By Ferdinand Patinio/PNA
MANILA – The facades of cathedrals and parishes in the Archdiocese of Manila and in other parts of the country will turn red on Nov. 28 to support the launch of the Red Wednesday campaign.
In a circular issued to parishes, religious communities, organizations and schools on Thursday, Fr. Reginald Malicdem, Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Manila, invited the faithful to join the campaign and show solidarity to Christians all over the world who are persecuted because of their faith.
“On Red Wednesday campaign, facades of the cathedrals and parish churches all over the country are to be illuminated in red lights after the evening celebration of the Holy Eucharist to honor the blood of the persecuted Christians,” he said.
A mass will be celebrated at the Manila Cathedral at 6:30 p.m. to be followed by a program to discuss the significance of the illumination of the said structures followed by a communal prayer for persecuted Christians.
The Red Wednesday campaign is an initiative of the Aid to Church in Need (ACN) that creates awareness among Filipino Christians about the severity of Christian persecution and invites everyone “to make a visible statement by wearing red and, if resources allow, light their own parishes or respective buildings or local monuments in red.”
“The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has endorsed the Red Wednesday campaign by inviting all cathedrals, minor basilicas, and national & diocesan shrines to illuminate their façade in red. Furthermore, several Catholic universities in Manila have also expressed interest to join the campaign,” according to the ACN website.
For the list of the ecclesiastical territories, universities, groups worldwide, and other countries that will join the Red Wednesday campaign, please visit the ACN website at www.acn-philippines.org.
ACN is a pontifical charity organization dedicated to the service of Christians around the world, through information, prayer, and action, wherever they are persecuted or oppressed or suffering material need.
