DEVOTEES of the famous Basilica Minore of Our Lady of Piat in Cagayan were told to shelve their pilgrim plans. This came after the town official ordered the basilica’s temporary closure after its organist died and the parish priest tested positive for Covid-19. Piat Mayor Carmelo Villacete said church organist Viel Fariñas, for whom relatives have waived confidentiality to allow contact tracers to conduct immediate tracing, died of the virus. Fr. Leifmark Butacan is now under isolation. The shrine is the pilgrimage center of the north and home to the 407-year-old Black Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Piat. A Covid survivor himself, Villacete urged villagers to cooperate as cases had spiked from six to 28 active cases in Piat this week.
