The 40-hour prayer vigil before the Blessed Sacrament or "Quarant'Ore" for the healing of former President Corazon C. Aquino at the Shrine of Our Lady of Peace ends at noon Saturday with a mass to be celebrated at 12:15 p.m. followed by a procession.

A dawn procession of Our Lady of Fatima, another icon of EDSA, is also scheduled at 5:30 a.m.

The Quarant'Ore, or Forty Hours' Devotion of Roman Catholics, originated in Milan, Italy in 1534 when the Blessed Sacrament was displayed on the altar continuously for 40 hours during a time of calamity and danger. It was learned that the practice is in honor of the time Jesus Christ spent in the tomb after His crucifixion.

The 40-hour collective adoration of the exposed Eucharist started last Thursday night with a 7 p.m. mass officiated by Novaliches Bishop Emeritus Teodoro Bacani. The mass was attended by Mrs. Aquino's relatives and close friends, led by her brother Jose “Peping” Cojuangco and sister-in-law Maur Aquino-Lichauco.

Cojuangco thanked the public for the support for Mrs. Aquino, who is battling colon cancer.

"She will remember these until the end of her life," he said.

Bishop Bacani said Mrs. Aquino deserves all the support for showing the world that power can be combined with goodness and righteousness when she led the country from 1986 to 1992.

"She showed that power is a gift to promote the common good, and that it should be surrendered back to the people when the time comes. We are doing these to repay her goodness," Bacani said during the mass.

The prelate said Mrs. Aquino's legacy is that as a leader, she "knew nothing" about "panloloko, pagsisinungaling, at pandaraya (tomfoolery, lying and cheating)."

"'Oo, wala akong alam. Wala akong alam sa panloloko. Wala akong alam sa pagsisinungaling, wala akong alam sa pandaraya’,” Bacani quoted Mrs. Aquino's reply to criticisms that she knew nothing about politics and governance when she fought the late President Ferdinand Marcos in the snap presidential polls in 1986.

"She governed and she led. There are those who can govern, but cannot lead. She's no longer in government but she still leads," Bacani said of the 76-year-old ailing leader.

Mrs. Aquino's former executive secretary and former Senate President Franklin Drilon, who also attended the mass, said even if Mrs. Aquino is sick, she still has the power to unite Filipinos.

"This is the spirit of EDSA People Power Revolution. Nagkakaisa ang mga Pilipino sa pagdarasal para sa kanya," a teary-eyed Drilon said.

Trees surrounding the EDSA Shrine are teeming with yellow ribbons as a show of support for the widow of Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. who is regarded as the Philippines' mother of freedom and democracy for leading the peaceful uprising that ousted Marcos from power.

In the book “EDSA Shrine: God’s Gift, Our Mission” edited by Bishop Socrates B. Villegas, Mrs. Aquino said that the EDSA Shrine "is about remembering the thousands of men, women, and children who prayed as they had never prayed before and who were filled with tremendous courage so that they dared challenge the tanks of a dictator. It is about expressing the Filipinos’ gratitude to Almighty God for helping restore freedom, democracy, and morality in the Philippines."

Meanwhile, the healing masses for the former president held daily at the Manila city hall will continue for as long as she is confined in the hospital, Mayor Alfredo S. Lim said after the mass Friday.

After the mass, Mrs. Aquino’s spokesperson Deedee Siytangco led the crowd in saying a prayer for Cory, who remains confined at the Makati Medical Center.

Siytangco reiterated earlier reports the Mrs. Aquino’s condition is stable but echoed the revelation of Sen. Benigno Aquino III that his mother’s cancer has already spread to other parts of her body.

Siytangco also said Ms. Aquino’s hospital room remains off-limits to well wishers and other visitors except for immediate members of her family. She said the former president is not comatose and is conscious although she cannot speak and just listens in one-way conversations.

In Las Pinas City, the famous Bamboo Organ Church (St. Joseph Parish) and several churches will also hold healing masses for Mrs. Aquino Sunday, August 2, with all barangays, schools and city employees set to tie yellow ribbons in public places in honor of the heroine of the 1986 People Power Revolution.

City Mayor Vergel “Nene” Aguilar and his wife, Mel, will lead the healing mass and called on all Las Piñeros to offer prayers for Mrs. Aquino.

The mayor also issued a directive to all of the city’s 20 barangay heads, public and private school principals, and business owners to tie yellow ribbons outside their homes, school premises, and public areas to show solidarity in reviving the “Tie a Yellow Ribbon” movement.

“This is to show our solidarity and gratitude to the family of President Cory in her decisive move in restoring democracy to our country, but more of strengthening our commitment to defend and fight for those who would dare mess up with it,” Aguilar said.

Yellow banners with President Cory’s image already adorn the city hall fence, while yellow ribbons and small flags were tied on lampposts along the Zapote-Alabang Road.

In Valenzuela City, students, government employees and ordinary folks also attended the other day a mass dedicated to the recovery of Mrs. Aquino at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima.

Initiated by the city government under Mayor Sherwin Gatchalian and his brother, Rep. Rex Gatchalian, the mass was doubly significant since the former president is a known devotee of Our Lady of Fatima.

Those who attended the mass wore yellow ribbons. Msgr. Bartolome Santos and Fr. John Paul Avila officiated.

Yellow ribbons also adorned the street posts along MacArthur Highway and other parts of the city.

Vice Mayor Eric Martinez and the principal organizer, Councilor Shalani Soledad, were assisted by City Social Welfare and Development head former Vice Mayor Jing Hernandez, Public Information Office head Ms. Marither Menia, and Special Projects Office head Ms. Dorothy Evangelista.

Former Agrarian Reform Secretary Philip Juico and his wife Margie were also present, with Ms. Juico reading the Novena for Cory she co-wrote with Rep. Teddy Locsin.

Juico said both former President Aquino and her late senator husband were devotees of the Our Lady of Fatima. Mrs. Aquino was able to speak to the late Sister Lucia, the last survivor of the Miracle at Fatima, when she went to Fatima, Portugal.

The image of Our Lady of Fatima at the National Shrine in Valenzuela City was also brought to EDSA during the 1986 People Power Revolution which catapulted Mrs. Aquino to power.