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Center for pro-life advocates in Makati now a national shrine


A shrine in Makati City considered as a devotional center for pro-life advocates was formally elevated to national shrine status. The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Makati City, whose new pastor Fr. Roderick Castro was installed on Monday, earned the nod of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). "In this regard, the National Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe has been the Devotional Center of Pro-life advocates. They take their advocacies under the maternal guidance of the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of 'Lady of Guadalupe' with an emphasis to the Unborn, Sick, Disabled, and Others (USADO)," the Manila Archdiocese said in its website. The National Shrine was approved to promote the Value and Sanctity of Life, a great challenge, especially in the face of secular and political initiatives deemed contrary to a culture of life such as the (Reproductive Health) Bill, the statement added. The church will likely see a significant increase in the number of visitors to the shrine, the Manila Archdiocese said. For its part, the CBCP said the shrine will join the ranks of the EDSA Shrine in Mandaluyong City and the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Antipolo City, and 15 other national shrines. The process of declaring a parish church into a national shrine entails several steps and requirements. First, it has to be already a diocesan or archdiocesan shrine. After several years, when devotion has grown, the faithful involved in the shrine may apply for its elevation to national level to the CBCP. Msgr. Salvador Jose, attached priest of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, said an intense inquiry is involved before declaring a church into a national shrine. In their case, the application passed through a lengthy investigation by three CBCP commissions, including the Commission on Canon Law, Commission on Liturgy, and the Commission on Doctrine, he said. The Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine was declared an Archdiocesan Shrine by the late Jaime Cardinal Sin on August 15, 2002. On April 5, 2004, the petition to elevate the shrine into national level was made to then CBCP president Davao Archbishop Fernando Capalla. Tagbilaran Bishop Leonardo Medroso, then head of the Commission on Canon Law, assigned Msgr. Romulo Vergara to head the investigative committee. On January 23, 2010, the CBCP approved the petition. The decree which established the national shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe was signed on February 5 by CBCP President Bishop Nereo Odchimar. - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV

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