This new app will send your prayer requests to Quiapo Church
Catholics and devotees of the Black Nazarene can now have their prayers sent to the Quiapo Church without having to brave the scare of COVID-19 outside their homes. On October 17, the church launched a mobile app that would gather your petitions and thanksgiving prayers to be included in the intentions of their Holy Mass.
It doubles as your guide in praying the rosary and Novena to the Black Nazarene daily. "Ang app na ito ay maaari ninyong gamitin upang ipadala ang inyong mga nais ipagpamisa, ipadala ang iyong mga prayer intentions, maging gabay sa pagdarasal ng Santo Rosaryo, Novena sa Poong Nazareno, Via Crucis at Via Lucis, [at] dasalin ang mga pang-araw-araw na panalangin," they said in a tweet on the same day.
Devotees may download the app for free on Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
Gamitin po natin ang QUIAPO CHURCH MOBILE APP upang mas lalo pa nating madala’t maisabuhay ang ating debosyon sa Mahal na Poong Hesus Nazareno saan man tayo naroroon ngayong panahon ng pandemya.
1/4 pic.twitter.com/mt50Ir3xwa— Quiapo Church (@quiapochurch) October 16, 2020
Quiapo church holds strong amid pandemic
The Quiapo Church—also known as the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene and St. John the Baptist Church—was built by the Franciscan missionaries on Aug. 29, 1586. It is considered one of the strongest churches in Metro Manila for surviving earthquakes in 1645 and 1863, the wildfires of 1791 and 1929, and the bombing of Manila in 1945 before it was rebuilt in 1984.
Every year on Jan. 9, Quiapo Church brings together millions of devotees to Manila for the feast and procession of the Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno.
The historical church continues to hold its ground amid the pandemic, as it turns to social media to air its daily Masses and novena devotions. This is in accordance with the government's protocol to downsize the number of churchgoers to 10 percent of the church's total seating capacity in areas under general community quarantine (GCQ).
To abide by the 10 p.m to 5 a.m. curfew being implemented in Metro Manila, Quiapo Church limits its number of daily Masses to five instead of 9 to 13. The last session is now at 4 p.m., which is three to four hours earlier than its previous schedule of 7 or 8 p.m. before the pandemic.
In his interview with Radio Veritas on Oct. 15, Bishop Broderick Pabillo requested authorities to adjust the curfew hours to allow parishioners to attend the traditional "Simbang Gabi" or nine-day dawn Masses leading to the Christmas day.
"We are asking that they adjust the end of the curfew to 3:30 a.m. during those days of Simbang Gabi and no curfew on Dec. 24 evening," Pabillo told Radio Veritas.
He added, "We are just waiting for the response of the LGU, especially about the curfew."
