Manila Cathedral reopens after restoration. Card Tagle: "It is the mother of all churches "
Manila ( AsiaNews / CBCP ) - "Now we are all home. Welcome home. Welcome home to this house of the archdiocese, the home of our God, the home of our Mother": these were the words with which the Archbishop of Manila, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle , greeted thousands of faithful gathered to celebrate the reopening of the cathedral ; the Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception was closed in February 2012, for a thorough restoration and safety upgrade, to ensure the future of one of the Philippines' most important monuments from the point of view of architectural heritage , history and culture. Experts corrected some structural defects, which in the case of a powerful earthquake - a frequent phenomenon on the Philippine archipelago - would have caused the collapse of the entire building.
During his
homily, which lasted about thirty minutes , the cardinal wanted to personally
thank the benefactors - from large enterprises to individual donors - that funded
the massive project, making it possible. It
cost 70 million pesos ( a little over 1.5 million dollars). " The generosity of people. So many to mention. God
knows who you are - said Card.
Tagle - We would not have been able to rebuild this, without your
generosity."
It
was the Archbishop of Manila's first solemn celebration in the Cathedral since
his appointment to the College of Cardinals ; senior
government officials, led by Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, the
President of the Senate, Franklin Drilon and Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada , with
their respective families participated.
The cardinal noted the beauty of the place of worship, restored to its former glory and now even safer: "Beyond my expectations - he said - and beyond my ability to put my emotions into words." He therefore wanted to address a particular thought, jokingly, to Msgr. Nestor C. Cerbo , rector of the cathedral, which managed to "survive" the impressive amount of work that led to this of restoration.
Since the
devastation caused by the Second World War , the historic place of worship had
not received any special maintenance, so its future survival in the event of
natural disasters had been in serious doubt. The
cardinal then addressed a special praise to the experts - restorers, engineers,
masons - who have lent their expertise. "They
have done so much for the Church - Card. Tagle said - I heard them say This is for Mama Mary', 'For the Church, we will do
everything that we can do".
In
its 400 years of history, "it has been a mute witness to some of the most
important highlights in the nation's past. It had been gutted by fire, brought
down by tremors, defiled by foreign troops only to "rise again, refusing to be
buried", Card. Tagle observed. "Dedicated
to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, it is seen as "the mother of
all churches in the Philippines".
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