Fr. Patigdas (left) leads parishioners in bringing the image of the Our Lady of the Rosary to the Carcar prison facility (Photo taken from Archdiocesan Shrine of Sta. Catalina de Alexandria Parish Worship Committee Facebook Page).
The Archdiocesan Shrine of St. Catherine of Alexandria Parish in Carcar City in southern Cebu will hold for the second straight year a “grand” Marian procession around the city tomorrow, October 26.
The procession, which will start at around 5 p.m., is a culminating activity in the parish’s observance of October as the Month of the Holy Rosary, said Fr. Marlowe Patigdas, parochial vicar and Worship Committee head.
“Nahimugso ang maong kalihukan niadtong 2015 nunot sa halapad nga panawagan sa mga deboto sa Birhen nga hatagan og dakong pagpasidungog ug pagpasalamat sa mga grasya pinaagi sa pag-rosaryo (The activity started in 2015 after a wide clamor by the devotees of the Blessed Virgin to give honor and also thanksgiving for all the graces received through the praying of the rosary),” he said.
Seventeen statues of the Blessed Mother under 17 different titles will join the procession around the city accompanied by a statue of her spouse St. Joseph.
Fr. Patigdas said the procession is patterned after the annual Intramuros Grand Marian Procession where magnificent carrozas and images of the Virgin Mary is paraded around the walled city usually on the Sunday closest to December 8, feast of the Immaculate Conception.
The Carcar procession, which will be preceded by the praying of the rosary at 3 p.m. and Holy Mass at 3:30 p.m., will start at the parish grounds and will snake through the traditional procession route in the city.
Fr. Patigdas said different parish organizations, devotees and students will join the procession. He also invited all Carcaranons and everybody who might be interested to join the religious activities.
For the whole month of October, the parish brings the statue of the Our Lady of the Rosary around different establishments in the city such as the hospital, schools and prison facility among others.
This year’s Rosary Month theme is “Maria: Simbolo sa kaluoy ug sumbanan sa kaputli diha sa pamilya (Mary: Symbol of mercy and model of purity in the family).”