PHILIPPINES
MISSION
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BAGONG SILANG |
The
St. Joseph’s Parish at Bagong Silang is the first mission entrusted to the MSFS
in the Philippines for pastoral care. It is located in Kalookan City in Metro
Manila. The parish has 25,000
families, each family having not less than five members. It is in the suburbs of
Manila City and consists of very poor people. This parish is in the diocese of
Novaliches. Fr. Mathew Kavithazha is the pioneer and founder of this parish.
Ten years back Cardinal Sin of Manila entrusted him a thickly populated large
area in Metro Manila telling him ‘I am going to give you a difficult task’. Ever
since Fr. Mathew took up the challenge he had been one with this poor people as
a pastor, spiritual guide and friend. When Fr. Mathew reached the place to take
charge as the Parish Priest the poor people wondered how he would live there.
There was just a shed used as the mass center in the midst of a thick
concentration of people. There was no room to stay, no money to build. Somehow
he managed to enclose a small room for him adjacent to the shed and began his
life th
ere.
Though there was absolutely no infrastructure for the functioning of the parish,
the pastoral care began to bloom attracting the hearts of the poor people by the
simple and poor life style of Fr. Mathew. He first
built a school naming it SFS Academy and it is growing very well.
Gradually he put up another enclosure for pastoral
activities. In the mean time a new plot of land was available adjacent to the
parish property. He purchased it and then began to build a multipurpose three
storied building solely depending on the providence of God experienced through
the small contributions of the parishioners as well as the missionary concerns
of some of his friends as well as the friends of his friends who were introduced
to Fr. Mathew seeing the missionary work. He worked from morning till evening as
the engineer and the main mason to the dismay of everyone as it was unheard in
Philippines that a priest would work in this way. The new building appeared as
a ‘miracle’ in the words of our former Superior General Fr. Emile Mayoraz. At
present a nursery school, social service center, parish office and the residence
of the priests are in this building.
Fr.
Mathew took up another challenge, characteristic of a genuine missionary and
ventured into the construction of a new Church. He
dared to build it, very large in size with the facilities for residence and
other offices of the church on the first floor. The Church can accommodate very
comfortably 1500 people. Initially the idea
of a new church was simply unthinkable for the people as they knew it would be
beyond their reach. Fr. Mathew was undeterred in his faith in the Providence of
G
od
and initiated the work. He designed the Church with the help of an architect and
began the construction keeping the shed intact inside. He built up this big
church almost to completion before he left the mission in May 2003. After Fr.
Mathew’s return to
India Fr. Joy Kochupoovathummoottil, the new Parish Priest took up the task and
completed the construction.
The blessing of the new church was done on 30 October
2005. We have entered into a long-term
contract with the Docese of Novaliches,
Philippines, entrusting us the pastoral care of the parish of St. Joseph’s
Parish, Bagong-Silang, Metro Manila. The agreement has been signed on 9 August
2004. There is a vibrant catholic community, deeply attached to our
congregation, who prays for us and makes all the new priests who join the
mission feel at home. Our confreres are fully involved in the pastoral care of
the people of God. They have truly assumed the charge of the parish with many
activities and have endeared themselves to the people, to the clergy and the
diocese.
Our confreres have proved themselves to be true
missionaries. The local church of the diocese is really happy about our work.
The
Mission offers immense possibilities of the ministry of ‘Renewal of Faith’ basic
to the mission of the congregation.
