Masses, other religious activities resume at Cebu cathedral

Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral also opens its doors to baptisms, Pre-Cana seminars, weddings, confessions

AS CEBU City will be placed under general community quarantine (GCQ) status from June 1 to 15, 2020, the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral released its “new normal” schedule of masses and other religious activities.

The Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral announced on its official Facebook page on Saturday, May 30, that hourly mass will resume starting Monday, June 1, from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 12:15 p.m. to 7 p.m., Mondays to Fridays.

Masses scheduled every 6 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday, including those every 5:30 p.m. for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and every 6:30 a.m., 11 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. every Sunday will be livestreamed on Facebook, the Cathedral said.

Under Resolution 38 issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases on May 22, religious gatherings in areas under GCQ are limited to not more than 10 persons.

Baptisms at the Cathedral, on one hand, are scheduled every Monday to Saturday at 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. and every Sunday in four batches at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. Only three babies per batch with parents and two sponsors are allowed to attend. The venue will be at the St. Joseph Chapel on the second floor of the Sacristy.

Pre-Cana seminars are also scheduled every second Saturday of the month from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. while confirmation is scheduled every first and third Saturday of the month at 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. For those preparing for wedding only, five confirmands per batch with one sponsor per confirmand are allowed.

Moreover, confessions are scheduled every Wednesday and Friday (10 a.m. to 12 noon and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.). These will be held at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral Mausoleum beside the Sacristy.

The Archdiocese of Cebu on May 20 ordered the opening of churches in towns and component cities when Cebu Province transitioned to GCQ.

Cebu Archbishop Palma made this decision two months after he suspended all public masses and other religious gatherings due to the threat brought by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

The Archdiocese had noted a drastic drop in church collections when masses were suspended.