Faithful asked to pray for restoration of fire-hit Manila church

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MANILA – An official of the Archdiocese of Manila has urged the faithful to pray for the immediate recovery of the Sto. Niño Parish in Pandacan, Manila after its church was gutted by fire on Friday afternoon.

In a Facebook post on Saturday, Bishop Broderick Pabillo, Apostolic Administrator of Manila, said he was thankful that no one was hurt in the fire, which was declared under control past 1 p.m.

“Let us pray for the fast recovery of the parish. We are thankful that nobody was hurt, there were no houses affected. Probably the damage is big, but we will conduct an assessment,” he said.

The Bureau of Fire Protection – National Capital Region (BFP-NCR) said the fire reached third alarm.

Authorities were still determining whether the historical image of the Sto. Nino de Pandacan was among those that were engulfed by the fire.

The image of the baby Jesus Christ, believed to be more than 400 years old, is carved out of dark wood that is similar to the dark Mexican wood of the images of the Black Nazarene of Quiapo and the Black Madonna of Antipolo.

The image was brought to the Philippines by the Spaniards via the galleon trade from Acapulco, Mexico.