Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma officiated the Walk for Life Mass at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral on Saturday dawn, February 13. | Photo by Delta Dyrecka Letigio
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Pray the Oratio Imperata for the Pro-life Awareness Month.
This was the request of Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma to the faithful amid the series of killings in Cebu that have continued on in 2019.
“We believe we can’t end the killings by ourselves. We need God’s grace,” he said after presiding over the 6 a.m. Mass at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral on Saturday.
At dawn, around a thousand young people joined the “Walk for Life” from Fuente Osmeña to the cathedral as part of the activities of the Pro-Life Awareness Month.
Read more: Palma releases Oratio Imperata to end spate of killings in Cebu
The Pro-Life Awareness Month is celebrated every February led by the Pro-life Philippines Inc. and the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines.
Palma said the spate of murders in Cebu must not stop the people from praying.
“Many are killed and yet we should not waver in seeking God’s help. Let us continue praying,” he said.
Last August, the 68-year-old prelate issued an Oratio Imperata for an “end to the spate of killings in Cebu.”
An Oratio Imperata is a traditional catholic invocation where the bishop leads the community in prayer for a special intention.
In previous years, it was used in Cebu to seek divine protection for the peaceful elections, peace in the Middle East, safety from typhoons, and various ailments such as the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), bird flu virus, dengue, the influenza A (H1N1) virus as well as the success of the 2007 Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ Summit hosted in Cebu.|dbs