The Roman Catholic Diocese of Malolos formally assumed pastoral responsibility for Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto in the city San Jose del Monte in Bulacan on Saturday.
In a statement, the diocese said it had signed an agreement with the heirs of the late Horacio and Anita Guanzon, granting the local church pastoral management of the pilgrimage site.
The agreement was signed on June 12, but the diocese only made it public on July 19.
“The Diocese of Malolos, together with the children of Horacio and Anita Guanzon, will strive to fulfill the wishes of their parents that the grotto becomes a true place of devotion for Catholic faithful,” it said in Filipino.
“May Our Lady of Lourdes pray for us as we visit her at this shrine so that we may receive abundant blessings from the Lord,” the diocese added.
On July 20, Bishop Dennis Villarojo of Malolos presided over a Mass for the canonical possession and turnover of the grotto to the diocese.
After being cured of cancer following her family’s pilgrimage to Lourdes in 1961, Anita decided to establish the grotto as a way to give thanks, believing her recovery was a miracle.
Located about 30 kilometers northeast of Manila, the replica of the Basilica of Our Lady of Lourdes in France was inaugurated in 1965.
When she passed away in 1990, nearly five years after her husband’s death, the management of the grotto was entrusted to their children.
For many years, the diocese had formed relationships with the grotto’s owners and assigned priest-chaplains to the site.
However, as it became clear that the owners did not intend to donate the property for religious services, the diocese stopped assigning priests, leading to the arrival of non-Catholic ministers.
In 2004, the diocese issued a circular clarifying that the grotto was private property and not recognized as an official Catholic pilgrimage site.
The diocese revealed earlier this year its efforts to negotiate with the Guanzon family “to fulfill their parents’ wish to have the shrine opened for Catholic believers.”
On Feb. 11, Bishop Villarojo celebrated Mass at the grotto on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, which the diocese described as “a step to make the wish come true”.
