Espiritu Santo Parish in Tayuman to be dedicated as an archdiocesan shrine

A parish in Manila's Sta. Cruz district has been declared an archdiocesan shrine and will be formally proclaimed and dedicated this Sunday, the Manila Archdiocese said Wednesday.

 

Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle will lead an 8 a.m. Mass marking the declaration of the Espiritu Santo Parish in Tayuman as a shrine.

 

The parish will be formally known as the Archdiocesan Shrine of the Holy Spirit when the decree of establishment is formally implemented on Pentecost Sunday, the archdiocese said (http://www.rcam.org/news/1307-espiritu-santo-parish-declared-archdiocesan-shrine).

 

"As a shrine, the Holy Spirit Shrine will promote and encourage devotion to the Holy Spirit not only within the community but also within the archdiocese and other dioceses," it said.

 

Parish priest Msgr. Alberto Salonga and the parish community had petitioned that the parish - established on Dec. 19, 1926 - be made into a shrine.

 

Espiritu Santo parish was initially under the administration of the Divine Word Fathers (SVD). Its church, which still stands today, was completed and blessed on May 14, 1932.

 

The SVD Fathers turned the parish over to the diocesan clergy with Msgr. Gorgonio Encarnacion as first diocesan parish priest.

 

Others who served as parish priests included Msgr. Emmanuel Sunga, and Msgr. Norberto Habos. Salonga has served as parish priest for 16 years.

 

Earlier, the archdiocese lifted a moratorium on petitions to declare churches as shrines.