Ross Belle Balatbat
Every year, the feast of Our Lady of Peñafrancia in the Philippines draws millions of devotees and pilgrims, but this year the traditional Peñafrancia Festival was toned down as the devotees complied with the public safety guidelines amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The feast of Our Lady of Peñafrancia is celebrated in honor of Our Lady’s birth on September 8 in Salamanca, Spain. However, the feast of Our Lady of Peñafrancia is celebrated on the Sunday after the octave of September 8 which this year fell on the 20th with the theme, “Fostering Dialogue and Harmony in the Spirit of Mary’s Gentleness and Humility.”
In Macau, though there were restrictions, the devotees were able to express their fervent devotion and implore her maternal affection. Devotees of the highly revered patroness of Bicol gathered every night at Saint Augustine Church in Macau for the traditional novenas to the Divino Rostro (The Holy Face of Jesus) and to the Our Lady of Peñafrancia from the 11th to 19th.
Before the 7:30 pm Mass the Holy Rosary was recited. After the Mass came the novena prayers.
This year’s novena marks the 22nd year of widespread devotion to “Ina” (“Mother”) in Macau.
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