Marawi bishop returns to damaged church

Marawi Bishop Edwin dela Peña during a press conference on the Church’s rehabilitation plans for Marawi. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

For the first time since the end of the war in Marawi City, Marawi Bishop Edwin dela Peña returned to the damaged St. Mary’s Cathedral, the seat of the Prelature of Marawi.

Dela Peña was with some officials of the Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) Philippines and the Order of Malta Philippines when he visited the remnants of the cathedral on Thursday.

In a statement, ACN Philippines described the visit as “heartbreaking and emotional” for Dela Peña, who last entered the cathedral before the war started on May 23, 2017.

“So many memories. We were the ones who built this. Now, everything is destroyed,” Dela Peña was quoted as saying.

The bishop also became emotional in front of the beheaded statue of Mary, Help of Christians to whom the church was dedicated. —Julie M. Aurelio