Saint Mary’s Cathedral (officially the Cathedral of María Auxiliadora
) is a church in the predominantly
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
city of
Marawi on the southern
Philippine island of
Mindanao and is the seat of the
Roman Catholic Territorial Prelature of Marawi
The Territorial Prelature of Marawi ( la, Praelatura Territorialis Maraviensis) is a Roman Catholic territorial prelature under the Archdiocese of Ozamiz in the Philippines.
It comprises parishes in the minority Catholic community of Marawi, inc ...
.
Background
Belonging to the
Territorial Prelature of Marawi
The Territorial Prelature of Marawi ( la, Praelatura Territorialis Maraviensis) is a Roman Catholic territorial prelature under the Archdiocese of Ozamiz in the Philippines.
It comprises parishes in the minority Catholic community of Marawi, inc ...
, the church was built in 1934 and dedicated to
Mary Help of Christians.
In March 2008, the church reportedly had a corrugated iron roof. Being in a majority Muslim city, the church's façade did not display a cross.
Battle of Marawi
During the 2017
Battle of Marawi, the extremist
Maute Group seized the cathedral as part of their takeover of the city. Online videos posted by the militants showed them toppling and smashing religious icons, tearing photographs of
Pope Francis, and
desecrating
Desecration is the act of depriving something of its sacred character, or the disrespectful, contemptuous, or destructive treatment of that which is held to be sacred or holy by a group or individual.
Detail
Many consider acts of desecration to ...
the
chancel. They later set pews and the whole structure alight. The church was heavily damaged with bullet holes on the structure's wall and tin foil roof.
The military recaptured the cathedral from the Maute Group on August 25, 2017.
The first Sunday
Mass was held in the cathedral on October 1, 2017, coinciding with the feast of Saint
Thérèse of Lisieux,
patroness of the
Philippine Army. The service was attended by least 300 uniformed soldiers.
With Dela Peña‘s consent, Saint Mary’s Cathedral, along with his residence, will be among the many buildings to be demolished by the government as it is no longer structurally sound.
References
{{Marawi
Roman Catholic cathedrals in the Philippines
Buildings and structures in Lanao del Sur
Marawi