As the pandemic roars on in the Philippines and the world, church organi-zers continue with co-mmemorations marking the 500th year of Chri-stianity in the Southeast Asian country.
“It caught us by sur-prise, really,” said Mark Purugganan, a liturgist at Parish of the Holy Sacri-fice in Quezon City just north of the capital Manila. “We already had … started in November 2019 … 500 Holy Hours leading up to March 31. This is the anniversary of the first Easter Mass celebrated in the Philippines.”
Purugganan explained that, during lockdown, time spent with Jesus in the Eucharist became a virtual exercise with a camera focused on the host and projected on big screens outdoors. Instead of silence, vespers prayers were added because “people don’t like dead air,” which he said becomes too stark in a virtual setting.
In a country that loves a celebration, physical participation is much preferred over virtual attendance.
But one piece on social media is taking hold across the country where more than 75 percent of the population has a Facebook account. Father Kali Llamado of the Archdiocese of Manila said Filipinos are learning the anniversary theme song “We Give our Yes!” and posting versions online. The 500th anniversary theme is “Missio ad Gentes” or “mission to the people.”
“We are looking at highlighting certain as-pects where we need to incorporate faith in our daily life,” Father Lla-mado told CNS.
He said in addition to activities on faith formation and the legacy of Christianity, the Manila Archdiocese also has social programs such as hosting pandemic vaccination centers and holding a voter registration drive for the election year 2022. Organizers said the Philippine bishops designated hundreds of “jubilee churches” across the country to hold special commemorations on the mission theme to be rolled out over the next year, culminating in a pushed-back April 2022 celebration.
The actual year that Christianity came to the shores of the Philippine Islands was 1521, when the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, in an attempt to circumnavigate the globe from Spain to India, landed on tiny island of Limasawain the central Philippines and started to convert the natives to Christianity. More than 2,200 converted, but those on nearby Mactan island resisted and killed Magellan.