Bishop to hold Mass in Bataan to celebrate Pope’s canonization

MORONG, Bataan—Balanga Bishop Ruperto Santos will celebrate on April 27 at 7 a.m. Mass at the Shrine of Blessed John Paul II inside the Bataan Technology Park here to commemorate the canonization of the Pontiff in Rome.

Blessed John Paul II, together with Blessed John XXIII, will be declared saints of the Roman Catholic Church by Pope Francis in a ceremony later that day in Rome.

The shrine represents the exact place where John Paul II celebrated Mass on Feb. 21, 1981 when he visited Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees at the former Philippine Refugee Processing Center here.

“The province of Bataan is fortunate to have been visited by Pope John Paul II and it is only fitting that we commemorate his canonization with a Mass to be offered at the very spot where he once celebrated Mass and visited refugees as part of his pastoral visit to the Philippines,” said Santos.

“The whole shrine is like a veritable relic that was graced by John Paul II’s presence,” he added. Greg Refraccion, Inquirer Central Luzon