The Davao blast did not deter Filipino Catholics from attending Sunday Mass.
Catholic church leaders, especially in Mindanao, said they did not observe a decrease in mass goers in different parishes Sunday.
“The Mass attendance here was okay,” Basilan Bishop Martin Jumoad said in an interview.
Marbel Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez also had the same observation in his diocese.
When asked if Friday’s blast affected the number of churchgoers Sunday, he answered negatively.
Even in Manila, there was no unusual decrease in churchgoers.
Fr. Regie Malicdem, rector of Manila Cathedral, said he even observed a bigger attendance in their Sunday Mass.
“The massgoers didn’t decrease, it was even higher than usual. Maybe because of Mother Teresa’s canonization,” he said.
The priest was referring to Blessed Mother Teresa who was canonized as saint by Pope Francis in Vatican, Sunday.
At least 14 people were killed and 70 others injured following an explosion at a night market in Davao, Friday. (Leslie Ann G. Aquino)