Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan

February 23, 2012

Memorial of Saint Polycarp, Bishop and Martyr

Circular 2012-8

RE: Fund Drive for the Theology Seminary

My dear people of God:

We have officially laid the cornerstone for the future Mary Help of Christians Theology Seminary and the construction work has likewise started. The first phase of the construction will include two classrooms, the dining area with kitchen, seminarians’ dormitory with twenty cubicles, temporary oratory, toilets with bathrooms, three rooms for the priests, visitors’ receiving room and the corridors. This part of the seminary building will have three floor levels covering a floor area of 1,713 square meters.

The total cost of phase one will be PhP25, 873, 213.00. With the grace of God and your cooperation, we hope to receive our first batch of theology students when the academic year opens in June 2013.

As of February 15, 2012, the parishes and Catholic schools have remitted Ph P5, 342, 928. 40 to the Chancery while PhP1,842,266.00 have been donated by individual benefactors or corporations for the seminary fund. From abroad, we have total donations of US$ 1,663.00. Clearly, we are still a long way from our target of twenty five million pesos to complete the first phase of the construction.

The theology seminary construction is our tribute of gratitude to our forefathers in the faith, a proclamation of the presence of God amongst His flock and a legacy for future generations of Catholics in Pangasinan. Please allow the Lord to use you to make this happen. We will launch a vicarial fund raising campaign for the whole season of Lent and Easter this year under the direct supervision of our Vicars Forane. The vicarial collections will be remitted to the Chancery by Pentecost Sunday so that we can sustain the construction funds.

The completion of the theology seminary must be the vision of each and every priest, religious and lay faithful in our archdiocese. I plead with you please contribute to the seminary construction project. I extend my hands to you as a beggar in need of help. Our very own theology seminary will be the enduring sign of our maturity in faith.

Sincerely yours,

+SOCRATES B. VILLEGAS

Archbishop of Lingayen Dagupan

22 February 2012 – Dagupan City. The celebration of Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the Lenten Season is the launching date of the second phase of the fund raising campaign for the construction of the Theology Seminary. The new theology seminary will be named after Mary, the Help of Christians. The High School and the College seminaries in the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan are named in honor of Mary, Help of Christians.

The initial phase of the fund raising campaign covered the period between 16 December 2011 to 8 February 2012. It was an awareness campaign, to let the faithful know of  the need and the rationale for the Theology Seminary in the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan. In the initial campaign, the “Libro na Panangaro para Seminario” was utilized. The “Libro na Panangaro para Seminario” focused on the campaign that the support given to the seminary is a “legacy that will transcend our lifetime”. On 16 February 2012,  the names of the donors written in the “Libro” were were laid on the site of the future altar of the seminary chapel.

“Bless our Vision. Make it happen”. The Vicariate Campaign

The 2nd phase of the campaign will go down to the five vicariates of the archdiocese. The archdiocese has five vicariates.

The Prayer for the Theology Seminary is asking God to  “bless our vision…” of the Theology Seminary. It further asks God to “make it happen.” The theology seminary is not only the vision of the whole archdiocese, but also the vicariates. Hopefully, at the end of this campaign, the theology seminary is not something that is way up in the archdiocesan consciousness of our people, but it is something that is shared among the parishes in the vicariates.

In the prayer, we ask God to bless our vision; we ask God to make it happen; we ask God to use us (the vicariates) to make it happen.

1M para kay M

The duration of the vicariate campaign shall be from  the start of Lent (22 February, Ash Wednesday) up to Pentecost (27 May 2012), or about three months. The launching of the campaign will be held by vicariates. Each vicariate is given the mission to raise a minimum of Php One Million (PhP 1,000,000.00). “1M para kay M” is Php One million for Mary, the patroness of the new theology seminary.

First Phase of the Construction

Archbishop Socrates B. Villegas, in a circular letter, said that “the first phase of the construction will include two classrooms, the dining area with kitchen, seminarians’ dormitory with twenty cubicles, temporary oratory, toilets with bathrooms, three rooms for the priests, visitors’ receiving room and the corridors. This part of the seminary building will have three floor levels covering a floor area of 1,713 square meters. “

The total cost of phase one will be PhP25, 873, 213.00.

In the same letter, Archbishop Soc gave a report with regard to the ongoing fund raising campaign. He said, “As of February 15, 2012, the parishes and Catholic schools have remitted Ph P5, 342, 928. 40 to the Chancery while PhP1,842,266.00 have been donated by individual benefactors or corporations for the seminary fund. From abroad, we have total donations of US$ 1,663.00.”

He further said that “clearly, we are still a long way from our target of twenty five million pesos to complete the first phase of the construction”.

Gratitude, Proclamation, Legacy

Archbishop Villegas wrote, “The theology seminary construction is our tribute of gratitude to our forefathers in the faith, a proclamation of the presence of God amongst His flock and a legacy for future generations of Catholics in Pangasinan. Please allow the Lord to use you to make this happen.

The completion of the theology seminary must be the vision of each and every priest, religious and lay faithful in our archdiocese. I plead with you please contribute to the seminary construction project. I extend my hands to you as a beggar in need of help. Our very own theology seminary will be the enduring sign of our maturity in faith.

February 22, 2012

Ash Wednesday

Circular 2012-7

RE: Archdiocesan Jubilee of Fathers

My dear brothers in the priestly service:

In keeping with the spirit of the preparatory year for the golden jubilee of the Archdiocese of Lingayen Dagupan next February 2013, we shall focus our activities in March this year on the importance of fathers in the mission of Church renewal.

The Archdiocesan Jubilee of Fathers will be on March 26, Monday, the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, at the Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist in Dagupan City. The Eucharist will be celebrated at 5:30 pm during which the outstanding fathers will receive their certificates of Apostolic Blessing coming from the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI. May I request you to inform the fathers concerned to be at the said Mass together with the members of their family.

Here is the official list of the fathers who will receive their recognition during the Jubilee of Fathers:

1. Domingo  Caliboso Dulay

2. Fidel Peres Manuel

3. Genaro Estabillo Romero

4. Guido  Gomez  Calicdan                     

5. Marcelo  Fernandez  Domantay

6. Atty. Jose  Junio  Pacia

7. Rodulfo  Icalina  Ramirez

8. Reynaldo Sagun Acosta

9. Isagani  Libardo  Izuma

10. Federico Lagria  Rosuena

11. Tito Biagtan Sarzaba, Jr.

12. Carlos  Patungan  Besitan, Jr.

13. Rolando Razo Estrada

14. Henry Junio Fernandez, M.D.

15. Florencio  Latonio Gabrillo

16. Alfredo Macaraeg  Erive

17. Eusebio Torio Gonzalo, Sr.

18. Genaro  Bautista  Nagma

19. Clemente Capinding Fernandez

20. Jose Gubatan Soriano

21. Lorenzo  De Vera  Talinio

22. Gregorio  Tercero  de Guzman, Jr.  M.D.

23. Engr. Santiago  Casuga   Alhambra

24. Hilario  Daquioag  Tumaneng

25. Alfonso  Quidilig  Senin

26. Dalmacio  Montoya  Flores

27. Primitivo Abalos Abalos

28. Canuto Espanol Abalos

29. Romeo Vito Manuel

30. Paul Shao Teng

31. Orlando Ramos Bartolome

32. Romulo Dominguez Bautista

33. Leoncio Aquino Embuido

34. Richard  Hufiano  Cacal

35. Alejandro  Paras  Balolong

36. Ernesto Ventenilla  Ramos

37. Rolando  Junio  Nacor

38. Salvador Palisoc Palisoc

39. Gregorio  Fabia  Fernandez,  Jr.

40. Romeo Pascua Samson

41. Jose Bauzon Natividad

42. Benjamin Ferrer  Ferrer

43. Rolando Magalong Cayabyab

44. Teofilo Abalos de Guzman

Please announce to the parish or school community the unique honor that is being bestowed upon these fathers in our Christian community. May it inspire more fathers of families to follow the example of Saint Joseph, the custodian of the Holy Family.

Sincerely yours,

+SOCRATES B. VILLEGAS

   Archbishop of Lingayen Dagupan

Franklin Q. de Guzman

16 February2012 – Dagupan City. The Jubilee Door of the St. John the Evangelist Metropolitan Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan (ALD) was opened on Thursday afternoon marking the start of the Golden Jubilee Year celebrations of the archdiocese.

Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas led the opening of the Jubilee  door  to launch the year-long celebration of the Archdiocese to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of its elevation as Metropolitan See next year.  The Archbishop knocked on the Jubilee three times using a wooden mallet before the doors were opened. The Archbishop was the first to enter the jubilee, followed by the clergy and the laity. He knelt and prayed after he opened and entered the Jubilee Door.

The Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan was elevated as a Metropolitan See on February 16, 1963.

For the poor, the youth and the lapsed Catholics

During his homily in a Con-celebrated Mass which followed after the opening rites of the Jubilee Door, Archbishop Villegas addressed the more than  a thousand faithful present that the Golden Jubilee Year is not only a year of praise and thanksgiving but a mainly a year of reaching out especially to the “to the poor, the youth and the lax Catholics.”

“If the Jubilee Year is only dedicated to dayew tan pisasalamat (praise and thanksgiving, which is the theme of the year-long celebration) and nothing more, then we will waste our Jubilee Year. Our praise and thanksgiving must be translated into action,” the prelate said.  “The Jubilee Door that we opened with the approval of the Holy See is a reminder that the door of the church must always be open to three very special class of people (pertaining to the poor, the youth, and the lost) who for Villegas are the people “who have not entered the cathedral for so long and who do not believe in the cathedral anymore.”

The prelate emphasized that the Jubilee year is primarily for the poor (a word he passionately mentioned more than ten times in his homily) and he challenged the faithful to bring the poor inside the church. “We must bring the poor to Jesus and we must bring Jesus to the poor,” he said. “The Jubilee Door must be primarily open for them first and foremost. We must not only live, we must live for the poor,” he added.

Secondly, he turned to the young people present saying that the church is for them and the jubilee is for them.

“Come, serve in the church; come, read the word of God. come, teach the doctrines of the church; come, be teachers of your fellow youth. Let the youth serve their fellow youth,” he invited them.

He turned again to the congregation and said, “The true teachers of the church are our young people yet their voices are not heard… their voices are not given opportunity to be proclaimed in the church. They must be heard… The youth are up there in the streets and bridges intoxicated by alcohol, neglected. This jubilee year is for them and if we won’t not reach out to the youth, we would waste our jubilee year.”

Lastly, he said that the jubilee year is for the lapsed Catholics. “This year is for those people who left the church… who do not believe in the (Catholic) church anymore. Ours is not to argue with them; our is not to kick them out… ours is to open the Jubilee Door for them and invite them.They are members of our family. This Jubilee is for them because the jubilee is a year of renewal,” he said.

He ended his homily with a challenge to everyone present, “ Please do not reach February 16, 2013, without bringing one more youth, one more poor brother, one more lapsed Catholic through the Jubilee Door of this Cathedral.

He encouraged the people to share their blessings. “ All blessings from God are not for us to keep alone. They belong to others. If we keep them only to ourselves, and refuse to share them, we are not selfish, we are not greedy; we are a thief! For a thief takes what does not belong to him.”

Special Affinity

Within the mass, Most Rev. Renato P. Mayugba, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan, read the announcement of the special bond of spiritual affinity granted to the St. John the Evangelist Metropolitan Cathedral with the Papal Basilica of St. Paul Outside of the Walls.

The decree of special bond from Rome, dated February 15, 2012, was also read in Latin and English respectively by Msgr. Rafael S. Magno, Jr, Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan, and Fr. Alvin Platon of the St. John the Evangelist Cathedral.

The papal basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls may be found the stone coffin containing the bones of the Saint Paul the Apostle.

The Apostolic Penitentiary through the Major Penitentiary His Excellency Most Reverend Emmanuel Monteiro de Castro, has also granted all pilgrims visiting the Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist in Dagupan City papal blessings and plenary indulgence under the usual conditions laid down by Church laws. This means that all the Catholic faithful who visit and pray in the Cathedral of Saint John gain the spiritual benefits of the Church as if they actually visited in the papal basilica in Rome.

At the beginning of his homily, Villegas expressed his joy for the said favor granted to the cathedral. “It is a grace of God to those people who come to this cathedral,” he said.

The Second Church

The Cathedral of Saint John in Dagupan City is the second church in the Archdiocese of Lingayen Dagupan to be granted the title “special bond of spiritual affinity” with one of the four papal basilicas worldwide. The first church to be granted this special title and privilege is the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary in Manaoag bestowed by the papal basilica of Saint Mary Major.

Asked for the reason on how did the cathedral receive such an honor, he said that he honestly didn’t know at first. However, “eventually, I think the Holy See granted the favor because the Catholics of Lingayen-Dagupan are the best in the world,” he added. His statement gain a resounding applaud from the faithful.

He hopes that because of such grant, more people will visit and pray in the cathedral.

Photo Exhibit

Just before the end of the mass, a photo exhibit was launched depicting the different parishes of ALD.

Villegas, Mayugba  and Most Rev. Jesus Cabrera, Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Alaminos, led the unveiling the said photos which the faithfuls enjoyed looking at after the mass.

The said exhibit will go around the five vicariates of ALD all through out the year-long celebration so that more faithful will have the chance to see it. Fr. Reynaldo Romero, the chairman of the Jubilee Exhibits, invited the faithful to look at the photos from three points: historically, on the role of the churches in the foundation of the Pangasinan towns and the hand of God in their existence.

Jubilee of Priestly Vocation

In the calendar of activities, February 2012 is intended for the Jubilee of Priestly Vocation.

In line with this, fourth year male high school students from the different catholic schools of ALD were especially invited to attend the Opening of the Jubilee Year in the hope of gathering more priestly vocation.

Before the the start of the mass, Rev. Fr. Mario Morales, Rector of the Mary Help of Christians College Seminary, invited these young men to watch a short movie clip depicting the life of a college seminarian. After the film viewing, the faithful recited the Prayer for Vocation as one community.

Fr. Morales said that he hopes that there would be an increase of priestly vocations and asked the congregation to continue praying for more vocations in the archdiocese.

The opening day of the jubilee year was ended with a barrio fiesta and a fireworks display outside the cathedral, accompanied by the joyful band music of the Univeristy of Luzon Band. #

16 February 2012 – San Fabian, Pangasinan. “The Theology seminary is an act of gratitude to those who have gone before us.” Archbishop Socrates B. Villegas said in his homily during the concelebrated  mass held for the groundbreaking for the Mary Help of Christians Theology Seminary. Msgr. Renato P. Mayugba, Auxiliary Bishop of Lingayen-Dagupan, Msgr. Jesus A. Cabrera, Bishop Emeritus of Alaminos and more than seventy priests. The mass was held at the parish church of St. Fabian, Pope and Martyr at 8:00 in the morning.

Gratitude. Proclamation. Legacy

Archbishop Villegas further said, “The Theology seminary is a proclamation of Christ’s presence among us.” It is also a “legacy that we will leave behind long after we have left this world. It is a legacy that will transcend our lifetime.”

Hundreds of the lay faithful with the religious of the Archdiocese attended the mass. The thirty-five parishes and chaplaincies sent representatives to join the celebration. The Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan Catholic Schools also sent representatives from their faculty and student community.

Golden Year, Golden Offering

In his pastoral letter  on the opening of the jubilee year marking the fiftieth anniversary of the elevation of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Lingayen Dagupan in the year 2013,Archbishop Soc gratefully and with joy, wrote to the faithful of the Archdiocese, “The Church of Lingayen Dagupan is rich and wealthy in the golden graces of God! Indeed the true treasure of the Church is the Lord who is always present amongst His people. And God has always been with us.

“We entrust this year to Mary Help of Christians whose guiding hand has brought many of our young men to the altar as priests of her Son. As we now break the ground for the construction of the theology seminary, may our Mother guide us, give us courage and bring us to live for Jesus her Son.”

Motorcade to Palapad

A motorcade from the San Fabian Parish Church to the site of the future seminary in Barangay Palapad was held right after the Mass. The construction site was blessed and the names in the Libro na Panangaro Para Seminario were laid on the site of the future altar of the seminary chapel. A time capsule was also placed at the cornerstone of the future seminary.

A document “For Perpetual Memory” was also included in the time-capsule. It was signed by the Archbishop, his Auxiliary, the Bishop Emeritus of Alaminos, the members of the Archdiocesan Consultors, and the Mayor of San Fabian town.

The construction of the Theology seminary will  start after the groundbreaking ceremonies. It is expected that the first phase of the construction will be finished after eight months. By June 2013, the seminary will open its doors to the first batch of Theology seminarians.

The Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan has been campaign hard for the funds to build the Theology seminary.