Around 15,000 police personnel will be deployed to secure the activities of the 2024 Santo Nino feast which includes the traditional annual grand miracle crusade of the Catholic Charismatic group El Shaddai, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Thursday.
“Around 15,000 po,” PNP spokesperson Police Colonel Jean Fajardo told GMA News Online in a message.
For the conduct of the annual El Shaddai gathering from Quirino Grandstand to Quiapo Church and CAVITEX in Kawit, Fajardo said over 5,600 personnel will be initially deployed.
During the final inter-agency meeting for the feast, authorities and organizers said they are expecting the number of attendees to reach the pre-pandemic record of around 2 to 10 million, Fajardo said.
The route that will be used for the grand miracle crusade will be the same as the one used in 2020, according to Fajardo.
Police will implement some restrictions in controlled areas in front of Quiapo Church and the streets and roads surrounding the chapel.
Physical distancing will be imposed during masses due to the risk of communicable diseases, Fajardo also said.
On Wednesday, the El Shaddai DWXI Prayer Partners Fellowship International said it is considering reinstating old practices for the celebration of the Santo Nino feast.
El Shaddai spokesperson Atty. Melquiades Robles said among these is encasing the image of the Black Nazarene on the stage.
The Grand Miracle Crusade of the Catholic Charismatic group El Shaddai is on the second Saturday to the third Monday of January and is an annual gathering that draws millions of Filipino and foreign devotees from all over the Philippines. The traditional grand miracle crusade was not held in the past three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fr. Carmelo Arada, Jr. of the Service Committee on Liturgy said a Sinulog rhythm and dance will be held before the concluding papal Mass on Jan. 21, feast of the Santo Niño.
He requested attendees "to bring images of the Santo Niño to join" the dance, to be led by devotees from the Archdiocese of Cebu.
He also asked them to bring candles for the end of the Mass, when the crowd will sing the 1995 World Youth Day anthem, "Tell the World of His Love."
'Bring the Philippines to the Pope'
The altar—including the papal chair and the table—will also carry Filipino designs, particularly that of the anahaw, the national leaf.
"If we can't bring the Pope to go around the Philippines, we'll bring elements of the Philippines close to the Pope," said Fr. Alex Bautista, the altar's designer. "The Filipino context [is] always incorporated in the design."
He said they were following the Vatican's call for subtlety in the design, while also incorporating the Filipino touch.
"In the design consideration for the liturgical space in Luneta, the concept is to serve the liturgical purpose, to reflect the Filipino character, and to [show] the simplicity of the vicar of Christ," he said.
The altar table, currently in its finishing stages in Laguna, has a base that resembles "a praying hand," with a marble table top serving as "a floating element… like lifting the gifts and offerings at the altar."
The anahaw leaf, the primary design element, symbolizes "the strength of the Filipino people," Bautista said.
He added that the other elements will be the cross with an orb to represent "Christ embracing the world"; doves to stand for "souls"; and bamboo flutings.
The marble top will be from Romblon, while the linen used will be white piña cloth from Laguna.
Meanwhile, the papal chair will bear the anahaw leaf and the papal seal, as well as "a Filipino good shepherd," the phrase "Ang Mabuting Pastol," and elements like a guava tree, which was incorporated there "because it has a healing quality."
Bautista said the papal chair and altar table, once painted, will have an accent of copper, which he said symbolizes the need for people to be "conductors of faith."
In a separate interview with GMA News Online, Bautista said that the anahaw leaves will have "a subtle" touch of yellow-green, adding that he will personally oversee the painting of the chair and the table.
Bautista also disclosed that he meant the phrase "Ang Mabuting Pastol" to be above the Pope's head so that photographs to be taken of the pontiff seated on it would be immediately recognized as being from this visit.
'No flowers'
Bautista added that the liturgical space—the stage at the Quirino Grandstand—will be adorned with flowers. Instead, they will use different kinds of plants.
"You will not see any flower to begin with," he said. "[We're using] San Francisco plant—very common in rural backyards … Pandan plant will be used also," he said.
He added that bamboo handicrafts from Bulacan, showcased usually at the province's Singkaban Festival, will be used "for the canopy."
The San Francisco plant, which relies on sunlight, is a reflection of "the faith of the people, from the sun, from the light, which is Christ."
He also told GMA News Online that the said plant will also be used because it has the same name as the pontiff.
Pope to speak Tagalog words
To accompany the altar's Filipino design, the Mass will feature the language of the Philippines, both in words and in music.
Arada says the intercessions "will be prayed in the different Filipino languages," including Tagalog. Responses, meanwhile, will be in Tagalog and English.
The Pope will also speak a few words in English, as he leads the congregation in the Profession of Faith.
"The profession of faith, 'yung 'Sumasampalataya,' will be led by the Holy Father. Maririnig po natin ang Santo Papa na magsabing 'Sumasampalataya ako,'" he said.
After the first phase, the congregation will sing the profession of faith along with the Pope, Arada said in a separate interview.—VAL, GMA Integrated News
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