CEBU PILGRIMAGE, Part 1 The Cross of Magellan

The Cross of Magellan

I decided to use the word pilgrimage rather than tour in narrating this visit because this site is sacred for our Catholic Faith. This Cross of Magellan mean much more for Filipino Catholics than the flag planted by Astronaut Neil Armstrong on the surface of the Moon. The planting of the Cross signaled not only the discovery of the country but also the turning point of our people from Paganism into the True Faith, the unification of our islands into a single nation, the rise of civilization in the archipelago and our initiation into the family of nations.

The Pathway going to the Shrine

The first time I visited Cebu it was already late in the afternoon when I reached this place and I was not able to enter the Shrine. I'm glad that this time it was wide open and I was able to pray before the Holy Cross. There I praised and thanked the Lord for the evangelization of the Philippines without which I would have been pagan or Muslim now. I praised and thanked Him for spreading the Catholic Faith throughout the lands and for the success of the missions.

Moreover, I praised the Lord for the Catholic Education that I have received, for being born in a very Catholic Family, for the beauty of faith in my home parish, for the gift of vocation, for the spread of the Somascan Congregation in the country and for giving me the Blessed Virgin to be my Mother.

Then, I petitioned the Lord to have mercy on the nation and to all of us Filipinos, to forgive us from our infidelities and sins. To free us from corruptions of the world and to look with kindness in our failures to do the will of the Father in our daily life. As our country is besieged by moral, social, political and financial crises I implored Him to free us from our sins in Christ Jesus.

Finally, I re-consecrated myself before the Holy Cross to be a faithful Catholic priest and a minister of the Church for life. I consecrated to Him our Somascan Mission in Sorsogon especially our School where I am assigned. And, I consecrated to Him my Apologetic apostolates to bear fruits for His glory.

I was already looking very tired and haggard with this photo because we walked from the Park to the Fort San Pedro, from Fort San Pedro to the Malacanang sa Sugbu, then back to the Park and on walking again until we reached the Shrine of the Cross.

Fr. Augie Dingal, CRS

The Red Marble Base of the Cross