Hazmat suits and holy water: two priests bring faith to Philippines lockdown

Filipino Catholic priest Eduardo "Ponpon" Vasquez Jr wears personal protective equipment (PPE) as he conducts an impromptu baptism on an infant after visiting the family's home to give a blessing to one of their relatives who was ill during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Caloocan, Metro Manila, Philippines.

The hazmat suits of Filipino Catholic priests Eduardo "Ponpon" Vasquez Jr and Rey Amancio that are used as a form of protection against the coronavirus disease, are hung up to dry outside Our Lady of Grace Parish.

Filipino Catholic priests Eduardo "Ponpon" Vasquez Jr and Rey Amancio pray for the soul of a suicide victim, with the victim's family inside Our Lady of Grace Parish.

Filipino Catholic priest Rey Amancio wears his personal protective equipment (PPE) as he blesses a deceased person inside a morgu

Filipino Catholic priest Eduardo "Ponpon" Vasquez Jr and his relief team wear personal protective equipment inside a vehicle as they make their way to a morgue to bless deceased people.

Scrap dealer Michael Juarez who was given food by Filipino Catholic priests Eduardo "Ponpon" Vasquez Jr and Rey Amancio, reacts as he talks to them about his life during the government-imposed lockdown.

Filipino Catholic priest Eduardo "Ponpon" Vasquez Jr wears personal protective equipment as he sprinkles holy water on the narrow streets of a slum area in Caloocan, Philippines.

Filipino Catholic priest Eduardo "Ponpon" Vasquez Jr picks up a plant as he talks to a man about urban gardening to encourage people to take up gardening within their own homes as a means to secure food sufficiency during a government-imposed lockdown to contain the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, at Our Lady of Grace parish in Caloocan, in Caloocan, Metro Manila, Philippines.

Filipino Catholic priests Eduardo "Ponpon" Vasquez Jr, Rey Amancio and church volunteer Rosemarie Gracia Ramos wear personal protective equipment (PPE) as they make their way to the homes of people with disabilities to give blessings.

Filipino Catholic priest Eduardo "Ponpon" Vasquez Jr, 47, wears personal protective equipment (PPE) as he visits a woman's home who has a disability, to give her and her family a blessing.

Filipino Catholic priest Eduardo "Ponpon" Vasquez Jr talks to a man about urban gardening to encourage people to take up gardening within their own homes as a means to secure food sufficiency during a government-imposed lockdown.

Filipino Catholic priest Rey Amancio and church volunteer Rosemarie Gracia Ramos, 20, wear personal protective equipment as they pack vegetables inside a van, to distribute to homeless people.

Filipino Catholic priests Eduardo "Ponpon" Vasquez Jr and Rey Amancio wear personal protective equipment (PPE) as they make their way to the homes of people with disabilities to give blessings.

Filipino Catholic priest Eduardo "Ponpon" Vasquez Jr walks along the aisle of Our Lady of Grace parish, which is empty, amid the prohibition of religious gatherings during the government-imposed lockdown to contain the coronavirus disease.

Filipino Catholic priest Eduardo "Ponpon" Vasquez Jr wears his personal protective equipment (PPE) as he speaks to a person on the phone, to confirm a request to bless deceased people inside a morgue.

Filipino Catholic priests Rey Amancio and Eduardo "Ponpon" Vasquez Jr hold mass together inside a church administrator's office, as they isolate themselves away from other priests in the parish, following their relief efforts in the community where they give food to homeless people, poor communities and front-line workers in need, during the government-imposed lockdown.