MANILA -- The Viernes Dolores procession was held Friday night at the San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Manila.

Images of Mater Dolorosa and Jesus Nazareno were brought around the streets surrounding the church.

Viernes Dolores commemorates the sorrow and suffering of the Blessed Virgin Mary during the Passion of Christ, and is observed every Friday before Palm Sunday.

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Aside from San Agustin Church, other parishes and Catholic faithful are also busy with their preparations for Holy Week.

In Damayang Lagi, Quezon City, Redge Bautista-Acera, a devout Catholic, dropped her handwritten prayers into a box at a community pabasa altar. 

The prayer requests will be brought to Quiapo Church during Holy Week.

“Pag merong pabasa, nakiki-join din po ako...Pumupunta rin kami sa chapel every Holy Week...Ang goal ko sa buhay ko hindi ako nagpapabaya sa panginoong Diyos,” Bautista-Acera said.

In Barangay 409 Zone 42, Sampaloc, Manila, preparations are also underway. Residents are cleaning and dressing the image of Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno de Mabini, which will be placed on an altar for their pabasa.

Meanwhile, at St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish Church in Caloocan City, all religious images inside and outside the church have been draped in purple cloth—a tradition observed from the fifth week of Lent until Good Friday.

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“Talagang tinatakpan para ang mga tao magfocus sa pagninilay, sa pagbabalik loob, na ituon natin ang ating pananaw, isipan sa pagbabalik loob sa diyos. Kailangan di tayo distracted sa mga images,” said parish priest Fr. Romy Tuazon. 

In the Minor Basilica and Parish of San Sebastian in Manila, the carroza that will carry the image of Mater Dolorosa during the Viernes Dolores procession is being repainted and readied. 

The image will be brought around nearby barangays during the observance.

“Gaganapin namin ang pagpapapaalala sa partisipasyon ng mahal na birhen sa pagpapakasakit ng ating panginoon para sa kaligtasan ng tao,” said James Benedict Malabanan, Administrative Officer of the San Sebastian Basilica Restoration Office.