Last Sunday, I decided to go to a church in Mandaluyong. And in the narrow Pag-asa Street lies a small church named St. Dominic Savio Parish. This parish is new as compared to the other churches of Metro Manila. It was established in 1988 in response to the request of San Felipe Neri Parish to divide its territory into two.

The parish was dedicated to St. Dominic Savio, the patron saint of choirboys, falsely accused people and juvenile delinquents. He was studying to be a priest under St. John Bosco when he died at the very young age of 14. He was canonized in 1954 which made him the youngest non-martyr to be a saint until 2017, when the pious visionaries of Fatima, Francisca and Jacinta Marto were canonized.

There is also a Holy Relic of the bones of the teen saint in the church. Kissing of this holy relic is a traditional part of the celebration of the feast of St. Dominic Savio every May 4th.

At the end of the mass, there are free rosary bracelets which the parish priest has generously blessed.