The Antipolo Cathedral was declared as the country’s first international shrine on Friday, January 26.

According to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), over 80 bishops attended the mass presided by Archbishop Charles Brown, the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines.

A procession of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage’s image was held prior to the liturgy before the presentation of the Papal Decree elevated the Antipolo Cathedral as the International Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage.

CBCP stated that the Vatican initially approved in July 2022 the petition to raise the Antipolo Cathedral into an international shrine, making it the first in Southeast Asia and the 11th globally.