Mercury Drug Foundation has given P5 million to Caritas Manila’s (CM) efforts to assist displaced families in Marawi.

CM’s Caritas Damayan has been providing food relief and hygiene, livelihood, child care, psychosocial and shelter assistance to some 500 households displaced from Marawi by the Islamic State siege. CM centers for the Marawi families are in Malabang and Balabagan in Lanao del Sur.

According to the Prelature of Marawi, there were 13 communities identified under its Duyog Marawi project. These areas are at the lakeside/coastal areas within the prelature.

Fr. Anton CT Pascual, CM executive director, expressed gratitude to Mercury and other donors to the Marawi cause. He said donors like Mercury help CM in “channeling the mercy and love of Christ to those in need.”

The public can help and donate for Marawi by calling 9257931-39, 5639311, 5620020 to 25.

Donations can be made online via https://ushare.unionbankph.com/caritas/ or by bank deposit (account name: Caritas Manila):

Banco De Oro savings account no. 5600-45905

Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) savings account no. 3063-5357-01

Metrobank savings account no. 175-3-175069543

For dollar accounts:

BPI savings account no. 3064-0033-5 (swift code: BOPIPHMM)

Philippine National Bank savings account no. 108566600025 (swift code: PNBMPHMM)

Donations can also be made via Cebuana Lhuillier (free of charge) or dropped off at CM office: 2002 Jesus St., Pandacan, Manila; or at Radio Veritas at Paramount Building, West Avenue and Edsa, Quezon City.

For proper acknowledgment of donations, donors may fax copy of deposit slip to 5639306 or e-mail a scanned copy to [email protected]. Donor’s name and address should be indicated.

New book

Award-winning Catholic author José Mario Bautista Maximiano’s new book is “The Church Can Handle the Truth: Mercy Healing of Historical Wounds.”

The book tackles the crises the Catholic Church has had to face across the centuries, including clerical abuse cases, and how the institution could heal from them and renew itself.

Fr. Amado L. Picardal, CSsR, executive secretary of the basic ecclesial committee of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, praises the book: “Scholarly and engaging, full of interesting details, and very readable… The author was able to explain the various historical issues and crises facing the Church in very simple and understandable terms and show how the popes in recent times have brought about healing and changes in the Church—ad intra and ad extra… Congratulations for this excellent work.”

Maximiano’s “Pope Francis, Catholic Bishop and Priest,” published by Claretian Communications, was named Best Book in Theology in the 2015 Catholic Mass Media Awards.

Novena to miracle saint

Santo Domingo Church in Quezon City is holding the Novena to San Vicente Ferrer every Friday, 5:30 p.m. A Dominican missionary during the medieval ages, San Vicente Ferrer is considered a miraculous saint and the patron saint of builders.

The church, which hosts the National Shrine of La Naval de Manila, is likewise holding the perpetual novena to the Santissimo Rosario de La Naval de Manila every Saturday, 5:30 p.m.

The church is also holding every Wednesday, 5:30 p.m., the perpetual novena to St. Dominic de Guzman, founder of the Dominican Order.

For announcements, e-mail [email protected].