Obando Church, Home of the Fertility Dance, is Elevated to National Shrine

Filipino bishops have voted to designate the Obando Church, a popular pilgrimage site in Bulacan for couples seeking to get pregnant, as a national shrine.

Founded by Franciscan missionaries on April 29, 1754, the San Pascual Baylón Parish-Diocesan Shrine of Nuestra Señora de la Inmaculada Concepcion de Salambao in Obando town becomes the fourth national shrine in the diocese of Malolos, just north of Manila.

The church joins 26 others declared as national shrines, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines said Wednesday.

The Obando Church is known for its fertility festival with the fertility dance celebrated from May 17-19, the CBCP said.

Each day of the festival is dedicated to honoring St. Paschal Baylon, St. Clare of Assisi, and Our Lady of Salambao.

"With profound faith and devotion of pilgrims and locales alike, the tradition of the fertility dance and its Marian following continues to grow through the ages," the CBCP said in a report.

The CBCP has yet to set a date to formally declare the parish as a national shrine.