Manila Cathedral sets rites for cremated virus victims
The Manila Cathedral will hold a “Blessing of Cremated Remains” on six Sundays—Oct. 4, 11, 18 and 25, and Nov. 1 and 8—for families who have lost loved ones to COVID-19.
The families may bring the urn containing the ashes and a photograph of their dearly departed to the cathedral for a liturgical blessing after each Sunday Mass, which is scheduled at 8 a.m., 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.“After the Mass, families with urns, even those who are standing outside the church at Plaza Roma but [cannot] enter due to limits on capacity, will be called to come upfront,” said Fr. Kali Llamado, the cathedral’s vice rector.
Consolation
The cathedral’s move was in response to a call from Bishop Broderick Pabillo, apostolic administrator of the Manila Archdiocese, to make churches “welcome places of prayer and consolation” for the grieving families.
Shortly after community quarantines were imposed in mid-March, the Department of Health and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases required the cremation of COVID-19 fatalities within 12 hours after death. —Jodee A. Agoncillo and Inquirer Research
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