CATHOLIC parish churches across the Philippines are urged to simultaneously ring their bells at 3 p.m. on Holy Wednesday, April 8, to signal the start of a televised interfaith prayer against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
Archbishop Romulo Valles, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said the simultaneous pealing of bells will be made in solidarity with an ecumenical service initiated by the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID).
“It will be comforting and encouraging for our people when they sense and observe that a spirit of unity and working together is there in these trying times,” Valles said in a circular released Tuesday, April 7.
The ecumenical service is an initiative of the Bishop Oscar Florencio of the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines. It will be led by the Chaplain Services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
“The AFP chaplains will assist to invoke the mighty help of God as we plead Him to heal those affected by Covid-19 and to spare us from this present pandemic,” said Bishop Florencio said.
As of April 7, the Department of Health (DOH) has recorded 3,764 cases of Covid-19, including 177 mortalities and 84 patients who have recovered from the disease.
Globally, Covid-19 has killed 67,594 people as of April 6, the World Health Organization reported.
A total of 1.21 million people in over 200 countries have been infected by the novel coronavirus, or Sars-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19. (SunStar Philippines)