MANILA, Philippines — The National Shrine of Saint Padre Pio in Santo Tomas, Batangas will be closed for the Holy Week due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases.
“It will be closed. It will be totally locked down. They will not accept pilgrims or churchgoers. They have to comply. This is a government policy,” Gerardo Laresma, officer-in-charge of the Public Information and Promotion Division of Santo Tomas, said in Filipino in an interview with Radyo Inquirer on Wednesday.
Laresma said this was in compliance with the executive orders issued by authorities in Santo Tomas and the province of Batangas.
“To our countrymen, especially the believers of St. Padre Pio and the pilgrims, we are asking for understanding that, because of the pandemic and the position of the IATF, we have to close down the shrine for this Holy Week,” he said.
The IATF stand for the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
“Maybe in the coming days, let’s pray that the situation will normalize or improve so that the National Shrine of St. Padre Pio will open again,” he said.