Marco Carvalho
Five centuries ago, in 1521, Magellan introduced Christianity among the natives of Cebu. The Portuguese navigator gave the Santo Niño as a baptismal gift to Hara Amihan, who was later named Queen Juana. The rulers of the area and their 800 subjects were baptized around this time and the event was re-enacted last month. The celebrations were overshadowed by the Covid-19 pandemic, but the public health crisis didn’t hinder the faith of millions of Filipino Catholics, for whom the 500 years jubilee is an invitation to a more vigorous relationship with God. Father Elvin Miraflor, from the Santo Rosario Church, in Cebu, spoke to O Clarim.
Despite de Covid-19 pandemic, the Philippines are currently celebrating a landmark event, the arrival of the Catholic faith 500 hundred years ago. How important is this celebration for the Filipino people?
The 500th anniversary of the celebration of the first Mass in our country is, indeed, a very memorable occasion for us, Filipinos. This reminds us of the early beginnings of our Christian faith. And we are privileged to have celebrated it in our lifetime. As far as I know, there was not much celebration of that anniversary in the whole country. The Diocese of Maasin, however, prepared some activities to celebrate this jubilee. Limasawa, where the first Mass was celebrated, is part of the Diocese of Maasin and the diocese organized pilgrimages to the place. A Mass was also celebrated in Limasawa on March 31st. There were also some online talks on the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
How were the 500 years of the first Mass celebrated in Santo Rosario Church? Were any other celebrations planned?
In our parish, we did not promote any activity to celebrate this anniversary. We reminded the people of this important historical event through our homilies. The Cebu parishes were rather focused on the 500th anniversary of the first baptism which happened here, in Cebu, on April 14th, 1521.
Cebu City celebrated 500 years of Christianity with a First Baptism re-enactment. Did the Covid-19 pandemic hinder the way this important jubilee was celebrated in Santo Rosario parish?
The pandemic has now become an important consideration when we plan any sort of activity in our parish. Many of our usual activities have to be deferred, or if not, to be celebrated with a lot of limitations. This explains why we did not have any activities to celebrate any of the two anniversaries: the First Mass and the First Baptism. The Archdiocese of Cebu, however, came out with some activities, as you said, to celebrate the anniversary of the First Baptism.
How did the pandemic affect the way the parishioners in Santo Rosario live their faith?
Before the pandemic, our parish had 14 daily Masses and 12 Sunday Masses. Now, we only have 4 daily Masses and 6 Sunday Masses. During weekdays, we have one online mass, and on Sunday, we have four online Masses. Most of the parishes in the city also have at least one daily online Mass. During the lockdown, people – especially the elderly – had no choice but to attend the online Mass. After the lockdown was lifted, people slowly began to come back to the Church. Some of the parishioners whom I had talked to said that they really miss the Mass and that they preferred more the physical ceremony than to participate virtually in the Eucharist.
That is somehow a trend all over the world. Physical participation in the Church celebrations is preferred over virtual attendance. Was it hard for the Filipino Catholics to adapt to this new reality?
So, online masses have become one of the services offered by many parishes here, in the Cebu region. Our archbishop instructed us to continue this service because there are still people who are afraid to physically attend the Mass. There are also some people who cannot come to the Church due to limited transportation options. Nevertheless, what I see is that Filipinos still prefer the physical attendance at Mass. Online Masses are still the only available option due to the circumstance that we are in.
The theme of the 500 years celebrations is “Missio ad Gentes,” bring the word of God to the people. Is there still space for Evangelization in the Philippines?
Here in our archdiocese, the Archbishop is encouraging us, priests, to go on a mission to somewhere else other than the Philippines. So, now we have some diocesan priests doing mission work in Peru, in Guam, in the United States, in Canada, in Australia. Nevertheless, here, in the Philippines, there is still much more evangelization to be done, in terms of doctrinal and sacramental evangelization, and more importantly, moral and social evangelization. The saying “sacramentalized, but not evangelized” is very much true to many of us, Filipinos.
Five hundred years later, is it still an ongoing process?
The evangelization efforts of the church are still an ongoing process. Most of the parishes are trying their best to form small Christian communities that will hopefully become new locus of evangelization. Religious organizations continue to grow and are being trained to help in the evangelization efforts of the church.
Is Catholicism still growing in Southern Philippines?
I am not very familiar with the situation in the south of the Philippines. I do not have any data on the development of the church there. What I have are anecdotes or stories from friends and relatives, from priests too, which are suggesting that the church is growing. Sacraments, especially baptism, continue to be celebrated, new parishes are established, attendance at Mass is growing.
Five hundred years after the First Mass what would you say are the main challenges for the Filipino Church?
In my opinion, one of the greatest challenges that we Filipinos must face is how to integrate our faith into our social life. We are a very religious people, but we have yet to show it, not just in our celebrations and activities, but also in the way we act.
[DESTAQUE – PULL QUOTE]
“Before the pandemic, our parish had 14 daily Masses and 12 Sunday Masses. Now, we only have 4 daily Masses and 6 Sunday Masses.”
H.E. Bishop Stephen Lee administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to 57 people in Mt Carmel Church on 22 May, Saturday. The confirmands came from different parishes: 23 from the Cathedral, 1 from St Anthony, 12 from Taipa Carmo, 16 from Mong Ha and 5 from St Lawrence.
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