(FILE) Catholic faithful stand outside the Quiapo church in Manila on October 9, 2020, as health protocols imposed by authorities limit churchgoers inside the church.(Photo by Ted ALJIBE / AFP)
MANILA, Philippines — Devotees are urged not to visit the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene or the Quiapo Church during the Black Nazarene feast day on January 9 as the country still grapples with the coronavirus pandemic.
“Dine-discourage po namin na pumunta kayo sa simbahan ng Quiapo sapagkat nasa pandemic tayo at tayo’y minumungkahi, malakas na rekomendasyon na sundin natin ang mga IATF protocols,” said Quiapo Church Rector Msgr. Hernando Coronel in a press briefing.
(We are discouraging devotees from visiting the Quiapo Church because we are in the middle of a pandemic and we are advised to follow IATF protocols.)
Coronel made the call in a bid to limit the number of visitors in the Quiapo Church and ensure that health protocols are to be followed through distancing, among other measures.
Devotees and churchgoers can also join in online Masses and stay at home with their families while those who will visit the Quiapo Church are instructed to follow health protocols.
Alex Irasga, head of the Traslacion working committee, earlier said that only 400 churchgoers and devotees can enter the Quiapo Church for each Mass to be held on January 9.
Irasga said there will be 15 Masses to held at the Quiapo Church on Saturday, which means that 6,000 devotees could enter the church for the entire day.