Join global prayer vs COVID-19, devotees asked

MANILA, Philippines — The Antipolo Cathedral invites devotees to join the global prayer for an end to the COVID-19 pandemic starting on Friday.

In a video message posted on Facebook, the Antipolo Cathedral said the global prayer would start at 6 p.m. with intentions for all families around the world.

Pope Francis has chosen the Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage as the lone Marian sanctuary in the Philippines to join the prayer marathon with 30 other churches worlwide this month.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines declared the Antipolo Cathedral as a national shrine on Jan. 14, 1954, making it the oldest national shrine in the Philippines and Southeast Asia.

Under the initiative, the Vatican said each of the selected shrines will say a prayer in the vernacular, asking not only for the end of the pandemic but also the resumption of social life, work and other activities that were affected by the pandemic.

Among the churches chosen by Pope Francis to lead the global prayer are the Basilica of the Annunciation in Israel, Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in the US, Our Lady of Lourdes in France, Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima in Portugal and Mother Mary’s House in Turkey.