Nagahanons to celebrate fiesta with prayers, Masses

ANSWERING NAGA’S CALL FOR HELP. The Naga landslide tragedy has prompted Cebuanos in the private and public sectors to work together to help the victims especially those in the evacuation centers. Several private companies and organizations answered the call for help from the Naga City government for the thousands of evacuees in the 11 evacuation centers. Among those who distributed relief goods to the evacuees at one of the evacuation centers, the Naalad Elementary School in Naga City, were officials and employees of AppleOne Properties Inc.(API) led by Barbara Cabo, API senior vice president of sales and marketing. On Sept. 24, the API group handed out relief goods needed by evacuees at that time which included sleeping mats, toiletries, towels, milk and snack items.

It will be a day of prayer for the Nagahanons as they celebrate the feast day of their patron, St. Francis de Assisi, today, October 10.

This year’s feast day will open with the 6 a.m. Mass for the souls of those who perished in the massive landslide in Sitios Tagaytay and Sindulan in Barangay Tinaan that claimed that lives of at least 78 people and injured 18 others.

“Now, we see more meaning in prayer and we communicate to God deeper. In this year’s feast, we will go back to the essentials of the celebration which is to pray and pay homage to our creator through our Nagahanon brother, St. Francis,” said Naga City Councilor Junjie Cruz who is also president of the Parish Pastoral Council of the Archdiocesan Shrine of St. Francis de Assisi.

A Pontifical Mass will also be celebrated by Cebu Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Florencio at the St. Francis de Assisi Church in Poblacion, Naga City at 10 a.m.

“Gisuwayan ta aning masulob-on nga nahitabo karon, pero mobangon gyod ta (We are being tried in the tragedy that hit us, but we will rise again),”

Cruz said in an interview with Cebu Daily News on Tuesday.

Cruz also said that the tragedy that happened to Naga might also serve as a wake-up call to heed to the teachings of their patron, St. Francis de Assisi who is considered as the steward of the environment.

At 1 p.m., the pilgrim image of St. Francis de Assisi, which was brought to the ground zero of the landslide last Saturday, will also visit the Enan Chiong Activity Center (ECAC) which houses the 361 families or 1,465 evacuees from Barangay Tinaan.

A Mass will also be celebrated in ECAC which will be officiated by St. Francis of Assisi Moderator, Fr. Orlando Ruiz.

The Naga City government earlier cancelled all fiesta activities following the landslide incident last September 20 in order to focus their resources and energy in addressing the needs of the evacuees.

At least 1,931 families or 7,988 individuals, who were residing within the one kilometer radius from the ground zero, are still being housed at 11 evacuation centers in Naga City and San Fernando town.

The Naga City government is still waiting for the clearance from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Central Office to allow the families living outside the 170-hectare critical zone to return to their homes.