By Matters India Reporter
Manila: Several streets in Manila were closed May 4 for “Salubong and Traslacion,” a reenactment of the historic arrival of the image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel from Mexico to the Philippines 400 years ago.
The religious rites started at 3 am with prayers and a program at Quirino Grandstand, followed two hours later by a fluvial parade on Manila Bay.
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president Archbishop Romulo Valles celebrated Mass at 6:30 a.m. The procession left the grandstand at 8 a.m.
The procession with Mother’s statue passed by Quiapo Church, where the revered Black Nazarene image was brought out for the traditional “dungaw” or encounter of the two icons.
“We urgently need to seek Our Mother’s intercession to protect the Philippines against natural calamities, the ongoing attacks on the sanctity of life and of the family, and other serious difficulties that our nation faces,” Archbishop Valles said in a post on the CBCP website.
Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle earlier said that those taking part in procession would be able to receive a plenary indulgence or the remission of temporal punishment due to sins. In order to obtain a plenary indulgence, Catholics must make a sacramental confession, receive Holy Communion, have complete detachment from sin and pray for the Pope’s intentions.
Brought by missionaries from the Order of Augustinian Recollects, the image of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel arrived in Manila in 1618. Initially housed at San Juan de Bautista de Bagumbayan Church in Luneta, it was enthroned at the first San Sebastian Church in Quiapo in 1621.