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The fifth largest city in the Philippines is bringing its infrastructure into the celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday. The city of Cebu is lighting up the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway with red and white, a reference to the rays emitted from the heart of the Divine Mercy image, for an outward showing of faith in the majority-Catholic country.
The festivities began on April 2 and will continue until Divine Mercy Sunday, April 7. Photos shared on the CBCP News’ social media show the two main pylons on the bridge underlit by red lights that also cast across the suspension cables. About halfway up each of the two main pylons, white lights shine from within to make the shape of the cross. The spectacle is especially brilliant at night, when the lights reflect off the water.
The Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway is notable for its enormous 2-kilometer bridge that connects the city of Cebu to the city of Cordova on Mactan island. Rising 476 feet over the Mactan channel, the view is perfectly situated to be seen by both cities.
Completed in 2022, the bridge has previously been adorned with eight ecumenical "Iconic Crosses" for the 2021 Quincentennial Commemorations in the Philippines, a series of observances that commemorated, among several notable historical events, the introduction of Christianity to the Philippines.
The red and white lights of the display are symbols of the Divine Mercy image, in which red and white rays pour fourth from the heart of Jesus Christ. The image comes from a vision of Jesus experienced by the Polish religious mystic St. Faustina Kowalska, who then directed artist Eugeniusz Kazimirowski to paint the image from her memory.
The red light represents blood, while the pale light represents water; both of which poured from the pierced side of Jesus after he was stabbed by a Roman spear while on the Cross. In a diary entry, St. Faustina explained:
“During prayer I heard these words within me: The two rays denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the water that makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls … These two rays issued forth from the very depths of My tender mercy when my agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross.”
Learn more about the Divine Mercy devotion at Aleteia.
