By Father Carmine Cucinelli
Another copy of the Holy Face of Manoppello was enthroned, that is, permanently exhibited, in the city of Rome. It is the third enthronement in Rome in order of time: the first took place on November 4, 2014 in the church of Sant'Ignazio D'Antiochia, located in the Appio Claudio district, in via Appia Nuova, by the Filipino parish priest Don Jess Marano, the second on October 14, 2018 in the church of Saints Elizabeth and Zechariah, in the Prima Porta area, Valle Muricana, by another Filipino parish priest Don Bonifacio Lopez. The third on July 4 of last year, 2021 in the Oratory of St. Francis Xavier, in via Caravita, 7, by the same Filipino priest Don Bonifacio.
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| Oratory of St. Francis Xavier |
In all three churches the sacred Image, duly framed, has been placed very opportunely in the Adoration Chapel, because while Jesus is adored in the Tabernacle, looking at the holy Face next to it, the faithful can increase the ardor of adoration. Father Bonifacio's great love for the Holy Face began to take shape in September 2015 when he accompanied me as my interpreter on an unforgettable mission to Canada, the USA and the Philippine Islands to make the Holy Face known and to enthrone it in some churches. Since then he has wanted to spread devotion to the sacred image wherever he went. First as a parish priest, he wanted the main window on the façade of his church of Saints Elizabeth and Zechariah to depict the Holy Face and then he enthroned a copy of the sacred Veil, coming from Manoppello, inside the Adoration Chapel. (see post on the Holy Face at Church of Saints Elizabeth and Zechariah and at Church of Sant'Ignazio d'Antiochia https://holyfaceofmanoppello.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-sudarium-of-jesus-on-outskirts-of.html)
Subsequently, having become the spiritual director of a large community of Filipinos in Rome who gather in the Oratory of St. Francis Xavier, under the diligent guidance of Mr. Blas Trinidad, he wanted the true Image of Jesus to be venerated there too. In fact, he wanted to do more. He brought from the Philippines a precious monstrance to hold the veil with the face of Jesus, similar to that of Nampicuan (Philippines), where six years ago a very popular diocesan shrine was established, dedicated to the Holy Face. This reliquary was blessed, as soon as it arrived in Italy, by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, also a Filipino, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Metropolitan Archbishop Emeritus of Manila (Philippines).
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| Fr. Bonifacio "Ted" Lopez and Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle |
On July 4, 2021 there was the ceremony of enthronement. Don Bonifacio, known as Don Ted, came to pick me up in Giulianova early in the morning. He brought me to Rome and at 1:30pm we began the sacred rite with a short procession from the oratory to the church of Sant'Ignazio di Loyola, not far away, followed by the solemn Holy Mass concelebrated by the two of us and animated by the choir of Filipinos, with songs performed in their Tagalog language.
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| Church of Sant'Ignazio di Loyola |
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| Holy Mass at the Oratory of St. Francis Xavier |
At the end of the Mass the enthronement took place. The monstrance with the Holy Face was placed in a niche above the tabernacle in the Adoration Chapel.
That day, a happy coincidence, happened also to be Don Ted's birthday and the faithful wanted to celebrate it with a grand lunch after Mass.
And now in that church, dedicated to the Jesuit father St. Francis Xavier, apostle of the Indies who died a missionary in 1552, all the faithful, and not only the group of Filipinos, but also other groups, associations and tourists can admire, in addition to the many frescoes by famous painters, the true Face of Jesus, whose original, presently located in Manoppello, until 1500 had been located a short distance from there, in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.
Thanks to the contribution of Filipinos, devotion to the Holy Face is spreading throughout the world. We cannot forget that the first person to take an interest in this spread was a Filipino woman transplanted to Bellevue, Washington, USA, by the name of Daisy Neves, who died in 2019, and who financed two international trips to bring the devotion of the Holy Face to a number of countries of the world and procured the printing of numerous promotional aids in different languages: brochures, leaflets, books, pictures. In addition to the countries already mentioned, she spread devotion to the Holy Face also to Lebanon, through Christian missionaries of the Maronite rite. (cf. https://holyfaceofmanoppello.blogspot.com/2018/08/holy-face-in-lebanon.html
