[Under 3 Minutes] Inside the Lady’s sanctuary

MANILA, Philippines – It was the time of the year to enter one of the Philippines’ most iconic sanctuaries.

The Manila Cathedral revived on Wednesday, December 8, its fiesta tradition of allowing Catholics to enter its sanctuary so that they can pray before the image of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, up close.

The current Manila Cathedral church building was finished in 1958, the seventh time it was rebuilt after being destroyed for various reasons – earthquakes, typhoons, or World War II – since 1581.

Its altar was designed by the German artist Toni Fiedler, who also conceptualized the image of Our Lady in the cathedral-basilica. The image was crafted by Italian-born Enzo Assenza based on a painting by the 17th-century Spanish artist Bartolomé Esteban Murillo.

Rappler’s Paterno Esmaquel II joins the thousands of Filipino Catholics who entered the sanctuary of the Manila Cathedral on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a public holiday in the Philippines. – Rappler.com