Palo Archdiocese to honor Our Lady of Hope for Yolanda’s 3rd anniversary

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines — While the locals here will commemorate the third anniversary of the deadly super typhoon Yolanda on November 8 by way of candle-lighting ceremony, the church will mark the day with the launching of the Devotion to Our Lady of Hope.

According to Reverend Father Ronel Taboso, parish priest of the Santo Niño Church in Tacloban City, the Archdiocese of Palo will lead in the launching ceremony.

The life-sized image of the Our Lady of Hope of Palo was a fixture in the altar set-up at the apron of the DZR Airport in Tacloban for the Mass presided by Pope Francis on the stormy January 17 last year. The Pope also blessed the image before the Mass.

A miniature image of the Our Lady of Hope of Palo was handed to the Pope by Palo Archbishop John Du at the altar of the Palo Cathedral during a supposed brief meeting with clergy following his short stop at the Archbishop’s Residence in Palo for lunch with Yolanda orphans and blessing of the Pope Francis Center on same day.

Taboso said the Our Lady Of Hope of Palo devotion is meant to both remember the deaths of those who perished in the super typhoon Yolanda and to commemorate the resurgence of hope among the survivors by their faith in the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Many survivors have testified in various documentaries that they survived the ordeal with the storm surge and twister-like winds by praying the Holy Rosary. Others continued their prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary while they endeavor to rise above the destruction and pain that the typhoon caused.

Taboso disclosed that a devotional prayer is probably being formulated now by the Archdiocese liturgists, the vicar-general Reverend Monsignor Rex Ramirez or Father Gilbert Urbina, a historian of the Archdiocese as well.

He also said the faithful should not consider the image of Our Lady of Hope of Palo as particularly owned by Palo town alone because, like other images of the Holy Mother of God—such as Our Lady of Fatima and Our Lady of the Holy Rosary — the devotion is not exclusive to those in Fatima, Portugal. “Palo here is Archdiocese of Palo and not town of Palo,” Taboso clarified.

Besides the introduction of the Devotion to Our Lady of Hope of Palo on November 8, the presbyterium of the Archdiocese of Palo are likewise scheduled to visit a mass grave in Tanauan to commemorate the death of the victims of Yolanda, said Taboso.

At the Santo Niño Parish in Tacloban, a commemorative concelebrated Mass is also slated to be said in the afternoon of November 8. A prayer wall will likewise be placed like what was done in previous year. These are besides the novena prayer and aurora until November 8 for the same purpose.

Brando Bernadas, chairman of SNP Commission of Social Action and an official of the Tacloban City government, said a Holy Mass is scheduled to be held at the mass grave of thousands of Yolanda victims at the Holy Cross Memorial Park in Barangay Diit. Mayor Cristina Romualdez will lead the celebraton of the Holy Mass to be held in the morning after the aurora.

An ecumenical community prayer is also being planned in the afternoon of November 8. The clergy of the Archdiocese of Palo encouraged the faithful to join in the religious activities for the third anniversary of Yolanda and pray for the souls of those who died. (FREEMAN)