Filipino community in Copenhagen receives ‘Apo Badoc’ image

The Filipino Catholic migrants in the Diocese of Copenhagen in Denmark received an image of “La Virgen Milagrosa de Badoc” from Bishop Renato Mayugba of Laoag during Mass on Feb. 3.

Hundreds of Filipinos attended the Mass in celebration of the Presentation of the Lord at the Sacred Heart Church in the Danish capital.

In his address, Mayugba said that the gift of “La Virgen Milagrosa de Badoc” to many migrant Filipinos is the strengthening of the unity of families.

Our Lady of Badoc is known as a powerful intercessor and protector in the preservation of the family.

The bishop handed over the image of the Virgin to the Filipino migrants represented by an old couple who were among the pioneer migrants in this Nordic Country.

The turnover ceremony was also witnessed by Consul Domini Fangon-Kitade of the Philippine Embassy to Denmark.

At the reception, present was the Bishop of Copenhagen, Czeslaw Kozon, who thanked the Filipino bishop for his visit.

Five hundred years ago, Filipinos received the faith; now, it is their turn to evangelize the whole world, Kozon said.

Pope Francis reiterated the same encouragement when he called on the Filipino migrants to continue serving as “smugglers of the faith” during the “Simbang Gabi” he presided over at the Vatican in 2019.

Most Filipino migrants in Europe are engaged in domestic work, which includes caring for children from secularized families. Their presence in these families serves as entry points for the faith to reach the children.

Denmark was evangelized as a Catholic territory in the 9th century. However, with the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, the entire nation converted to Lutheranism.

Roman Catholicism was later reintroduced in the 19th century but has remained a minority up to the present time.

The lone Diocese of Copenhagen covers the whole of Denmark, the Greenland and the Faroe Islands. (Buena Luz/CBCP News)

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