HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL TOUR 8 Gathering of Theology Seminarians Sancta Maria Mater et Regina Seminarium (Host)

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PARISH CHURCH OF SAN MARTIN DE TORRES, DUMALAG

The town and parish of Dumalag, formerly called Ayombon, was founded by
the Augustinian missionaries in 1596 under the advocacy of St. Martin of Tours. The founder and first curate was Fr. Sebastian Mendez. The administration of the parish was transferred to the secular priests in 1898 when Philippine Revolution broke out. The last Augustinian curate was Fr. Valentin Suarez, O.S.A. In the early seventeenth century, Fr. Hernando Morales, O.S.A. (d. 1647), the fervent missionary of the aetas of Panay, who was the Augustinian curate of this town (for three terms - 1617, 1624, 1632), freed the people from enslavement to superstitions, which had become to them occasions for fear and anxiety. His courageous intervention was proven divinely sanctioned when an opposition received its deserved punishment. In his Conquistas de las Islas Filipinas, Fr. Gaspar de San Agustin, O.S.A. narrated that Fr. Morales cut down a very large tree which was a center of superstitions and a haven of pagan rituals. When his fiscal named Uuba opposed him and tried to stop him from placing the cross on the tree, that same day a crocodile bit his arms and legs off and drowned him to his death. The same priest (Fr. Morales) exorcised a cave in Pangibalon Hill by celebrating a mass there, which was formerly a sacred grove of the babaylans. From the same town of Dumalag, rose an example of a defender of the natives against their enemies in the person of Fr. Juan Baraona, O.S.A. (1767-1833), worthy religious and patriot, who served as minister of Dumalag from 1794 until 1800. In 1795, he led the people to fight and subdue the Negritos and apostates of the mountains of Tapaz who constantly harassed and harmed the people of this town. The towns Latin cross-shaped church, located in front of the plaza, was started in 1833 by Fr. Agustin Duran, O.S.A., rebuilt in 1873 by Fr. Angel Abasolo, O.S.A. and destroyed, together with convent during the January 17, 1875 typhoon. The same Fr. Duran (pastor from 1833 to 1866) built a wood and stone convent and a cemetery of masonry. The Diccionario Geografico, Historico de las Islas Filipinas of 1850 refers to Dumalag as a town with more or less 1,587 houses

of simple construction, a good convent, a municipal hall, where there is a jail, a quite large and ventiled cemetery (presently, the oldest existing cemetery in Capiz) , and a school attended by many pupils. The parish church is 65 meters long, 16 meters wide and has 3-foot thick, yellow sandstone walls. There is a main door in front, two doors at the sides and six arched windows between columns that reach up to the roof which is supported by massive buttresses. Its faade has six small, engaged rectangular pilasters that rise up to the triangular pediment. Inside are beautiful paintings done by Fr. Juan Carlos, a secular priest. The churchs graceful five-storey bell tower, on the left side has five bells of different sizes, all brought in 1881 by Fr. Lesmes Perez, O.S.A. (administered from 1881 to 1886). As Fr. Absolos worthy successor, Fr. Perez likewise built the magnificent north cemetery and the very modern municipal house. The 1948 earthquake heavily damaged the church leaving only the walls and the bell tower; but it was reconstructed in the 1950s by Msgr. Jesus N. Frantilla. The present parish priest is Fr. Enrique Relano, Jr. and his parochical vicar is Fr. Ramel Talabucon.

SUHOT CAVE IN DUMALAG

Several caves in Dumalag such as the Naulan Cave, located at the foot of Mt. Agmasibes in Brgy. Concepcion, the Langub Cave, a very large cave situated high above the surrounding plain and is reached after a steep 20 minute climb from Suhot Cave at the foot of the mountain in Brgy. Dolores, served as prehistoric dwelling sites of the ancestral people of the island of Panay. Human remains such as bones and teeth as well as mollusks (shellfish) and earthenware sherds proved that these caves used to be hunting and gathering camps occupied by stone-using people, using pottery only occasionally. At the mouth of Suhot cave is a pool of clear cold water flowing from a spring inside the cave. This very long cave, which is believed to have a connecting tunnel leading to Badiang Cave , which is 6 kilometers away in the middle of the dense jungle of the neighboring town of Dumarao, is actually a chain of interconnected caverns of different sizes. Peter J.F. Coutts, an Australian archeologist, in his book An Archaeological Perspective of Panay Island, Philippines remarks about Suhot Cave: At the foot of the same mountain upon which Langub Cave is located there is another large cave, which once contained archeological deposits Suhot Cave has become a tourist attraction in recent times and its floor sediments adjacent to the entrance have mostly been removed. However, examination of the floor remnants indicates that theu incorporated archeological deposits of similar composition to those found in Langub Cave.

PARISH CHURCH OF SANTA MONICA, PANAY

Monica Parish Church stands as a historical Landmark of the first evangelization of Christian Faith in the island of Panay, Philippines. In 1566, Padre Martin de Rada, an Augustinian missionary, was the first to proclaim the Gospel in the island at the river bank of Bamban, now known as the town of Panay, Capiz. In 1581, the Spanish missionaries established Panay as a parish which had six (6) visitas: Suyson (Ivisan, Capiz), Aranguen (Pres. Roxas, Capiz), Sibara (Pilar, Capiz), Capis ( Roxas City), Ipiong (Panitan), and Divingdin (Dao). Of the 2,830 Augustinians who came to the Philippines during the 333 years of Spanish rule, around 84 friars had served as ministers in the town of Panay from 1566 until 1898. In 1581, Fr. Bartolome de Alcantara, O.S.A. was named first Prior with Fr. Agustin Camacho, O.S.A. as his companion; and in 895, Fr. Gregorio Hermida, O.S.A. served as the last curate with Fr. Jose Garmendia, O.S. A. The original ecclesiastical structure of Panay was built during the term of Fr. Manuel Lpez, O.S.A. between 1692 and 1698, and was rebuilt by Fr. Manuel Murguia, O.S.A. in 1774. In the past, the town of Panay was often visited by storms and earthquakes which destroyed the church and its convent several times. In 1884 after the destructive typhoon of 1875, the famous Augustinian builder, Fr. Jos Beloso, O.S.A., renovated the stone church. In 1895 Fr. Lesmes Prez, O.S.A., restored it in its beautiful grandeur from the aftermath of the typhoons of 1874 and 1875. The convent, made of rubblework, also constructed by Fr. Beloso, was destroyed also by these consecutive typhoons. It was elegantly reconstructed in 1892 by Fr. Miguel Roscales, O.S.A., and finished by Fr. Gregorio Hermida, O.S.A., but unfortunately was burned, alongside with the Municipal Hall, by the Spanish Governor General Diego de los Rios to dislodge the rebels from the town during the 1898 Philippine Revolution. Fr. Beloso commissioned Don Juan Reina for the casting of the largest bell in the Philippines and in Asia and the third biggest bell in the world in 1878 (aside from other bells under his name). The Dakong Lingganay (meaning, big bell), as it is popularly known, was made from 70 sacks of coins donated by the townsfolk and measures seven feet in diameter, five feet in height with a weight of 10,400 kilograms. It carries a meaningful inscription which reads: Soy la voz de Dios que llevar y ensalzar desde el principio hasta fin de este pueblo de Panay para que los fieles de Jess vengan a esta casa de Dios a recibir las gracias celestiales (I am Gods voice which I shall echo and praise from one end to the other of the town of Panay, so that the faithful followers of Christ may come to this house of God to receive the heavenly graces.) When the Philippines won its independence in 1898, the parishes of Capiz

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were now totally and completely under secular administration. The native clergy assumed the pastoral care of the Capizeos. They were products of the Real Seminario de San Carlos of Cebu (1779), and later on, the Seminario de San Vicente Ferrer of Jaro (1869). They belonged to the diocese of Cebu until 1865 when Jaro became a diocese. In the town of Panay, only two Filipino priests served as coadjutors of the Augustinian curates during the colonial era: Fr. Doroteo Carlos (1840) and Fr. Jos Reyes (1892). On May 28, 1951, with the papal bull of Pope Pius XII Ex supremi apostolatus Capiz was finally created as a diocese. With the canonical erection of the new diocese, the parish church of Capiz (renamed Roxas City on April 11, 1951) became the metropolitan cathedral, the seat of the bishop of Capiz. Most Rev. Manuel P. Yap, D.D. was appointed as the first bishop of Capiz (1951-1952), and was shortly transferred to the seat of Bacolod (1952-1966). He was succeeded by Most Rev. Antonio F. Frondosa, D.D., a native of Dumalag, Capiz, who also became its first archbishop when Capiz was elevated to the rank of an Archdiocese on January 17, 1976, with Kalibo and Romblon as suffragan dioceses, through the papal bull of Pope Paul VI Nimium patens. Most Rev. Onesimo C. Gordoncillo, D.D. became the next Archbishop of Capiz on June 18, 1986. Fr. Francisco Alba was the first Filipino Priest who served as the Parochial Vicar of the Parish of Sta. Monica. A significant milestone, however, happened. In 1997, the Santa Monica Parish Church of Panay was declared a National Historical Landmark by the National Historical Institute in its Resolution No. 3, series of 1997. The installed historical marker reads: Pan-ay, originally called Bamban, was established in 1572. The first church, constructed in 1774 by Fr. Miguel Murguia, was heavily damaged by typhoon in 1875. The present church was constructed in 1884 under the direction of Fr. Jose Beloso who commissioned Don Juan Reina to cast a bell for the church from seventy sacks of coins donated by the town people. This bell, the biggest in the Philippines measures seven feet in diameter, five feet in height, and weighs 10,400 kilograms. By virtue of NHI Board Resolution No. 3, S. 1997, this church is declared a national historical landmark. In 2004 received another national recognition. The Parochial Church of Santa Monica of the historic town of Panay, the best preserved complex in the province and boasts of the biggest bell in the country, had been chosen as one of the 26 churches with the distinction as National Cultural Treasures in 2004 by the National Commission on Culture and the Arts. Despite honors, the three-century old church is in deplorable condition. Weeds and fungi had slowly deteriorated its walls. Changing weather and climate had produced cracked surfaces. Bats and other creatures had transformed the Church as their own filthy shelter. The roofing system was about to collapse. On April 18, 2001, Very Rev. Msgr. Benjamin F. Advincula, P.C. was appointed parish priest of Panay with the specific instructions among many, to start the renovation, reconstruction and restoration work of the church and the reorganization of the Basic Ecclesial Communities (BEC) Program. Indeed the specific instructions were all done in few years. In December 2004 was blessing of the renovated belfry, the repository of the biggest bell in Asia. On August 27, 2006 was the rededication of the newly-restored 3 century old Church and the Landmark of Evangelizacion 1566 in the Feast of Sta. Monica and 440th Anniversary Celebration of the Evangelization of Panay. And on December 14, 2008 was the blessing of the newly-restored and

elegantly beautified Parish Convent, Re-opening newly-organized Museo De Santa Monica, Padre Martin De Rada, O.S.A. Hall and the exact replica of the Dakung Lingganay. As regards the current construction, The Parish of the Saint Monica of Panay is restoring the Old Spanish Perimeter Wall (1 meters thick and 8 feet high). In terms of the reorganization of the Basic Ecclesial Communities(BEC) Program as the focal Pastoral Thrust of the Archdiocese of Capiz, Very Rev. Msgr. Benjamin Advincula, P.C. comes up an annual pastoral program to cater such purpose. The Town of Panay has 42 Barangays which is presently under the governance of Mayor Dante Bermejo, 32 of which are entrusted to the Parish of Sta. Monica under the pastoral care of Very Rev. Msgr. Benjamin Advicula, P.C. with the parochial vicars Fr. Eriberto B. Buenafe, Jr. and Rev. Fr. Mark Q. Granflor. Mr. Isidro Jore is presently the president of the Parish Pastoral Council. The total population is 27,600 with the 5,967 number of households. There are 27,007 Roman Catholic and 593 Non-Catholic. The Parish has 81 chapels with a 103 Basic Ecclesial Communities (BEC) Zones. More so, the parish has 18 Religious Organizations, Movements and Ministries and 1 Parochial School.