His Excellency, Most Rev. Florentino Lavarias, Titular Archbishop of San Fernando (Pampanga) will preside today the Eucharistic Celebration and Solemn Declaration of the Parish Church of the Most Holy Rosary and Shrine of Virgen Milagrosa Del Rosarion Del Pueblo de Orani as Minor Basilica in Orani, Bataan.
Part of the celebration will be a Thanksgiving Mass at 5 p.m. followed by the Procession with the Canonically Crowned Image of the Virgen Milagrosa de Orani.
Rev. Father Abraham San Pedro Pantig will be the First Rector of this Minor Basilica and Shrine Parish.
“The Vatican sacred Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments has granted the title of Minor Basilica to our parish church of Our Lady of the Rosary in Orani. A blessing to the Diocese of Balanga. Our devotion to our Blessed Mother. Truly for us she is our Virgen Milagrosa del Rosario del Pueblo de Orani,” Diocese of Balanga Bataan Bishop Ruperto Santos announced last September of this year via Veritas 846 AM Radio.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) through their website explained that the title is given to churches around the world to denote particular importance in liturgical and pastoral life and a close bond with the pope.
The Bataan prelate described the elevation of the Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Parish into a Minor Basilica as a “grace from God.”
Last March of this year, the National Shrine of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Quezon City was also elevated into such a status.