Sitio 4, Bulbulala Pallas Valley, Vintar, Ilocos Norte
OFFICIAL NAME: Santo Niño de Cebu Mission Station
PATRON: Santo Niño de Cebu
FEAST DAY: Every 3rd Sunday of January
INAUGURATION: August 28, 2019, Most Rev. Renato P. Mayugba, D.D.
DIOCESE: Diocese of Laoag
VICARIATE: Central Vicariate – Mother of God Vicariate
PRESENT BISHOP: Most Rev. Renato P. Mayugba, D.D.
PRESENT MISSIONARIES: Rev. Fr. Sisinio Paderog, OSA, Rev. Fr. Harold Langahin, OSA (2021 to present), and Fray Eugenio O. Reverva, OSA (August 2023 to present)
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TOTAL NUMBER OF CHAPELS: 2
JURISDICTION OF THE MISSION STATION: Brgy. Bulbulala, Brgy. Ester, Brgy. Namuroc, Brgy. Mabanbanag
CHURCH ORGANIZATIONS: Friends of Saint Augustine (youth ministry), Knights of Santo Niño (altar servers), Lectors and Cantors, Mother Buttlers Guild
MAJOR CHURCH ACTIVITIES:
Feast of Santo Niño 3rd Sunday of January
Feast of St. Augustine August 28
Culmination of Rosary Month (End of October)
Holy Week Activities
Family Day (Pasko sa Parokya) December
Feast of Holy Family December
PROGRAMS OF THE MISSION STATION:
Catechesis
Stewardship Program
BEC formation
MASS SCHEDULE:
DEVOTIONS
FORMER MISSIONARY PRIESTS:
2019 – 2021 Rev. Fr. Christian Funtanares, OSA
Rev. Mark Domasian, OSA
SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT:
Facebook: CLICK HERE
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BRIEF HISTORY:
After an absence spanning 121 years, the Augustinian friars have made a historic return to Ilocos Norte. These Augustinian missionaries were the builders of colonial-era churches in both Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte, serving the Ilocano people until the year 1898. The significance of their return cannot be overstated.
On August 28, 2019, the official Inauguration of the Augustinian Mission took place in Pallas Valley, Vintar, Ilocos Norte. The event was presided over by Most Rev. Renato P. Mayugba, DD, Bishop of Laoag, who conducted the inaugural mass at 4:00 pm. The ceremony was attended by the Augustinian friars and the Diocesan Clergy of Laoag.
The Augustinian friars were initially introduced to the San Nicolas de Tolentino Parish in Vintar, Ilocos Norte, on August 5, 2019, following a Mass on the feast day of Saint John Mary Vianney. The warm welcome they received marked a momentous occasion.
The Filipino Augustinian Friars from the Province of Santo Niño de Cebú have embarked on this new mission in Ilocos Norte, rekindling their historical ties to the region. In a memorable Mass on the Memorial of St. Augustine, Bishop Renato Mayugba of Laoag entrusted them with a new mission station in the valley of Pallas, Vintar Town.
Friars from Saguday Residence were the pioneering missionaries in Pallas Valley. They took turns in taking care of the pastoral needs of the faithful. The first to be assigned for a few months was Fr. Exuper Lumintac, OSA, together with three simple professed friars on Pastoral Exposure, Fray Roner Anildes, OSA, Fray Jebie Jugarap, OSA, and Fray Rey Cyril Lagrosa, OSA. Fr. Richard Mijares, OSA came to Vintar from October 2019 to January 2020. Later on, two friars remained until the change of assignment in May 2021, Fr. Christian Funtanares, OSA and Fr. Mark Domasian, OSA.
While still looking for a permanent lot for the future convent and parish, the friars live temporarily at the house of the Solomon Family, which is only 50 meters away from the chapel.
Historically, the Augustinian Friars from the “Provincia del Santísimo Nombre de Jesús,” now based in Valladolid, Spain, were instrumental in evangelizing the Ilocos region. Their involvement dates back to 1572 when Spanish Fray Alonso de Alvarado, OSA, joined Juan de Salcedo in exploring the north, setting in motion the spread of the Gospel in the Ilocandia.
The Augustinians played a pivotal role in founding the old Ilocos towns and constructing the world-renowned churches of Paoay, Santa María, and even a Basilica in Badoc. Their contributions extended to various aspects of community development, from urban planning to municipal halls, schools, roads, bridges, weaving of cotton, and irrigation canals.
The return of the Augustinians to Ilocos has been met with open arms by the Ilocano community. However, the Augustinians they encounter are Filipino this time, marking a unique chapter in their shared history.
In an interview by the CBCP News with Fr. Ericson Josué, a Doctoral Student in History at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, remarks, “Practically, everything that you see in a town was their contribution to the human development of our ancestors.”
He continues, “They built our churches and parish houses, they did the urban planning of the old towns, they constructed the old municipal halls and schools, they directed the building of roads and bridges that connected the towns, they introduced weaving of cotton and directed the digging of irrigation canals.”
The return of the Augustinians serves as a reconciliation and healing of past wounds and conflicts that occurred more than a century ago, which even led to the separation of some Filipinos from the Roman Catholic Church with the establishment of the ‘Iglesia Filipina Independiente’ led by Ilocanos Isabelo de los Reyes and Padre Gregorio Aglipay. May the Gospel’s healing power mend the past’s unresolved wounds.
Meanwhile, Augustinian Fr. Joseph Farrel, the Assistant General of the Order based in Rome, extends best wishes and prayers to the missionaries in Pallas Valley as they embark on their missionary journey, reinforcing the significance of this historic return.
At present
In May 2021, a new set of friars, consisting of Fr. Sisinio Paderog, OSA, Fr. Harold Langahin, OSA, and Rev. Jebie Jugarap, OSA, were assigned to the Mission Station, further solidifying the Augustinians’ presence in the region. This mission station is part of Saguday Residence’s ministry, aside from administering the St. Augustine of Hippo Parish in Saguday, Quirino Province.
A significant development in the mission’s consolidation came in the form of a Memorandum of Agreement signed between the Diocese of Laoag and the Province of Santo Niño de Cebu – Philippines on July 20, 2023. The MOA was signed by His Excellency, Most Rev. Renato P. Mayugba, DD, Bishop of Laoag, and Very Rev. Fr. Andres D. Rivera Jr., OSA, Prior Provincial of the Province, at the Bishop’s Residence in Laoag City on July 20, 2023.
The agreement highlights the entrustment of the pastoral care of Santo Niño Mission Station to the Province of Santo Niño de Cebu, the erection of a Friary, a future quasi parish/parish, and other structures relative to the evangelization mission of the Augustinians.
The mission station, in addition, possessed canonical rights and independent from the Mother Parish of St. Nicholas of Tolentine. It was authorized to maintain its own canonical records, including those pertaining to baptism, marriage, conversions, confirmations, deaths, and other relevant privileges characteristic of a parish.
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