On Monday evening, 15 December 2025, His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, presided over a Mass for the Filipino Catholic community at St. Anthony’s Church in Jaffa, marking the beginning of Simbang Gabi, the traditional Filipino nine-day novena masses celebrated in preparation for Christmas.
Concelebrating mass were Fr. Mário Hadchiti, OFM, parish priest of the Latin Church in Jaffa, Fr. Carlos Santos, OFM, Fr. Renato, OFM, along with several other priests. Members of the Filipino community gathered in large numbers to take part in the first day of this centuries-old devotional tradition.
Simbang Gabi, which dates back more than 500 years, originated in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial period. Traditionally celebrated at dawn, the novena Masses were scheduled early in the morning, often around 4:00 a.m. to allow farmers and fishers to attend Mass before beginning their daily work. For this reason, the devotion is also known by its Spanish name, Misa de Gallo (“Mass of the Rooster”), as church bells would ring before dawn to summon the faithful.
The novena begins on 16 December and continues for nine consecutive days, concluding with the Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. Despite changes in time and place, Simbang Gabi remains a cornerstone of Filipino Christmas spirituality, faithfully upheld by Filipino communities both at home and abroad, with the time of the Mass adjusted to better suit the demands of daily life.
In his homily, Cardinal Pizzaballa expressed his joy at the gathering of the faithful as they prepare for the celebration of the Birth of Christ. Reflecting on the Gospel reading, he recalled the question posed by John the Baptist— “Are you the one who is to come?”—noting that Advent season invites the faithful to wrestle with their set expectation of Jesus, while recognizing that, through Meditating on Scripture, the answer continues to be revealed.
