Church: Don’t Bring Home Urns For Undas
Manila Cathedral vice rector Fr. Vicente Gabriel Bautista was reacting to a Facebook post of the Mandaluyong City government announcing that families are allowed to bring home the urns of their departed loved ones.
The Catholic Church discourages bringing home urns during the observance of All Saints’ Day, Nov. 1, and All Souls’ Day, Nov. 2, Manila Cathedral vice rector Fr. Vicente Gabriel Bautista said on Thursday, Oct. 29.
Bautista reacted to a Facebook post of the Mandaluyong City government announcing that families are allowed to bring home the urns of their departed loved ones that are in the Ash Repository of the columbarium of the Garden of Life Memorial Park.
According to the announcement, the relatives could retrieve the urns from Oct. 22 to 29 and should return these on Nov. 5.
The purpose was reportedly to lessen the number of people going to the cemeteries and give families the opportunity to show their respect to their dead relatives.
But Bautista said that even if it would only be for a short period of time, an urn that has already been placed in the niche should no longer be brought home.
“That is why we say ‘rest in peace’. We want them to rest in the peace of the Lord, away from the noise,” he said. “The place of the dead in the cemeteries and columbaries, that place is for them.”
Meanwhile, two weather disturbances are being monitored ahead of the Undas long weekend, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said on Thursday. – With Josiah Antonio
