By J. Jala | 09:03 PM April 24, 2021
The St. Joseph the Worker Cathedral will be promoted into a diocesan shrine because of its historical significance and appeal to pilgrims, according to Tagbilaran Bishop Abet Uy.
In his Facebook post, Bishop Uy announced that Pope Francis declared 2021 as the “Year of St. Joseph” to commemorate the 150th anniversary of St. Joseph being solemnly declared Patron of the Universal Church by Pope Pius IX in 1870.
Bishop Uy will preside over a Mass to declare the St. Joseph The Worker Cathedral in Tagbilaran City as a shrine on May 1, the feast day of St. Joseph.
“As a way of deepening our devotion to the person of St. Joseph in a more profound way, we, as a diocese, headed by Bishop Alberto S. Uy, D.D., come May 1, 2021, at 9AM Fiesta Pontifical Mass, will be declaring the Cathedral of St. Joseph the Worker to the status of a diocesan shrine, ” the Cathedral announced on Saturday.
St. Joseph the Worker Cathedral is the seat of the Diocese of Tagbilaran in the province of Bohol. Built in the 18th century, the church was destroyed in a fire in 1798 and was reconstructed in 1839. To accommodate a growing faithful, the cathedral underwent several renovations well into the 21st century.
