There will be no public masses to celebrate the Feast of Sto. Niño in Manila and Cebu on January 16.
The most recent to announce the cancellation of in-person Holy Mass on the day of the feast was the Sto. Niño Parish in Pandacan, Manila.
According to a report of Church-run Radio Veritas on Saturday, the parish said the decision not to hold a public Eucharistic celebration was prompted by the spike in the number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the country, especially in the National Capital Region (NCR).
“We would like to inform all parishioners, devotees, and believers of Santo Niño of Pandacan that on the feast of January 16, 2022, our church will be closed for the public celebration of the Holy Mass,” it said.
The church also asked for the faithful’s understanding since the decision was reached for the good and safety of the majority especially in the current health situation.
“This step is for our health and to prevent infection with the danger posed by Covid-19 due to the possible influx of many devotees,” the parish added.
Earlier, the Archdiocesan Shrine of Santo Niño in Tondo also declared it will be closed to the public on the day of the festival for the same reason of giving priority to the health of the devotees.
Likewise, the Basilica Minore del Santo Nino de Cebu has declared that there will be no public celebration of Holy Mass on January 16.
“Due to the ongoing threat of COVID-19, our celebration of the Fiesta Señor 2022 is only online. There is no physical celebration of masses,” the Basilica said in a statement.
For this year, the Sto. Niño in Cebu is marking its 457th feast, the celebration will be online which will be intensified to be able to reach more devotees not only in the Philippines but in other parts of the world, as well.
Devotees have been urged to temporarily watch online live-streaming of the Holy Masses on the day of the feast and also to pray that they
will return to the normal celebration of devotion in the coming years.
