The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has elevated the status of the Diocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Mercy in Quezon City as a national shrine during their 128th plenary assembly in Cagayan de Oro City.

In a statement, the CBCP said that it also approved the designation of the Diocesan Shrine of Our Lady of the Assumption in Maasin City during the first-ever assembly in Mindanao where at least 70 bishops were in attendance.

The Novaliches shrine was established by Augustinian missionaries from Spain. It is the oldest church in the diocese and was elevated to Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de la Merced in 1856.

In 2008, the church was declared a diocesan shrine, and in 2021, it was granted a special bond of spiritual affinity with the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome. In the same year, the church’s image of Our Lady of Mercy was granted canonical coronation.

The church is also the first national shrine in the 19-year-old diocese.

The CBCP said that shrines serve as centers of devotion and pilgrimage, nourishing the faith of pilgrims through liturgical celebrations and they are typically designated by bishops’ conferences, with local bishops approving diocesan shrines and the Vatican endorsing international shrines.

It added that a shrine is regarded by many faithful as a “congenial center of devotion or pilgrimage.” As sites of popular piety and devotion to Mary and the saints, the CBCP also said that “shrines are to nourish the faith of the pilgrims with liturgical celebrations.”