Cagayan Catholics hold ‘pilgrim walk’ for honesty, justice

Catholics from across Cagayan province walked through Tuguegarao City on Sunday, Nov. 23, carrying placards urging honesty and justice amid concerns over corruption in government.

Held on the Solemnity of Christ the King, the archdiocesan pilgrimage expressed the faithful’s call for moral leadership and integrity within both Church and society.

At the Eucharistic celebration concluding the “Pilgrim Walk,” Archbishop Ricardo Baccay said Christ’s kingship is grounded not in power but in service.

“His kingship is about compassion, about relating to each other,” Baccay said. “A change of heart for Christ is a change of heart for His people. His kingship is where we long to belong.”

The pilgrimage also launched the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao’s five-year pastoral plan, guiding its direction from 2026 to 2031.

Titled Walking Together in Faith: A Missionary Conversion Towards a Synodal Church, the plan calls for “missionary conversion” rooted in listening, participation, and transformation of individuals, communities, and Church structures.

Baccay said the plan emerged from synodal consultations and responds to calls for spiritual renewal, discernment, shared decision-making, and participatory governance in the Church.

The roadmap outlines six priorities: strengthening families, revitalizing Basic Ecclesial Communities, promoting transparency and accountability, deepening lay involvement, forming servant leaders, and fostering ecological conversion.

As part of the launch, Fr. Manuel Vicente Catral, Director of Pastoral Programs, unveiled the journey’s official logo, which draws inspiration from the Gospel’s invitation to “Go to Galilee.”

The emblem features symbolic elements — feet, a river, a boat, and a rising sun — representing a Church that walks, flows, shares responsibility, and radiates Christ’s light and the fire of the Holy Spirit.

Catral said the logo serves as “a visual Gospel,” reminding the faithful that missionary conversion begins in ordinary places where people live, work, and struggle.

He also stressed that the logo is more than artwork — it is a summons to walk together, seek renewal, and be continually sent forth in synodal mission.

Before the launch, about 500 parish leaders from 50 parishes attended an orientation reflecting on their roles as “missionary companions.”

Participants also explored ways to make church spaces more inclusive and more responsive to marginalized communities. (Diana Moraleda/CBCP News)

A version of this article was first published by CBCP News.