DAVAO CITY, Philippines (LifeSiteNews) — Young Catholics in the Philippines are proudly waving the banner of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus over the vice of “pride.”
In Davao City, Philippines, Catholics organized the “Humilitas March” (“humilitas” is Latin for “humility”) during June in response to LGBT “pride” marches that are common on university campuses.
“The purpose of the Humilitas March is to promote Devotion, to bring the Sacred Heart back in our streets, back in our homes, and back in our hearts,” march organizer Raven Castañeda told LifeSiteNews.
Castañeda, a student at the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila University, launched the movement after witnessing a “pride” march on his Catholic campus in 2023. Shocked and deeply hurt by blatant blasphemies against the Sacred Heart, Castañeda sought ways to make reparation.
“Then in June 2024, 12 of us friends prayed outside the San Pedro Cathedral,” Castañeda said.
“The prayers were adoration, consecration, and reparation prayers.”
What began as a simple prayer ceremony in reparation for his university’s “pride” march blossomed into a movement attended by hundreds of young Catholics. After posting pictures of the first Humilitas gathering in 2024 on social media, different Catholic pages in the Philippines wanted to reciprocate Castañeda’s act of courage.
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“After the event, I posted it on Facebook. A few hours later, it was being shared in a lot of Catholic pages in the Philippines,” Castañeda stated.
“Then, sometime after that, people in Metro Manila, who eventually became my friends, asked if they could do their own Humilitas in their place. I said that the devotion is not ours. We did not copyright the devotion. So they may do as they please.”
Castañeda reported that approximately 150 people attended the 2025 Humilitas March and Conference in Davao City, and another 150 attended Humilitas festivities in Metro Manila. The dramatic growth in attendance has inspired Castañeda, giving him a firsthand glimpse of how God works through His faithful.
“It is really fascinating how Christ, even in this very secular and modern world, is still able to bring people together,” Castañeda said.
With the large growth of the Humilitas March in just one year, Castañeda hopes that the devotion will spread “like wildfire” throughout Ateneo de Manila University and to the entire city of Davao. Ultimately, he hopes the Sacred Heart will reign over the Philippines, with the president publicly acknowledging its sovereignty.
“We envision that one day, in the Philippines, we can have the Month of June be declared the Month of the Sacred Heart and that our nation be publicly re-consecrated by the President to the Sacred Heart of Christ the King.”
