals to get inside the Church.
This year’s traslacion of the Black Nazarene was also suspended anew due to the surge of COVID-19 cases.
Meanwhile, the Sto. Niño Parish in Pandacan, Manila has decided to suspend the mass on the feast of the Sto. Niño on Jan. 16 due to the increasing cases of COVID-19 especially in the National Capital Region.
“We want to inform all parishioners, devotees and the faithful of Sto. Niño of Pandacan that on the feast day of Jan. 16, 2022, our church will be closed to public celebrations of the holy mass,” the Sto. Niño Church said in a statement in Filipino.
The Sto. Niño Church asked the Catholic faithful for their understanding, as it emphasized that it does not want to risk the safety of the faithful and the devotees of the saint, as the country continues to experience an increasing number of COVID-19 cases.
The Archdiocesan Shrine of Santo Niño in Tondo and the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño de Cebu also said that they will be temporarily closed for the faithful on Jan. 16, as they emphasized that masses will be held online to ensure the safety of the public against COVID-19.