In preparation for the 123rd Celebracion sa Julio, 23rd Anniversary as an Archdiocesan Shrine, and its 19th Canonical Coronation Anniversary, the Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe de Cebu held its 3rd Day Novena earlier today.
Cebu Archbishop Jose S. Palma presided over the Holy Mass. He was joined by Cebu Auxiliary Bishop-Emeritus Antonio Rañola, the team of pastors led by Fr. Aloysius Alojipan (Team Moderator), and other visiting priests.
Celebracion sa Julio is a thanksgiving to God for saving Cebu from the Cholera Epidemic way back in 1902. The people invoked the intercession of the Virgin of Guadalupe, and she in turn did not turn a deaf ear, and the epidemic stopped. A Thanksgiving novena was held from July 8-16 that same year, and the people celebrated July 16 as the second fiesta of the Virgin of Guadalupe of Cebu as an act of perpetual thanksgiving to her intercession to stop the epidemic.
The Virgin was Canonically Crowned on July 16, 2006, the 104th anniversary of the miracle. The Coronation of the Virgin also symbolized the official recognition of Our Lady of Guadalupe of Cebu as the Patroness of Cebu.