Monday, April 28, 2008 Catholic church celebrations to keep religious busy today
THE Catholic flock gets busy, as it will celebrate today three simultaneous activities-the 74th anniversary of the Archdiocese of Cebu; the feast of Saint Vitalis, patron of the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral; and the 443rd anniversary of the discovery of the image of the Sto. Niño through the Kaplag (Cebuano for discovery).
It will also be a busy day for Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal who is set to say mass in the morning at the Basilica del Sto. Niño to honor the discovery of the Sto. Niño and a feast mass in the afternoon at the Cathedral.
Cebu Archdiocesan media liaison officer Msgr. Achilles Dakay said that the activities today until next year is part of the series of preparations for April 28, 2009 “when the archdiocese will be presented to the faithful as 75 years old.”
Preparation
He, however, asked that the essence of each of the three celebrations today should not be confused with one another.
At 74, the archdiocese is rejoicing with the theme, “Towards the 75th anniversary of Cebu as an Archdiocese: Contemplating the Face of Jesus in the Bible” and is, therefore, Dakay said, still “preparing for next year when there will be programs and activities.”
The archdiocese is also reviving the devotion for Saint Vitalis, a martyr, as the flock is honoring other saints celebrating their feast day today, such as Saints Pierre Chanel, a French missionary, and Louis-Marie Grignion de Montford, a priest.
The day in honor of Saint Vitalis is actually the feast day of the Cathedral because he is its original patron saint, even when parishioners still observe the feasts of Our Mary of the Immaculate Conception on Dec. 8 and Guardian Angels on Oct. 2.
According to Catholic Encyclopedia online, Saint Vitalis was racked before buried alive by the order of a judge named Paulinus for encouraging Saint Ursicinus, who was wavering at the prospect of death, and for having given burial to his remains.
Commemoration
“Saint Vitalis, husband of St. Valeria who was also martyred in Milan and father of Saints Gervasius and Protasius, is a saint who lived up to the demands of the Catholic faith,” said Dakay.
Meanwhile, the Kaplag this year kicked off last April 24. It commemorates the discovery of the image of the Sto. Niño on Apr. 28, 1565 inside a hut by Juan Camus, a soldier of Miguel Lopez de Legaspi’s fleet. (NRC)
