Mass held at Marawi cathedral for the first time since siege

A Mass was held at the Saint Mary's Cathedral in Marawi City for the first time on Sunday morning since the Maute group laid siege to the city four months ago.

The mass was held at 7:00 a.m. at the cathedral, which was among the structures damaged due to the Maute group's attack on May 23.

The military, meanwhile, said October 1 is a special day as it marks the feast of Saint Therese, the patron saint of the military.

The cathedral was featured in a propaganda video of the Maute group where it was seen destroyed by the terrorist group.

During the Mass on Sunday, gunshots could be heard from the city's battle zone while the sunlight peeked into the cathedral through the holes in the ceiling damaged by the battle.

 

Loud gunfire echoes in the background as mass is being celebrated at St. Mary's Cathedral in Marawi's main battle area. This is the first ever mass at the church after it was desecrated by Maute-ISIS during the early days of Marawi crisis.(Courtesy: Joint Task Force Ranao)

A post shared by Jun Veneracion (@junveneracion) on

Oct 1, 2017 at 12:49am PDT

A total of 749 members of the Maute group have been killed by government troops since May, while 155 security forces of the country have been killed in action.

Ground commanders are currently asking for a one-week extension for the battle, which was expected to be finished on Sunday. —report from Jun Veneracion/Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/ALG, GMA News