By Dominic I. Sanchez
ZAMBOANGA
CITY - The roofs, fixtures, and effigies of saints in Christ the
King church at Martha Drive in barangay Sta. Catalina were destroyed during the
height of the standoff between the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) –
Misuari faction fighters and government forces, but one mysterious artifact
surfaced intact.
“After
clearing the area, the military presented us with this,” said Villaflores, who
showed the wooden image of Jesus Christ during the groundbreaking ceremony the
other day for the rebuilding of the church.
“The
statues of the saints were all destroyed, but this one was untouched.”
Villaflores
shared that earlier, he had asked the pastoral council and the residents if
they recognized the image, but they did not. Although it was not decided
whether the image was part of the original ornaments in the church, the
soldiers who cleared the area said that it was found near the altar, added
Villaflores. The origin of the image remains a mystery.
The
image was turned-over to the barangay BEC president Elsie Mallorca, which will
now be part of the church ornaments when the rebuilding is complete.
The
church will be rebuilt through the joint efforts of the city government of
Zamboanga, the Archdiocese of Zamboanga and Environmental, Socio-Psychological,
Economical and Religious Advancement of the Neo-Zamboangueños’ Aspirations, or
ESPERANZA, an inter-faith volunteer group conceived during the height of the
Zamboanga crisis which is dedicated to pursue the development goals of the
multi-cultural and multi-religious sectors of the city. (PIA9)