Ozamis Archbishop Most Rev. Martin Sarmiento Jumoad ordered the indefinite closure of a 19th-century church in Jimenez, Misamis Occidental, after a woman was seen spitting at the holy water font.

In a decree issued on 5 August, Jumoad said the closure of the San Juan Bautista Parish Church is a sign of "penance and reparation," as well as to invoke conversion of heart and communal purification as guided by Catholic teaching.

Meanwhile, a Holy Hour of Adoration and Solemn Confessions will be held on 7 August at 3 PM to "foster repentance, seek forgiveness, and restore the sanctity of the parish."

The reopening of the Baroque-style church, according to the Archbishop, will only be permitted after appropriate acts of penance have been observed by the faithful, including participation in the Holy Hour and confession, as well as after due pastoral assessment.

The Archbishop also issued a stern warning to the unidentified person involved, calling the act "a grave sin and desecration" that carries ecclesiastical penalties and jeopardizes the individual's communion with God and the Church.

He also required an immediate confession and sincere repentance "to restore their standing in the community of faith."

"By this decree, may the faithful be reminded that he sacred objects and places are vessels of God's grace and deserve our utmost respect and reverence," Jumoad said.

"Let us all renew our commitment to holiness, reverence, and communal harmony," he added.

Known as the Jimenez Church, San Juan Bautista Parish Church was declared a National Cultural Treasure of the Philippines in 2001.

It was established by the Augustinian Recollects in 1929. The present church, built mostly from hewn coral stone, was erected in the 19th century on a site previously settled by the Subanon people, a local tribe.