The Archbishop of Santo Domingo, Monsignor Francisco Ozoria says the blessing from the air of Catholics is an act of faith and not a show seeking media coverage. The military helicopter took off from the 27 de Febrero Naval base in eastern Santo Domingo with priest Alexis Devers holding the holy sacrament.
It flew over Greater Santo Domingo and then Monte Plata, where a mega cathedral is under construction by the Medina administration for the Roman Catholic Church – the Santuario del Santo Cristo de Bayaguana with capacity for 1,800 persons.
“We are in difficult times, every day there are surprises, families surprised by illness or death,” he said. “Faith leads us to trust in God, to trust in God’s presence,” said Monsignor Ozoria, insisting that the act is to ask for God’s blessing to end this pandemic.
“We ask that God bless our country, that God bless this entire Archdiocese with all its jurisdictions. We ask that The Lord bless each person, bless the sick, the doctors, nurses and paramedics, that only with God’s blessing can they persevere in this work, in this service,” he stated.
He also asked for abundant blessings for the families, the military diocese that has organized this event, as well as all the military institutions and the National Police.
The Roman Catholic Church invited people to salute the flight from their balconies and patios.
Televida (Channel 41), the TV channel of the Roman Catholic Church, transmitted the event.
Greater Santo Domingo has 42% of all confirmed cases of the virus in the Dominican Republic.
Roman Catholic churches are closed, but the clergy recently backed “the coronavirus pilgrim,” the cross-bearing Migdomio Adames, receiving him at the churches when he stopped by La Vega, Imbert and Puerto Plata. The health authorities expect the agglomeration of around 5,000 persons to bring a surge in new cases as of the second week of May.
Read more in Spanish:
Televida
Listin Diario
El Caribe
Hoy
El Dia
1 May 2020