Bishop cancels Mass following cathedral blast

The bishop of Jolo has cancelled the All Saints´ Day Mass at a cemetery following an explosion at his cathedral in the southern Philippines.

Bishop Angelito Lampon of Jolo

Bishop Angelito Lampon said it was a “precautionary measure.”

The Jolo vicariate´s justice and peace commission director said the grenade attack on Oct. 27 caused little damage to Our Lady of Mount Carmel cathedral. “The damage I saw was not that bad, mostly a few broken jalousie windows,” Oblates Father Romeo Villanueva told UCA News.

The vicariate is based in the capital town of predominantly Muslim Sulu province.

The grenade exploded mid-morning at the rear of the cathedral near the bishops´ cemetery. There were no reported casualties and no group has claimed responsibility for the incident.

It is the fourth explosion at the cathedral since Bishop Lampon was installed as apostolic vicar of Jolo in February 1998.

A grenade blast on July 7 killed two people and wounded 24.

In an article posted on the Catholic Bishops´ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) website Bishop Lampon said even though he would not celebrate Mass at the cemetery on Nov. 1, he would still go ahead with brief prayers for the dead and the blessing of graves.

Christian Filipinos traditionally visit cemeteries from the evening of Oct. 31 to show respect for their dead on the All Saints´ Day as well as for All Souls´ Day on Nov. 2.