MANILA, Philippines — The Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene, popularly known as the Quiapo Church, has been officially elevated to an archdiocesan shrine by Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula.
Advincula announced the parish’s new status during mass at the Quiapo Church celebrated by Fr. Reginald Malicdem, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Manila, on Wednesday.
In a decree dated May 10, Advincula granted the petition of Quiapo Church rector and parish priest Fr. Rufino Sescon Jr. to have the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene declared as an archdiocesan shrine.
The Cardinal consulted the Presbyteral Council or council of priests prior to approving the petition.
With the decree, Quiapo Church has been granted the “rights and privileges as embodied in the statutes and be governed by the Code of Canon Law.”
Malicdem said the declaration of Quiapo Church as an archdiocesan shrine was “long overdue.”