THE Diocese of Kalookan is set to make a bid to have its first “minor basilica” in the 408-year-old San Bartolome Parish Church in Malabon City.
Speaking last week during the formal declaration of the centuries-old church as an “important cultural property,” Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David said he has advised the pastoral council of San Bartolome parish to prepare documents needed for the bid for the minor basilica declaration.
David, current president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, said the San Bartolome Parish Church is significant to the whole Kalookan diocese.
“It so happens that the mother church of this whole diocese is San Bartolome Parish Church here in Malabon. Sometimes, I even wonder why this wasn’t called the Diocese of Malabon instead,” he said David.
The title of “minor basilica” may be bestowed to a church for architectural beauty, historical significance, liturgical renown, the presence of a special relic or work of art, or for any combination of those qualities,
One of the privileges in being declared a “minor basilica” is plenary indulgence, which the faithful receive after visiting the church and participates in the sacred rites.
Last Thursday, the National Museum of the Philippines declared the parish church as an “important cultural property” (ICP).
Under the National Heritage Act of 2009, ICPs are defined as those having “exceptional cultural, artistic, and historical significance” to the country.
