Ringing of church bells signals start of interfaith prayer against coronavirus

MANILA, Philippines – Catholic parish churches in the Philippines will ring their bells at 3 pm on Wednesday, April 8, to signal the start of an interfaith prayer service against the coronavirus pandemic.

Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said the pealing of church bells would be a show of solidarity in prayer among the different faiths in the county.

“It will be comforting and encouraging for our people when they sense and observe that a spirit of unity and working together is there in these trying times,” Valles said in a message released by the CBCP.

The televised interfaith prayer service was organized by the government’s Inter Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID).  Wednesday’s activity is called the “Buklurang Panalangin ng Pagkakaisa Para Sugpuin ang COVID-19.”

The organizers could not have picked a more poignant date for the interfaith activity as most of Christendom observes its first-ever Holy Week stripped of trappings and prayers limited to online activities. (READ: Close to their flock, at a distance: Priests find ways to bless ‘palaspas’)

Because of the scourge of the highly-communicable COVID-19, the CBCP has issued changes in Catholic customs and rituals as early as February this year. (WATCH: Visita Iglesia 2020)

Bishop Oscar Florencio of the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines will lead the Chaplain Services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in representing the Catholic faithful during the interfaith prayer service.

Florencio said, “The AFP chaplains will assist to invoke the mighty help of God as we plead Him to heal those affected by COVID-19 and to spare us from this present pandemic.”  

The Philippines on Tuesday, April 7, counted 3,764 coronavirus cases, including 177 deaths and 84 recoveries

The coronavirus death toll worldwide has surpassed 73,000, while more than 1.3 million have been infected in over 190 countries and territories. – Rappler.com