On Palm Sunday, devotees attend mass, watch Pacquiao fight

George P. Moya

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On Palm Sunday, devotees attend mass, watch Pacquiao fight
Despite Manny Pacquiao's much-hyped return to the ring, people still attended the Palm Sunday mass to mark the start of the Holy Week

MANILA, Philippines – To the Filipino Catholic faithful, Palm Sunday is a day of commemorating the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. But this year’s Palaspas also marks a special event for Filipinos: the return of boxing icon Manny Pacquiao into the ring, in a title rematch with American Timothy Bradley.

Despite the much-hyped fight of “Pacman,” there was reportedly no change in the number of mass attendees at Sto. Domingo Church in Quezon City. Devotees flocked to attend the Palm Sunday mass during the undercard bouts of the Pacquiao-Bradley fight. In the past Pacquiao fights, the church got crowded late in the afternoon, long after the fights were over.

On the other hand, about a hundred people, most of them men, watched the live broadcast of the fight in a makeshift tent at the nearby barangay hall. No one among the crowd held palm branches.

At a waiting shed outside the Sto. Domingo Church, meanwhile, a handful of tricycle drivers, bystanders and passers-by watched the delayed telecast of the fight on free TV.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) earlier reminded Filipinos to observe Palm Sunday. The CBCP said the Pacquiao-Bradley II fight was not an excuse to miss mass, especially during Lent, which began 39 days ago with the observance of Ash Wednesday. Palm Sunday marks the beginning of the Holy Week.

TRADITION. Catholics flock to churches right after the Pacquiao-Bradley II fight.

Rappler.com

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