The Sacred Heart community joined together on August 9 to celebrate the feast day of St. Candida Maria de Jesus and held the enshrinement of her image in the Archdiocesan Shrine of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus on D. Jakosalem Street, Cebu City.
The event started with a Holy Mass presided by Fr. Vidal Gornez S.J., the parish priest of the Archdiocesan shrine, followed by the enshrinement and unveiling of the image.
The statue of St. Candida Maria de Jesus is the first and only image in Cebu which the members of the Catholic Church and the general public can now venerate on.
The event was participated by the members of the Sacred Heart community including the students of Sacred Heart School-Hijas de Jesus, and members of the SHS-HdJ Alumni association, who were the sponsors of the saint’s holy figure.
“This is actually a part of the closing activity of the 60th anniversary of the school. Part of it is the enshrinement,” said Dr. Arleen Lee, president of Sacred Heart School-Hijas de Jesus Alumni Association.
St. Candida’s perseverance on helping the children led her to put up the Hijas de Jesus congregation.
She opened schools for the children and adults from different social backgrounds in Spain and soon reached the Philippines. The congregation has been helping billions of children gain access to quality education.