MANILA (SE): The Philippines has two new minor basilicas in Manila. Pope Francis approved the elevation of Sta. Cruz Parish Church in Santa Cruz, Metro Manila, to a minor basilica the parish announced in a social media post on March 25, LiCAS News reported.
Meanwhile CBCP News reported that Pope Francis also elevated the National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians in Parañaque City to a minor basilica. The parish announced the news on March 27.
Sta. Cruz parish said the place of worship will be known as the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar and is now one of only about 25 churches in the country to receive the designation.
The parish was established in 1619, with Jesuit priests ministering to the growing Chinese population in the area.
In 1643, the Jesuits enshrined a replica of Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Zaragoza from Spain, and Our Lady of the Pillar later became the parish’s titular patroness.
The original structure was damaged by two major earthquakes before it was completely destroyed during the Battle of Manila in 1945. The present edifice, reflecting Baroque influences, was completed in 1957.
In 1984, Jaime Cardinal Sin of Manila restored the name to Sta. Cruz Parish and named St. Peter Julian Eymard as its second patron, LiCAS News reported.
Devotion to the Holy Eucharist and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament flourished after the Blessed Sacrament Fathers and Brothers took over parish administration in the 1950s.
In 2018, Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, who was then the archbishop of Manila, declared the church the Archdiocesan Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament.
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No date has been set yet for the formal declaration of Sta. Cruz Church as a minor basilica.
Photo: Michael Dalogdog/CBCP News
The parish of the National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians said “Receiving this honour is truly a grace from God and a profound blessing for our national shrine and parish,” CBCP News reported.
It is the first minor basilica in the 22-year-old Diocese of Parañaque. It is also home to a century-old image of Mary, Help of Christians, which received canonical coronation in 2022.
Being elevated to a minor basilica recognises that a place of worship carries significant historical, architectural, or spiritual importance. It also signifies that the church has a “closer relationship to the pope,” and has the right to display the papal symbol of crossed keys on its banners, furnishings, and seal.
