Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia commended Boholanos’ resilience and unwavering faith amid tribulations particularly the 7.2-magnitude earthquake that devastated the province in 2013.
Caccia who was in Bohol for the turnover of the earthquake-hit Baclayon Church to the Diocese of Tagbilaran, likened the church’s damages to life itself wherein people may falter but are able to rise up again.
The Vatican official in his homily during a Mass celebrated at the reopened church on Tuesday also expressed his admiration for the Boholanos and various institutions for efforts in restoring the centuries-old church.
“It is good when church and government work together. When there is harmony, there is peace and joy,” Caccia said in front of clergymen and various local government officials who attended the turnover rites.
However, Caccia highlighted that communities of the faithful are more important than mere structures.
“There is something more important than this building. This is the kind of church that no earthquake or typhoon can destroy. It is the church built up with living stones—that is the Christian community, that is each one of you,” he added.
Caccio who was in Bohol for two days also noted that his visit to the province marked Filipinos’ significance to Pope Francis.
He arrived in Bohol on Monday morning and flew back to Manila this afternoon.
Other than the Baclayon Church, Caccia also visited the Santa Cruz Parish Church in Maribojoc and Our Lady of Light Parish Church in Loon before he celebrated a mass at the St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Tagbilaran City this morning. (R. Tutas)