Fuente Osmeña in the heart of Cebu City is being considered as a third option as venue for the Nov. 30 national thanksgiving mass following the canonization of Blessed Pedro Calungsod in Rome.
Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia offered the venue, according to Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal.
“When the governor came here, she was offering the (Fuente Osmeña) circle,” Vidal told a press conference on Wednesday.
The choices of a venue, which include the South Road Properties (SRP) and the Mandaue north reclamation area will be discussed in a June 5 meeting of the Calungsod canonization thanksgiving committee, which Vidal heads.
“Next meeting, we will try to determine now the place. We’ll be choosing between the north reclamation area and Fuente Osmeña circle,” he said.
SRP, which was offered by Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, was set aside because of a P100 million cost estimate of backfilling and preparing the reclaimed land.
“It will cost us much especially we have to develop the place first and then put up the altar,” said Vidal.
Vidal said he was seriously considering Fuente Osmeña because intersecting streets of General Maxilom, Osmena Boulevard and B. Rodriguez Street which lead to the circle are sites where devotees can gather.
Trees in the park will have to be pruned to make the stage visible from afar, he said.
The problem with Mandaue city as a venue is the presence of buildings which could block visibility of the stage, Vidal explained.
“I asked Msgr. (Roberto) Alesna to give me the costs involved there (Mandaue reclamation) and the expenses to be involved in the circle,” said Vidal. Alesna heads the finance committee of the Calungsod prepartions.
Fuente Osmeña was used last Feb. 29 for another major religious celebration when the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) observed its centennial in Cebu.
The Cebu Archdiocese targets raising P60 million for canonization-related activities in Rome for pilgrims in October and the national thanksgiving mass in Cebu in November.
During a meeting in March, the archdiocese reported that it already raised more than P4 million in private donations for Calungsod ‘s canonization.
Another P10 million will be collected from the 147 parishes and chapels in Cebu.