Cardinal David calls for national day of prayer and public repentance on Oct. 7, 2025

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president and Bishop of Kalookan Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David over the weekend called for a national day of prayer and public repentance on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, the Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary.

In a post on Facebook, David called for the prayer of national confession and contrition starting Tuesday and every succeeding Sunday leading to the Feast of Christ the King, as a sustained supplication for mercy and renewal and in context of the recent calamities that hit the country.

“This act of national contrition is also a step in our journey of synodality—walking together as God’s people, listening to the Spirit and to one another, in humility and hope,” he said.

“Let us pray with contrite hearts and steadfast trust, through the intercession of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, that our nation may be healed, renewed, and filled with the light of Christ,” he added.

This comes as Cebu province was hit by the strongest earthquake ever recorded in the area last Tuesday evening, with a depth of 5 kilometers and tectonic in origin.

Data available from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) showed that the death toll was recorded at 71, with 559 injured, with the numbers subject to validation. There were some 128,464 families or 455,631 individuals affected by the natural calamity. —Jon Viktor Cabuenas/RF, GMA Integrated News