Clergy members on Wednesday urged the faithful to offer Masses for their departed loved ones in case they are not able to visit their tombs on All Saints’ and All Souls Days.

“Yes, priests are always available for Masses for the dead,” Manila Apostolic Administrator Bishop Broderick Pabillo said in a message.

Pabillo, meanwhile, hopes that the decision of Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso to close cemeteries in the city during the first days of November will prevent crowding in the areas.

“I hope the mayor is successful in preventing people from congregating in the cemeteries,” Pabillo added.

Fr. Jerome Secillano of the Nuestra Señora del Perpetuo Socorro Parish in Sampaloc, Manila said the measure is necessary amid the pandemic.

“It’s the call of the times. We need to really be careful. People can offer masses for the departed instead of trooping to cemeteries,” the Catholic priest added.

On Tuesday, Domagoso announced that all public and private memorial parks, cemeteries, and columbaries in the City of Manila will be closed from October 31 to November 3.

Under Executive Order No. 38, which he signed, ordered the temporary closure of said facilities, subject to general community quarantine (GCQ) protocols during ‘Undas’.

Other local government units have followed suit as part of health and safety measures.

It has been a tradition to many Filipinos to visit their departed family members on November 1 and 2. (PNA)