A glimpse of the forgotten National Shrine of St. Michael and the Archangels

Catholic churches in the Philippines are usually overflowing with parishioners on Sundays.

However, this is not the case for the National Shrine of St. Michael and the Archangels in Manila, despite being the only shrine in the whole world dedicated to seven archangels.

St. Michael is located inside the Malacañang Complex. It is almost next door to the most important address in the country, Malacañan Palace. A few blocks away is another national shrine: one to St. Jude Thaddeus, the patron saint of desperate cases. However, the prominent location seems not to entice parishioners to hear Mass at St. Michael.

One reason churchgoers might be staying away is the abundance of checkpoints all over Malacañang Complex, said Parish Pastoral Council president Bro. Gil Santos. The church only has around 1,500 parishioners. It only holds three Masses on Sundays: two in the morning and only one in the evening.

Although church officials have invited President Benigno Aquino III to hear Mass there numerous times, he has yet to respond. According to Santos, at least two former presidents have heard Mass at the shrine: Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who would usually be accompanied by her husband Mike Arroyo; and Fidel V. Ramos, who is not even a Catholic but a Protestant.

The shrine's story

Formerly known as the St. Michael Church, the 100-year-old Baroque structure was declared a national shrine by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) in 1985. The CBCP made the decision via de jure, citing the church's rich history.

For instance, Manila's first Filipino archbishop Gabriel M. Reyes, who served from 1949 to 1952, was first buried in the National Shrine of St. Michael and the Archangels before his remains were transferred to Manila Cathedral, Santos shared.

The church belongs to the San Miguel district where old rich families used to live. But most of these families—who were the benefactors of the church—left the area during Marcos' time, Santos said.

The national shrine is also home to a 12-foot bronze statue by renowned Filipino sculptor Florante "Boy" Caedo of St. Michael in his traditional pose: triumphantly looming over a dragon (Satan).

Moreover, the national shrine holds the sacrament of confirmation twice a week (on Thursdays and Sundays), the only church in the country to do so.

Confirmation is normally done by bishop, but the the parish priests of the National Shrine of St. Michael and the Archangels were given the authority to confirm Catholics as well, said Santos.

The seven archangels

One of the church's goals is for devotees to learn more about the angels it is named after: St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael, St. Uriel, St. Sealtiel, St. Jhudiel, and St. Barachiel.

According to the Bible, the archangels were the ones who fought against the fallen angel Lucifer when he rebelled against God.

An archangel is supposedly assigned to a person depending on the day he is born. For those who were born on a Sunday, their archangel is St. Michael. The rest are:

St. Gabriel - Monday
St. Raphael - Tuesday
St. Uriel - Wednesday
St. Sealtiel - Thursday
St. Jhudiel - Friday
St. Barachiel - Saturday. — BM, GMA News