Police on High Alert as Filipino Christmas Novena Masses Begin

The Philippines has formally ushered in the festive Christmas season as some Roman Catholic parishes have begun celebrating its Christmas novena Masses on Sunday night (Dec. 15) as part of its traditional devotion to the Virgin Mary in preparation for the Christian holiday. 

According to Politiko, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil issued a statement prior to the events, codenamed “Ligtas Paskuhan 2024” (“Safe Christmastide” in Tagalog), directing law enforcement personnel to assure the public’s safety and emphasized working with local governments and other stakeholders as Catholic Filipinos flock churches early in the morning or late at night for the next nine days before December 25 and beyond into the new year. 

“Our priority is to provide a safe and peaceful environment for all devotees,” he said.

In Metro Manila alone, heavy police presence is expected to be felt outside churches, malls, and other public spaces as the year 2024 comes to a close. 

Police: Day 1 of Novena Peaceful

National Police spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo told ABS-CBN in a phone interview on Monday (Dec. 16) that the first day of the Christmas novena was peaceful and had no major untoward incidents. 

“Officers were already deployed a few hours before the novena masses began,” she said in Tagalog. “Police assistance desks were also placed [near churches] in addition to mobile patrols in its surroundings.”

While the police force is not monitoring any threat for the holiday period, Fajardo assured the public that it would remain vigilant for any untoward scenario. 

“Our coordination with other government agencies will continue in order to make sure that we are ready and that we will maintain a proactive stance to make sure the holiday season will remain safe and secure,” she added.

Meanwhile, an apparel retailer in Manila’s Quiapo district caught fire Monday midnight, merely hours before the first pre-dawn service in the nearby Jesus Nazareno shrine. Firefighters said the blaze lasted for half an hour before it was put under control.

In a late-night novena Mass hours prior, a priest assigned at Quiapo Church reminded Catholics visiting the shrine of the centuries-old image of the suffering Christ that eating inside worshipping premises is prohibited.

“Eating inside the church is not allowed,” the Rev. Robert Arellano of the Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Society said during his homily. “Perhaps we can allow the consumption of candies in the event you may become dizzy.” 

Arellano also urged the congregation to only bring themselves as much as possible for the rest of the nine days of the novena. 

Origins of Filipino Christmas Novena

It is understood that the Christmas novena services, which became an opportunity for Catholic Filipinos to undergo a deeper aspect of prayer at the end of every calendar year, have been in effect in the country since the Spanish era. 

The late Catholic historian Fr. Fidel Villarroel, OP provided a historical context about the origin of the custom in a paper published in a 1999 issue of the journal Philippiniana Sacra. In it, Villarroel — a Manila-based Spanish Dominican priest who died in 2016 — highlighted that what was now called the “Misas de Gallo” (“Rooster’s Masses” in Spanish) or “Misas de Aguinaldo” (“Christmas Gift Masses”) originated as votive Masses usually offered by priests before dawn aside from the liturgical celebration of the day. 

The votive Masses were that of the Virgin Mary during the season of Advent, which comes before Christmas proper, and were called “Rorate Masses” after the introit or introductory Bible verse of the said Mass, “Rorate coeli desuper…” (“Drop down dew, ye heavens…”). The custom of having the Mass offered for nine days before Christmas was said to be in honor of the nine months the Virgin Mary was pregnant with Jesus Christ, as well as in conjunction with the recitation of the “O Antiphons” often said during the Vespers services between December 17 and 23, which was also the basis of the Advent hymn “O come, O come, Emmanuel.”

Villarroel added that the Spanish Empire-wide tradition was suppressed by Pope Innocent XI in 1677, but delays brought about by transportation and communication systems of the period meant the Archbishop of Manila at that time, Felipe Pardo, only received the decree in 1680, while the practice was resumed after his death in 1689.

Despite the liturgical reforms brought about by the papacy of John XXIII, the devotional tradition survives due to the request of Filipino bishops in 1961 to have it continue for at least five years. It was not addressed by Catholic liturgists since then. 

“We doubt about [the need for a renewal of authorization for the celebration of Aguinaldo Masses] because before the concession expired in 1966, the [Second] Vatican Council came upon the Church marking a new era in many aspects of the Church in our modern world,” Villaroel wrote at the time. “It is for canonists and liturgists to explain how the conciliar and post-conciliar documents affected the Aguinaldo Masses.”

Villarroel has been the long-time resident archivist of the University of Santo Tomas and was credited for the documentation of the life and martyrdom of the 17th-century Chinese-Filipino saint Lorenzo Ruiz Lǐ Yuèlún, canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1987.

While the custom of offering the masses before dawn is the norm, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines gave dioceses and parishes a leeway to have them offered the night before for pastoral reasons, thus the colloquial term “Simbang Gabi” (“Night Mass” in Tagalog). This practice was speculated to have been attributed to, or influenced by, the nightly curfews during the Martial Law era of former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. in the 1970s and 1980s.

It is also understood that the cultural impact of the Catholic services prompted some Protestant denominations to imitate the practice in recent times.