Manila Cathedral to mark 30th anniversary as basilica on April 27

The Manila Cathedral will mark its 30th anniversary as a basilica on April 27 with the unveiling of a marker containing a papal declaration on April 27. Manila archdiocese chancellor Fr. Rufino Sescon Jr. said the marker containing a Papal Declaration of the Manila Cathedral as a Basilica will be unveiled at 5:30 p.m. on that day. "Together with the unveiling of Marker will be the blessings and inaugurations of the Rufino J. Cardinal Santos Bell Garden; Jaime L. Cardinal Sin Ground Belfry; Archbishop Gabriel M. Reyes Audio-Visual Room/Souvenir Shop and Manila Cathedral Basilica Carillon Bells," the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said in an article on its news site. The CBCP said the Misa ng Arsobispo and the 30th anniversary logo will be launched during the 6 p.m. Mass on April 27. A message from Pope Benedict XVI be read and plaques of appreciation will be distributed to donors during the mass. On April 27, 1981, the late Pope John Paul II issued a Papal Bull raising the status and dignity of the Manila Cathedral into a Minor Basilica. "During (the late) Pope John Paul II’s visit to the Philippines in February 1981, he personally expressed his wish to then Jaime Cardinal Sin that the Manila Cathedral become a Basilica," the CBCP said. - VVP, GMA News