Shutdown of Pampanga heritage churches eyed
Credit to Author: CATHERINE A. MODESTO| Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2019 16:26:32 +0000
The Archdiocese of Pampanga on Tuesday recommended an indefinite lockdown on all of its heritage churches in the province a day after a magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck parts of Luzon.
The Archdiocesan Committee on Cultural Heritage said on a Facebook post that any religious activity was prohibited and that structures would be cordoned off “until they [the whole premises] are deemed safe.”
The archdiocese said some of its churches sustained damage from the earthquake such as the Monasterio de Sta. Clara in Betis, Guagua, and Hacienda Dolores in Porac, the town that apparently was hit the hardest by the temblor, even if the epicenter was in Castillejos, Zambales.
Experts from Escuella Taller de Filipinas saw cracks in the interior of the belfry at the Sta. Monica Parish in Minalin, the archdiocese said.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said parts of Pampanga became prone to strong shaking after the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, also in Zambales.
Below is the complete list of all heritage churches in Pampanga:
– District 1: Holy Rosary Parish, Angeles City; Nuestra Señora de Gracia Parish,
–Mabalacat City; and San Bartolome Apostol Parish, Magalang.
– District 2: San Agustin Parish, Lubao; Sta. Lucia Parish, Sasmuan; Immaculada Concepcion Parish, Guagua; Santiago Apostol Parish, Betis, Guagua; San Jose Labrador Parish, Floridablanca; Sta. Catalina de Alexandria Parish, Porac; and Sta. Rita de Casia Parish, Sta. Rita.
– District 3: Metropolitan Cathedral, City of San Fernando; Sta. Catalina Alexandria Parish, Arayat; San Guillermo Parish, Bacolor; Sta. Monica Parish, Mexico; Sta. Ana Parish, Sta. Ana; and San Vicente Ferrer Parish, Calulut, City of San Fernando.
– District 4: San Pedro Apostol Parish, Apalit; San Andres Parish, Candaba; San Nicolas de Tolentino Parish, Macabebe; San Miguel Arkanghel Parish, Masantol; Sta. Monica Parish, Minalin; San Luis Gonzaga Parish, San Luis; Nuestra Señora del Pilar Parish, San Simon; and Santo Tomas Apostol Parish, Santo Tomas.
In the Balanga diocese in Bataan, churches sustained minor damages.
Balanga Bishop Ruperto Santos also on Tuesday said in one of their 11 old town churches, the statue of St. Peter of Verona in Hermosa fell, but the church itself was undamaged.
Two decades-old parish churches in Dinalupihan and San Ramon suffered cracks on their walls.
Santos said assessment of churches of the diocese was ongoing.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) offered prayers for the victims of the earthquake.
In a message, Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles, CBCP president, said, “We pray that those injured and who lost properties will be comforted, that help will come and we also pray especially for the grieving people who have lost dear ones in the earthquake and we hope recovery and help as I said earlier would come to these people.”
“I would like to note also the work of those who went to rescue and helped those people in the damage areas. It is again a time to tell ourselves to prepare for such calamities, which are difficult to predict like an earthquake. So let us continue to pray for ourselves and for the suffering people,” he added.
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