Bill seeking Manaoag as pilgrimage site endorsed
MANAOAG–The bill filed by Pangasinan Fourth District Rep. Gina de Venecia in the House of Representatives seeking to make the Basilica of Our Lady of Manaoag as a pilgrimage site was approved and endorsed by the House Committee on Tourism last week.
The committee favorably endorsed House Bill 4481 following an impassioned speech of Rep. De Venecia during the hearing attended by Manaoag Mayor Kim Amador.
The bill will be submitted to the Committee on Appropriations for funding before it is scheduled for first reading in the plenary.
“Among the symbols of the Catholic Church in our country, a particular Marian image has become an enduring subject of veneration. This is the “Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag”, who, for centuries—- since its arrival to our shore in the 1600s—- has miraculously survived a series of threats, including a tumultuous fire and various revolts,” said Rep. De Venecia in defending the bill.
De Venecia said these phenomena led the president of the Catholic Bishop Conference of the Philippines, Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, to acknowledge “the devotion to Our Lady of Manaoag has helped deepen the piety of many Catholics not only in Pangasinan but throughout the country.”
On June 21 of 2011, Pope Benedict, VI had approved the granting of the Special Bond Of Spiritual Affinity of the Shrine of Our Lady of Manaoag with the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Majore in Rome, considered a first for a Philippine Church.
Last October 15, Pope Francis also granted another ecclesiastical privilege to the Shrine of Our Lady of Manaoag by declaring it as a Basilica Minore, as such, Vatican document “Domus Ecclesiae” explained that “minor basilicas are traditionally named because of their antiquity, dignity, historical value, architectural and artistic worth, and significance as centers of worship.”
The bill mandates the Department of Tourism and its attached agencies, in coordination with the Department of Public Works And Highways, and in consultation with the local government of Manaoag to implement a comprehensive development plan for the improvement of Our Lady of Manaoag Shrine, all areas attached to it, including all the roads leading to and from it. (LVM)
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