Braving the heat of the afternoon sun, 28-year-old Leslie Anna Cantutay joined the procession from downtown Cebu City to South Road Properties, where a thanksgiving Mass was held at a new shrine dedicated to the second Filipino saint, Pedro Calungsod.

She took pictures of the celebration, as it was a historic day, and she wanted her husband, who works in Japan, to be part of it. Cantutay then posted the pictures on her Facebook account for him to see.

Many others did the same, documenting the event with their mobile phone cameras and uploading the photos to their online social networks, including Benedicto College high school teacher Ryan Jore; friends Jessa Sanchez and Ethyl Flores; nursing graduates Kimberly Rafols and Aljessa Demetria; and medical volunteer Benson Jay Cañete.

“This is part of our panata [devotion] to San Pedro,” said Jore.

Abu Dhabi-based Norman Obenza noted that it was raining as he watched the proceedings online. He believed this to be “tears of joy” for San Pedro Calungsod. Another viewer said it was inspiring to see a lot of people participating in the occasion and keeping Christianity alive. Others offered prayers and asked for San Pedro’s intercession.

With over half a million people gathered for the occasion, Smart Communications Inc. worked behind the scenes to make sure they were able to share the moment with millions more all over the world through mobile technology and social media.

Smart network users enjoyed seamless mobile services, and prepaid subscribers had access to phone loads through the selling booths set up at the venue and the ambulant vendors deployed at various points. Vilma Pesa, a doctor and medical volunteer, said she made use of the free wi-fi provided at their station to take photos of the crowd and post these on her Facebook account.

Strong connectivity services ensured easy posting of pictures on Twitter and Instagram. Almost 80 images of patron saints on carrozas that formed part of the procession and later set up at the shrine were among the most posted images online.

Smart provided Internet services and enhanced its network by setting up two mobile sites at the Mass venue, said senior manager for public affairs Maria Jane Paredes. Thus, Filipinos outside Cebu and abroad could follow the developments through online updates of friends or video streams and other forms of coverage by such news agencies as Sun.Star and Radio TV Malacañang,

Smart also set up 40 corporate tents and facilitated the beaming of Sun.Star’s live stream in the big plasma screens of the company’s Jump Experience Center at SM City Cebu. Many pilgrims appreciated the souvenir fans with a map marking important stations as medical, security, and media centers. Also printed on the fans were the event schedule and tips on what to wear and bring.

Internet services were also made available to the media center. In addition, Smart helped facilitate Sun.Star Network Exchange’s live stream of the Mass and the program afterwards as well as two other areas in the 27-hectare venue by ensuring Internet connectivity for the website. On the day of the Mass, the three video channels of the Sun.Star website served over 11,000 viewers; post-event views as of December 7, 2012 pushed this to over 90,000.