Filipinos flock to churches for 'mass of the rooster' to pray for Covid-19 deliverance

People visit the National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help in Paranaque City in Philippines on Dec 16, 2020. - Reuters

MANILA (The Straits Times/ANN): As the bells of a big Catholic church just south of Manila began to toll at around 4am, thousands were already at the gates of the National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help to heed the call.

A queue at least 400m long had formed just outside the church's walls.