A House of Prayer, Under the Shadow of Peter

Homily of H.E. Most Rev. Charles John Brown D.D., Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines

Solemn Declaration of the Minor Basilica & Diocesan Shrine Parish of St. Paul of the Cross

October 26, 2025 | Marikina, Metro Manila

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

For me as your Apostolic Nuncio, it gives me so much happiness to be with you this morning, here in the Diocesan Shrine-Parish, and now the Minor Basilica of St. Paul of the Cross, here in Marikina City.

I greet in a very special way His Excellency, the Most Rev. Ruperto C. Santos, your beloved Bishop of Antipolo. I thank the Very Rev. Vicentico C. Flores, Jr., the first rector of the minor basilica and your parish priest at the diocesan shrine.

I have come this morning with Father Guilherme de Melo Sanches from the Apostolic Nunciature on Taft Ave., to share your joy in this momentous and singular honor which Pope Leo XIV has bestowed on the Diocesan Shrine and Parish of St. Paul of the Cross, here in Marikina City. That is, the honor and privilege of being declared a Minor Basilica, which is a singular and very unusual honor that the Holy Father in Rome gives to certain churches throughout the world.

The Symbols of the Bell and Umbrella

To understand the connection with Pope Leo, with our Holy Father, and the elevation of your basilica, we can reflect on the symbols which were introduced, presented during that magnificent entrance procession of various symbols: symbols of the life of St. Paul of the Cross, symbols of Our Lady of Fatima, but principally two symbols which are used to indicate a Minor Basilica.

You know, brothers and sisters? Our religion, as Catholics, is a religion of signs and symbols. Indeed, the sacraments by which we receive God's grace, we are nourished and strengthened. They are signs that give grace. The Eucharist is a sign that gives grace. The Eucharist is the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity [of Christ] under the sign of bread and wine. So, signs and symbols are so important for us as Catholics.

You have two very important symbols here this morning, which were brought in, in the entrance procession. They're also represented here in the sanctuary. On the right side of the sanctuary, you have the symbol of the bell, the famous tintinnabulum, the bell. What was the bell? The bell symbolizes, or represents the ceremonial bell, the tintinnabulum, which was carried in front of the Pope in Rome when he would visit parishes. To let people know that the Pope was coming, a bell was brought in front of him, ringing, so people would know that the Holy Father was coming to visit their parish in Rome. It's a symbol of the presence of the Pope, the bell. Because in the olden days, they didn't have cell phones, so they couldn't tell people the Pope was coming. They would send a letter, but then, as he approached, he would be preceded by the bell, which you see on the right side of the sanctuary. So it's a symbol of the presence of Pope Leo XIV.

That's not the only symbol we have. Above me, you see another symbol which was also brought in, in the entrance procession. It's a symbol of the umbrella, the papal umbrella, the umbraculum. This is another very important symbol which was used also when the Pope would visit parishes in Rome. Because Rome, a little bit like the Philippines in the summer at least, has a very strong sun. Of course, here in the Philippines, you carry umbrellas. You carry a payong to protect yourself from the sun. That's what they did for the Pope. This umbrella signifies the umbrella that was carried over the Pope to protect him from the elements of the weather. Whether it was the blazing sun in the summer, perhaps the rain in the fall and the winter. So, this umbrella signifies also the presence of the Pope. It was carried over him to protect him. So, we have this very interesting idea of the umbrella, which we can say “spreads the shadow of the Pope”. It spreads the shade of the Pope; and you in a basilica, are literally underneath the shadow of the Pope.

Sub Umbra Petri

It's very interesting. In the Acts of the Apostles, in the fifth chapter, the 15th verse, it talks about after the resurrection of Jesus, the Apostles living in Jerusalem. It says that when Peter were walking on the streets of Jerusalem, going to the Temple, the people of Jerusalem would bring their sick people into the streets, laying them on the sidewalk. Then they, actually, the apostle says this, “So that at least the shadow”, “at least the shadow of Peter, would rest on the sick people and would heal them” (cf. Acts 5:15-16).

So this idea of Pope Leo as the successor of Pope, of the first pope, St. Peter, the shadow of the Pope which is over you in your Basilica.

When I was in Rome in June, the Pope gave all the nuncios a ring, which I'm wearing this morning, and inside the ring. In small letters, he had written three words, “Sub Umbra Petri”, which means “under the shadow of Peter”. That idea of the healing presence of the Pope, represented by the umbrella, represented by the Acts of the Apostles, when people would bring the sick into the streets, so that the shadow of the Apostle Peter would be falling on them and healing them.

Every nuncio in a certain extent, extends the shadow, the shade of Peter throughout the entire world, the successor of Peter, Holy Father in Rome, Pope Leo XIV.

So, your church now is under the shadow of the Pope. It's Sub Umbra Petri (under the shadow of Peter), and given this special and marvelous privilege. Why? Because your church, your parish, needs to be even more a house of prayer. Why does the Pope designate churches to be basilicas? So that they will be houses of prayer, intense prayer. In fact, in a basilica like your own, there are special privileges granted by the Holy See. When the Pope designates a church as a Minor Basilica in the decree which was issued about this back in 1989 (Domus Ecclesiae. Norms for the Granting of the Title of Minor Basilica, 1989), which describes the ways in which churches are designated as minor basilicas, it says this,

“The faithful people of God [you Catholics] who devoutly visit the basilica and within the basilica, participate in any sacred rite, or at least, say the Our Father, and make a profession of faith, [you] may obtain a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions [which are]: sacramental confession, Eucharistic Communion, and prayer for the intention of the Holy Father (Domus Ecclesiae #17).”

So, here and now, in the Minor Basilica of St. Paul of the Cross in Marikina, as a Minor Basilica, you can receive this plenary indulgence. So, this place will be a house of prayer.

True and Humble Prayer

Isn't that what the Gospel talks about this morning? About what it means to pray. That famous Gospel (Luke 18:9-14) that we just heard of, the Pharisee and the Publican. The Pharisee, who was a religious professional—a “professional holy person”, and the publican, who was a “professional sinner”, we can say. They both go into the Temple to pray. They both enter the Temple to pray. 

What happens when they go to the Temple to pray? The Pharisee goes up in the front and he begins to pray, saying, “Thank you, God. I'm not like that sinner in the back, because I pay tithes, I am not greedy, I'm not immoral, I'm very, very wonderful, not like him in the back.” Whereas the poor publican is saying, “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner”, and Jesus says that the publican, who prayed with humility, goes home justified, and the Pharisee does not.

There's an interesting detail in the Gospel which you may or may have not heard. The way St. Luke writes the gospel, he says, “The Pharisee took his position and spoke this prayer to himself.” The Pharisee, the Gospel says spoke his prayer “to himself”. So, who is the Pharisee praying to? God? No, he's praying to himself. He's telling himself “How wonderful I am, how privileged I am. I'm not like these other people.” His prayer is not really a prayer, because praying is raising our minds and hearts to God, not affirming our own significance and wonderfulness. The poor publican simply says, “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.” “Oh, God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”

A House of Prayer

So that's a message for all of us, this house of prayer. This beautiful and wonderfully decorated church this morning, with the flowers and everything, even now as a Minor Basilica, needs to be a house of prayer. Think of all the people who will come and pray in front of Our Lady of Fatima of Marikina here, that pontifically crowned image, [the people who] will pray in front of her, asking her to intercede for them. In a certain sense, as a minor basilica, those prayers are even made more powerful by the presence of St. Peter, the Umbra Petri which exists here as a minor basilica.

Conclusion and Exhortations

So, for me, as your Papal Nuncio, it gives me so much joy and happiness to be with you and your beloved bishop, and also the mayor of your city, Maan Teodoro, who has joined us for this wonderful celebration.

We thank God for this gift, this gift of a Minor Basilica. Let's make this place a house of prayer, in which each of us humbly prays like the publican, “Lord have mercy on me, a sinner,” and when we pray that way, the eyes of Our Lady will fall upon us, and she will present us to Jesus. She will help us. She will lead us to Jesus, because Mary always points us to Jesus, as St. Paul of the Cross taught.

So, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, congratulations on this singular honor, this day in which your beautiful parish is declared a Minor Basilica.

May God bless each and every one of you.

Transcribed by Joel V. Ocampo