A Catholic parish church in central Philippines has been declared as the country’s first archdiocesan shrine dedicated to St. Rose of Lima.

In a decree signed on July 19 and was made public yesterday, Aug. 13, Archbishop Jose Palma of Cebu approved the petition to elevate the parish to such status.

Located in Daanbantayan town at the northern tip of the island province of Cebu, the parish was founded in 1858 and its stone church was inaugurated in 1886. It is one of the most preserved heritage churches in the province.

The centuries-old wooden image of St. Rose of Lima was earlier brought to pastoral visits in various parishes across the archdiocese.

According to Palma’s decree, the church was also declared a shrine on the occasion of the patron saint’s 435th year of birth.

It also added that a plenary indulgence is granted to every pilgrim after fulfilling the usual conditions during the traditional feast day of St. Rose in Daanbantayan held every 30th of August and during votive Masses in her honor every Thursday.

St. Rose of Lima is a Dominican tertiary from Peru who was the first canonized saint from the Americas on April 12, 1671 by Pope Clement X.

She is historically significant to the Philippines as she was declared as the secondary patroness of Peru and the Indies, which included the Philippines on August 11, 1670 through the papal bull “Sacrosancti apostolatus cura” by the same pontiff.

This brings the number of Cebu’s archdiocesan shrines to 24, making it the local Church with the most number of shrines in the country. The archdiocese is also home to one minor basilica and two national shrines.

The archdiocese has set Aug. 30 as the date to formally elevate the St. Rose of Lima Parish Church as an archdiocesan shrine.