Posted by Novena Church has been organizing an annual procession to honor Mary, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, since 1953
Mobile procession honors Mother Mary in Singapore – UCA News
A Catholic church in Singapore has held a mobile procession to honor Mother Mary that garnered a positive response from thousands of faithful.
The Church of St. Alphonsus, popularly known as Novena Church, is famous for promoting novena prayer devotion to Mary and large gatherings during the annual feast in her honor.
Founded and run by Redemptorist missionaries, the church preserves a replica of the original miraculous icon (painting) of Mary, Our Mother of Perpetual Help, painted on wood by an eastern artist about five centuries ago.
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The original icon has been preserved at the shrine of St. Alphonsus Liguori in Rome, the headquarters of the Redemptorists. In 1867, Pope Pius IX venerated the image and honored it with a canonical coronation.
Each year Novena Church holds a novena procession when thousands join rallies for prayers and blessings with the icon of Mary.
This year, due to Covid-19 restrictions, only 500 vaccinated participants were allowed to attend the procession, prompting the organizers to arrange a mobile procession with the icon of Mary, reports Catholic News of Singapore Archdiocese.
Some of those who came to the prayer services, which included non-Catholic staff, were in tears
“As we were trying to organize the procession, we encountered obstacles as the nation went into heightened alert. We wanted to remind the faithful that even though they could not come to see our Blessed Mother at our church, she is close to them, especially during this pandemic,” said Edwyn de Souza, a member of the organizing committee and pastoral coordinator of Novena Church.
The icon of Mary was placed in a lorry and driven around national landmarks in Singapore in August. The lorry made stopovers in several parishes and organizations that represented the church’s outreach in social mission, education, health care and pastoral care to the faithful.
This special visit enthralled the faithful and even non-Catholics who welcomed the icon with eagerness and enthusiasm.
“Some of those who came to the prayer services, which included non-Catholic staff, were in tears,” said Gordon Pinto, general manager of Agape Village, a Catholic charity serving disabled people.