The Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral in Maasin City has been elevated to a “diocesan shrine”, a fifth for the southern Leyte diocese.

The declaration was held during Mass officiated by Bishop Prescioso Cantillas on Friday, which marked the diocese’s 52nd anniversary.

In his homily, the bishop said the elevation was the diocese’s concrete expression of gratitude for the “gift of faith”.

“We should be always grateful to the Lord in good times and in bad,” said Cantillas, adding that the Covid-19 pandemic should not stop the faithful from thanking God.

The ceremony also took place on the eve of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The church was canonically established as a parish in 1771, under the care of the Jesuit missionaries.

The placing of the church under the patronage of Our Lady of the Assumption was attributed to the Franciscans who took charge in 1843.

In 1968, upon the elevation of the parish into a cathedral, the newly erected diocese also took Our Lady of the Assumption as its patroness.

Generation after generation, the bishop said in his decree that the strong Marian devotion has been “vital part of the faith life, history and culture” of the diocese and the many pilgrims visiting the church.

“Her miraculous images… are affectionately treasured by her devotees and pilgrims as signs of hopes and sources of inspiration,” Cantillas said.

The diocese’s other shrines include the St. Anthony De Padua Church in Pamponan, Baybay City; Agnus Dei Shrine in Hilongos, Southern Leyte; Divine Mercy Shrine in Matalom, Leyte; and the Monte Cueva Shrine in Maasin.