With shorter curfew hours, more parishioners are expected to be able to attend the nine-day “Simbang Gabi” masses which begin today, December 16.
In the Archdiocese of Manila, Apostolic Administrator Bishop Broderick S. Pabillo thanked Mayor Isko Moreno for adjusting the curfew hours which will be effective from 12 midnight to 3 a.m. to give churchgoers a chance to attend the novena masses.
“We are very thankful for his consideration,” Pabillo said. Metro Manila mayors have also agreed to adjust the curfew hours to 12 midnight to 3 a.m. for the same purpose effective last December 1.
“We have also advised all the parishes under the jurisdiction of the Manila archdiocese to celebrate more masses to give the faithful more opportunities to go to church,” Pabillo said.
To observe physical distancing, only 30 percent of the church’s capacity is allowed under the general community quarantine.
As in the past years, devout Catholics are expected to attend tomorrow the first of the nine-day “Simbang Gabi” dawn masses, which will be held at dawn in all Catholic churches across the country and in many parts of the world where many Filipino communities observe the age-old tradition.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has issued guidelines for the observance amid the pandemic.
CBCP president Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles said, the masses in the evening may start as early as 6 p.m. while in the morning, the last Aguinaldo mass must be at 6 a.m.
The bishop in coordination with the pastors of the parishes and the local government unit may also decide to hold Simbang Gabi masses in different venues which may be large enough to accommodate more people but still observing social distancing, Valles said. (Christina Hermoso)
