St. John’s Cathedral gets ‘special bond’ with Papal Basilica
THE Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist in Dagupan City has been granted the “special bond of spiritual affinity” by the Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Wall in Rome.
Fr. Roberto Mejia, a member of Team Ministry of the St. John Cathedral, explained that the “bond” means that the cathedral and the basilica now have a special link, like a sisterhood agreement between two cities.
The Catholic faithful who visit and pray at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist will gain the spiritual benefits of the Church as if they prayed and visited the Papal Basilica.
The granting of the “special bond of spiritual affinity” was in recognition of the “goodness spread by Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas in the province and also by the goodness shown by the people of the church”.
Further, pilgrims of St. John’s Cathedral have also been granted plenary indulgence “under conditions laid down by Church laws”, according to the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan website.
According to Fr. Mejia, when a person is granted plenary indulgence, he or she will go straight to heaven after his or her death.
To be granted with plenary indulgence, three conditions are required: making a good confession; receiving communion worthily; praying the Apostle’s Creed, Our Father, and Hail Mary for the intentions of the Holy Father.
The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist is the second church in the Philippines that has been granted with the “special bond of spiritual affinity” by one of the four major basilicas in the world. The first church is the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary in Manaoag by the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major, also in Rome.—Allanah Paragas, UPB
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