ISABELA CITY, Basilan, Nov 19 (PIA) – Catholic
faithful in Basilan started the counted to the golden jubilee year celebration
of the establishment of the Roman Catholic Prelature of Isabela on October 21
next year.
Thousands gathered at the Claret College of
Isabela to mark the beginning of the countdown last Oct 21 with hundreds of
Catholic faithful from the different parishes in Basilan.
The celebration kicked off with a Mass led by
Bishop Martin Jumoad at Claret College, coinciding with the canonization of the
country’s second saint, Pedro Calungsod, in Rome.
The bishop and his priests carry the “Jubilee
Cross” as they launched their 365 days of preparation for the prelature’s
Golden Jubilee next year. Selected Catholic faithful also lighted 50 candles
placed in the magnified number 50 near the altar.
Jumoad, the prelature’s third bishop, called
on the faithful to observe the coming days as opportunities of “thanksgiving
and renewal.” He lauded support of different lay organizations to the various
pastoral programs of the prelature.
He also expressed his sincere appreciation
for the youth groups actively helping in parish activities across Basilan,
among the country’s poorest provinces.
In his one hour homily, the bishop recalled
that at the Sta. Isabel de Portugal Cathedral parish, there is a baptismal book
bearing the date 1866, which signifies there were already Catholics in Isabela
at that time.
The bishop added when the Claretians came in
1951, there were only two parishes, Sta. Isabel Parish church in Isabela City
and St. Peter Parish in Lamitan City.
“In 1963 the Catholic directory reported that
there were more or less 35,000 Catholics, now according to the census of 2007,
more or less there are 130,000 Catholics,” Jumoad said.
The Prelature of Isabela in Basilan was
created on October 12, 1963, and comprises all territories constituting the
civil jurisdiction of Basilan Province, including Isabela City. Its
titular patron is the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
The bishop also acknowledged the sacrifice of
the Augustinian Recollect fathers, the Jesuits and the Claretians who
ministered to the people. According to him, the missionaries then faced
uncertainties, danger and risks as the missionary sisters from St. Paul
Chartres, the Dominicans of the Holy Rosary and the other congregations.
Jumoad said the first diocesan priests came
in 1975 though most residents preferred the services of the Spanish
missionaries. He added the diocesan priests’ sacrifices paid off eventually.
Bishop Jose Ma. Querexeta, CMF, was the first
bishop of the Prelature of Isabela. As he established parishes and
schools for Muslims and Christians alike, the bishop worked for the integration
of Christians and Muslims. He set up projects that would benefit the
Muslims as he built churches for the Christians.
The Mindanao War of the 70's shattered the
prelature's dream of Christians and Muslims living peacefully side by
side. This was aggravated by the kidnapping of a Spanish Claretian priest
in 1987 who had devoted many years of his priestly life in Basilan attending to
the spiritual needs of Christians and the economic needs of the poorer Muslims.
Bishop Romulo de la Cruz became the Prelate
Ordinary of Basilan in 1989 upon the retirement of Bishop Querexeta. He
arrived on the scene when Islamic Fundamentalism was on the rise and the Abu
Sayaf, a violent fundamentalist group of armed adherents, was born.
One Franciscan brother and one Claretian
priest were kidnapped in 1992 and 1993 respectively. Not even the local
clergy was spared.
Father Cirilo Nacorda was kidnapped on June
8, 1994, and was released three months later, but not before fifteen of his
companions were killed and the remaining 25 captives, mostly teachers and
health workers, were finally released.
Kidnap for ransom remains a genuine threat
for church workers and priests in Basilan, a known stronghold of terrorist
group Abu Sayyaf.
However, not even one of them is intimidated
by it. The prelature personnel, from the lay workers up to the bishop himself,
are one in standing firm on no ransom for kidnapping.