THE National Shrine of St. Joseph Church in Mandaue City will soon become the second minor basilica in Cebu, a church official said.
Rev. Fr. Josephus Remonde, the parochial vicar of St. Joseph Church, said Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, they sent a petition letter to upgrade the church’s designation into a basilica to the Vatican last Jan. 23 and received a reply to process the requirements on March 29.
“Ang tuyo ug tumong mao nga mas daghan pa unta makahimamat ni San Jose (St. Joseph the Worker, church’s patron), ug madasig sa iyang maanindot nga kinabuhi, ug daghan mapanangalingnan sa iyang Amahanong panaliya alang natong tanan,” Remonde said.
(The intention and goal is that more people will meet San Jose to be inspired by his beautiful life, so that many will be blessed by his fatherly guidance for all of us).
“It is an affirmation of the entire universal church of the importance of this church (National Shrine of St. Joseph),” he added.
Basilica is the highest permanent designation for a church building distinguished for ceremonial purposes, such as papal visits.
Remonde said they are now working on the requirements through the Advoc Committee on the Minore Basilica of St. Joseph that they established. He admitted that the process will take a long time.
Among the things needed for a church’s transition into a basilica, Remonde said, are to comply with the history of the church, photos, improvement of church facilities, and petition signed by the Ordinary, Archbishop Jose Palma, and the Nulla Osta of the Episcopal Conference or the seal of approval of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), and other processes.
Remonde said to gain the seal, representatives from the CBCP would have an ocular inspection and give recommendations on things that need further improvement in the church.
He said they target to accomplish all the requirements to get the CBCP’s approval during the CBCP Assembly in January 2024. Then they will endorse the final proposal to the Vatican and wait for the confirmation.
Once confirmed, the church will become Basilica Minore del San Jose. The first Basilican church is the Church and Convent of St. Augustine, or now the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño.
Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes welcomed the church’s development, which he said was in line with the City Government’s goal to transform the Plaza Residencia area in Barangay Centro, where St. Joseph is also situated, a place of cultural heritage.
He said that aside from the church, they plan to put a heritage park and transform the current Mandaue City Hall into a museum, which he believed would also increase tourist visits since the city has no tourist sites.
The Mandaue City Hall and all other government offices in the city will soon be transferred to the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) once refurbished, which will become Mandaue’s One-Stop-Shop Government Center.
“Kaning atong simbahan nga mahimo na puhong basilica nindot gyud kaayo nga makaingon gyud ta nga it gives us more reason nga ato gyud ni nindoton kaning atong area (Plaza Residencia),” Cortes said.
(This event that our church will become a basilica is incredible. We can say that it gives us more reason to beautify this area.)