Caretakers of the Archdiocesan Shrine of San Roque in Mambaling say they will put ‘their best foot forward’ in hosting the IEC delegates. (CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO)
COMPARED to other churches, the Archdiocesan Shrine of San Roque in Mambaling, Cebu City has limited resources and fewer parishioners.
But when called to serve, they are willing to go the extra mile.
The shrine is one of 14 churches chosen to welcome delegates of the International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) and show them what parish life is like in Cebu.
Working on a small budget Ricardo Muaña, Parish Pastoral Council president, said they decided to repaint their church and renovate some facilities.
“We’re doing our best to beautify our church and provide the guests a warm welcome,” he said.
Finest food
Muaña said they used part of the budget to buy five air-conditioning units and ceiling fans that were installed inside the church.
He said tonight’s dinner for the delegates consist of the finest Cebuano food like lechon (roasted pig), budbod (sweet sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves), bibingka (rice cakes) and ice cream.
Muaña said they asked a local caterer to provide most of the food for the delegates and about 500 parishioners.
“We are not a rich parish. Many of our parishioners, in fact, reside in the slum areas. But this is not a reason for us not to put our best foot forward,” he said.
The Archdiocesan Shrine of San Roque, which has 40,000 parishioners, is on its final stretch of preparations for the “Parish Encounter”, the fourth day of the IEC.
Venues
Msgr. Daniel Sanico, vicar general of the Cebu Archdiocese and chairperson of the IEC Parish Encounter committee, said the delegates were asked during the registration to select which parishes they wanted to visit.
About 14 parishes were chosen as venues for the Parish Encounter. Ten churches are located in Cebu City.
They are the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, the Archdiocesan Shrines of San Roque in Barangay Mambaling, Our Lady of Lourdes in Barangay Punta Princesa, St. Therese of the Child Jesus in Barangay Lahug, Our Lady of Guadalupe in Barangay Guadalupe and Sacred Heart of Jesus on D. Jakosalem Street; and the parishes of St. Joseph in Barangay Mabolo, Our Lady of the Sacred
Heart on Escario Street, the Redemptorist Church along Queen’s Road, and Sto. Rosario on P. Del Rosario Street.
The four churches in Mandaue City are the National Shrine of St. Joseph in Barangay Poblacion, San Roque Parish in Barangay Subangdaku, Holy Family Parish in Barangay Maguikay and Gethsemane Parish in Barangay Casuntingan.
Sanico said the delegates would attend Mass in their respective parishes at 4 p.m. today.
Hospitality
Bishops and cardinals from different countries were assigned to preside over the Eucharistic celebrations in the parishes.
While the Masses would be in English, there would be language translators in the parishes.
After the Mass, two international and two local delegates would share their experiences about the Eucharist dubbed as “Faith-sharing dialogue.” This will be followed by dinner and cultural presentations in the parishes.
“We will share food and present our way of hospitality through a barrio fiesta. We hope to let the delegates experience the Filipino way of hospitality,” Sanico said.
To ensure the safety of the delegates, he said they decided to let accredited caterers prepare the food served during the event.
“It all depends on the parishes what food they want to serve,” he told Cebu Daily News.