Pope Francis has elevated the Sta. Cruz Church, or Archdiocesan Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament, into a minor basilica, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila confirmed on Wednesday. 

The chapel now has the title of Minor Basilica of Nuestra Señora del Pilar. 

“The Holy Father Pope Francis has granted Sta. Cruz Church (Archdiocesan Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament) the honor of the title MINOR BASILICA OF NUESTRA SEÑORA DEL PILAR. We congratulate the community and devotees led by their new rector and parish priest, Fr. Mark Adona SSS and the Blessed Sacrament Fathers led by their Provincial, Fr. Rudsend Paragas SSS,” the Manila Archdiocese said in a Facebook post. 

According to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) news, the Sta. Cruz Church is one of the 25 churches in the country to be elevated into a minor basilica. 

The church was established in 1619 and was damaged by two major earthquakes and by the Battle of Manila in 1945. 

Then Manila Archbishop Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle declared the church the Archdiocesan Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament in 2018. 

The CBCP said that no date has been set yet for the formal declaration of the church as a minor basilica. Vince Angelo Ferreras