The following is the March 17, 2020 memo of Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Antonio Ledesma on the suspension of public masses and other activities in Catholic churches within the archdiocese:
IN solidarity with the directives of the Department of Health and our local government officials, I am asking all our parishes to suspend all public Masses and all public gatherings in our churches, starting today until April 15, subject to further evaluation.
This is to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic that is affecting the Philippines and other parts of the world.
On the other hand, parishioners are encouraged to engage in spiritual communion through radio and TV Masses.
Some churches may have the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament during the day for individual parishioners to come and pray.
This would be an opportune time for family members to engage in regular prayers and devotions inside their homes. The daily recitation of the family rosary is highly recommended.
Members of Basic Ecclesial Communities in their small group gatherings can engage in Bible sharing and community prayer.
This would also be a challenging opportunity for our Gasa Balik sa Dios practice of regular household contributions to continue supporting our parishes, despite the suspension of public gatherings of worshippers during this time of emergency and care for the greater good of our communities.
May our Birhen sa Kota be our refuge during this time of trial and solidarity with everyone in our wider society.
