Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 28) – The famous pilgrimage site in Obando, Bulacan known for couples wishing to have a baby is now a national shrine.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines bestowed the distinction to the San Pascual Baylón Parish-Diocesan Shrine of Nuestra Señora de la Inmaculada Concepcion de Salambao, more popularly known as Obando Church, in a virtual plenary assembly on Wednesday.
According to the Canon Law, a church is eligible to be a national shrine if it is a diocesan shrine and exceeds other churches in terms of “worship, Christian formation, and social services.”
The said church, founded by Franciscan missionaries in 1754, became a diocesan shrine in 2007 in honor of Our Lady of Salambao. The Marian image was said to be discovered three fishermen using a large net attached in a bamboo raft called salambao.
The Obando Church hosts the annual Obando Fertility Rites every May, where couples dance as a petition to bear a child. The fertility dance rituals are made in honor of St. Paschal Baylón, St. Clare of Assisi, and Our Lady of Salambao.
The Obando Church is the fourth national shrine in the Diocese of Malolos after the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Valenzuela City, National Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Marilao, and National Shrine of Saint Anne in Hagonoy.
The CBCP has yet to announce the date of the formal declaration of Obando Church as a national shrine. There are now a total of 29 national shrines in the Philippines.
