Preparations peak for Manaoag Church’s Feb. 17 proclamation as minor basilica

Preparations are peaking for the formal proclamation of Manaoag Church in Pangasinan province as a minor basilica on Feb. 17.

The solemn proclamation is scheduled at 4 p.m. on Feb. 17, GMA Dagupan reported.

"It was already proclaimed by Pope Francis last October 11, in the Philippines it will be done on Feb. 17 at 4 p.m. here," said Our Lady of Manaoag Basilica Minore chaplain Fr. Roland Mactal.

Expected to attend are Papal Nuncio Giuseppe Pinto, three cardinals, and more than 30 archbishops and bishops. Also expected are thousands of devotees.

Mactal said there will be solemn rites, including a procession in front of the municipal hall.

Several devotees are also excited for the rites, the report said.

Last October, the Pope granted the church the title "Minor Basilica."

The Catholic Education Resources Center says the Pope grants the title to a church that has "unusual historical significance" or is "especially sacred because of the presence of a relic or relics."

A separate article on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines news site said the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag is also a parish church of the Archdiocese of Lingayen Dagupan.

It added the shrine is an affiliate of the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.

According to CatholicCulture.org, the standard privileges granted to minor basilicas include:

- use of the basilican bell
- use of the basilican pavilion
- right of the canons of the basilica to wear a cappa of purple wool and ermine

Only a pope can create a minor basilica, it added. — Joel Locsin/BM, GMA News