|
The month of January is a red letter date for the parishioners of Bago Bantay. This memorable and historical date in the life of its Christian Catholic community will always be remembered by the parishioners, the parents, and the children. The rising of the majestic Sto. Niño Shrine to its present stature is symbolic of the unity, cooperation, industry, and sacrifice of the community.
Before its canonical erection, Bago Bantay was under the jurisdiction of San Pedro Bautista Parish in San Francisco del Monte. In 1957, it was transferred to the Parish of Sta. Rita, PHILAM, and by 1961 to Christ the King Parish in Project 7, under Msgr. Arturo Mendiola. The people of Bago Bantay, in their ardent desire for spiritual strength, banded together and built an improvised wooden chapel where they can attend Mass every Sunday, while they contended themselves by just hanging a piece of white cloth to serve as an altar by the side of a house where Mass could be held. It was named after the Mother of Perpetual Help. They had to fetch a priest from the San Jose Seminary (now Quezon City General Hospital) as early as four o’ clock in the morning and then go around the neighborhood inviting the residents to come and celebrate Mass. Rev. Fr. Celso Sta. Maria became the steward of the chapel. By 1962, the chapel was renamed in honor of the Sto. Niño due to the insistent request of the parishioners from the different barrios (now barangays). In 1964, the chapel was destroyed by typhoon “Didang” and the settlers temporarily moved to the Army compound (formerly Navy Station) at Nueva Ecija street. Most of the residents then had to go to Project 7 purposely to attend Mass during Sundays.
On May 3, 1967, the parishioners of Bago Bantay saw the light of dawn in their spiritual search and need for God. To have a parish priest in their own community was their prayer which was answered by the appointment of the late Msgr. Miguel P. Nuguid. Upon his arrival, Msgr. Nuguid made an appeal to build a new church for the old chapel was too small and dilapidated in order to meet the the increasing number of parishioners who attend Mass and other religious services. Families, individuals, and other church organization members responded. Several ways and means of fund raising were thought of by the leaders in the parish and spearheaded by Msgr. Nuguid himself. Soon the first church was constructed and finished and by then it was adjudged “THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CHURCH IN QUEZON CITY” in the year 1969.
During the 70’s, through the initiative of Msgr. Nuguid, the entire Catholic community of Bago Bantay headed for a gigantic project. It has embarked to a higher scale of its fund raising campaign. This time the plan for a construction of a permanent church of Sto. Niño emanated. Jointly, the “Mayflower Queen Contest” and the “Prinsesita ng Sto. Niño” were launched to speed up the accumulation of funds estimated at two and a half million pesos, which at that time, was already a treasure. However, with God’s help and with the sponsorship of the parish organizations and the Sto. Niño Parochial School, which was already in existence by that time, the fund raising affairs ended with tremendous success. In 1976, another interesting event in the history of the Parish happened when the Sto. Niño church became the seat of the newly created Vicariate composed of seven parishes then.
March 26, 1978; Easter Sunday. The devotees of Sto. Niño witnessed the laying and blessing of the cornerstone of the permanent church where the Silver Sto. Niño will be enshrined. Construction started on December, 1978 with barely half a million pesos on hand. But with the blessing of God, amazing support from the parishioners came pouring in and so the construction went through. However, as the construction was still going, the late Msgr. Nuguid’s eyesight began to fail him due to diabetes. And just like Moses who never reached the Promised Land, he also never saw his dream. But on his death bed, he still had that faith that it will be realized in the near future.
It was in 1981, when the then Rev. Fr. Marcelino O. Reyes (he was elevated to Monsignor due to his apostolic zeal in June 16, 1989) succeeded the late Msgr. Nuguid. Now on his shoulders laid the heavy load of continuing and finishing the magnificent Shrine of Sto. Niño, aside from the task of holding on and strengthening the faithful to continue helping and supporting the work of the parish financially and spiritually. In spite of his hectic schedule of attending to the needs of the different organizations, and the parishioners as well, ably enough, the construction of the church was successfully accomplished.
January 14, 1983, the beautiful church that presently stands in our midst was consecrated and dedicated to the Son of God, in thanksgiving for His blessing and providence in its final erection and in behalf of the people of Bago Bantay, and its devotees coming from different sectors of Quezon City. From then on,the Sto. Niño Shrine of Bago Bantay continued to flourish with its parishioners committed to continue helping to build, not only the structures, but also a community of people towards the eternal goal.
|
