10% capacity strictly implemented at Quiapo Church

Police dispersed those planning to attend church at Quiapo Church that did not reach the cutoff of 100 people for the first Friday morning mass.

This is the only allowed capacity of the churches in the Archdiocese of Manila for physical mass now that there are stricter quarantine guidelines in Metro Manila.

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Unlike previous days that some were allowed to listen to mass even on the side of the church, the police strictly enforced the ban on people even outside.

A few minutes before the mass began, those who did not enter were asked to leave.

Others tried to pray in the Plaza Miranda area, but that too was blocked. So others are just praying outside the church.

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Some have appealed to the long-standing devotion to moving to Quiapo every Friday. Others, on the other hand, are content to light candles or wait to enter the next mass.

Usually, on Quiapo Day you hear the mass here on the street on the church loudspeaker, but even that and the LED outside is turned off so as not to entice people to stay outside.

Police closed Quezon Boulevard while the volunteers were in the churchyard.

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10% capacity strictly implemented at Quiapo Church

The CBCP had earlier said that they would not expel those who wanted to enter the church especially this Easter.

The Archdiocese of Manila said Wednesday that it was not disobeying the order of the country’s pandemic response  after they issued a pastoral instruction regarding Holy Week activities this week.

This is after the government banned religious gatherings in the so-called “NCR plus bubble” until April 4 or Easter due to the spike in COVID-19 cases.

But according to Bishop Broderick Pabillo, Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Manila, they only insist on the “right to worship” of the believer in his pastoral instruction.

Under such a statement, churches under the archdiocese will be open starting this Wednesday at up to 10 percent capacity.

Bishop Pabillo added that they will issue a clarificatory note this Wednesday regarding his pastoral instruction. This was after a meeting with the priests in his archdiocese to explain it.