CEBU, Philippines — Fifteen homeless people, who are temporarily taking shelter at the Archdiocesan Shrine of San Nicolas de Tolentino Parish, were baptized over the weekend.
Five of them were adults aged 20 and above and others were infants, preschoolers and gradeschoolers.
Monsignor Roger Fuentes administered the sacrament of baptism on each one of them.
San Nicolas Proper Barangay Captain Clifford Jude Niñal, their godfather, said over 300 homeless people took shelter at the parish since the pandemic hit Cebu City in March.
Niñal said when they learned that 15 of the street dwellers had not yet been baptized, Fuentes did not think twice administering the sacrament.
They were baptized one at a time since mass gathering is still not allowed in areas under the general community quarantine (GCQ).
Moreover, Niñal hopes that the homeless people will soon find a permanent shelter.
He lamented that the barangay can no longer accommodate them because the covered court used as their temporary shelter will be utilized for another project.
Some of the 300 homeless people have started leaving the parish after the city shifted to a less stringent GCQ on Saturday, August 1.
They were already assessed and profiled by the city’s Department of Social Welfare and Services earlier last week. However, there is yet no update on what to do with them next. — KQD (FREEMAN)