Father Purdy's Letters     July– August 2006 Dear Friends and Benefactors, Butuan City is located on the northern shore of Mindanao, the second largest island in the Philippines. It is a smaller city, the lumber industry being one of the main supports of the local economy. The people are poor. The men drive the pedi-cabs, tricycles and jeepneys, some work along the river in the lumber yards and furniture manufacturers. Others hold various professional jobs in the city. Filipina mothers will tend to the youngest children, who are often playing among themselves on the sides of the streets or in the back alleys. The swarms of children of all ages flood to the schools for their classes, all dressed in uniform; long skirts and blouses, of different colors to indicate which school they attend. The streets are lined with traffic-police at the major intersections. Everything moves at a slow pace. The majority of the people in and about the city will rarely leave it. Many seemingly do nothing and go nowhere. In 1997, Fr. Marc Vernoy was the first SSPX priest to visit this little city. There he founded a mission, naming it Santa Lucia. Santa Lucia Mission “If thou be faithful and fervent in doing, God will doubtless be faithful and rich in rewarding. “Fully embracing the Catholic Faith and Tradition, it has been the summit of my desire to draw souls into the true Faith. I know my limitations: unable to start, unable to accomplish without Divine Assistance. I tried different strategies and pondered the possibilities on how to introduce tradition in this remote area. There were many obstacles: the transportation problem, communication difficulties, and the most important financial situation. I was lucky enough to work abroad but still was limited in resources. “It was December 27, 1997, (as far as I remember) when that desirous dream came to reality. The first Traditional Mass found its way to our humble place, offered by Fr. Marc Vernoy. He is also the founder of the Apostles of Mary. Those were crucial years for the Society’s apostolate in the Philippines. Priests were few and distances great, so we were just permitted to have two or three Masses a year. This did not discourage us! On Sundays, we had Holy Hours and Catechism. I produced some tapes with catechism and tried to translate into Visayan until the early morning hours. Besides I started also a Novena to Our Lady of the Holy Rosary to send somebody to teach catechism. Not long after Niño came to Sta. Lucia. He was the answer to my prayers. He is from the city of Butuan, although converted to Tradition in Bohol since his college days. The following year (2001) Ricky Olaer from Bohol came to help Nino with the catechism both for the young and adults. He came every Friday for the station of the cross and Sundays for the holy hour. “On June 30, 2002, Barangay (the Filipino word for village) Mahogany was consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary by Barangay Captain Jesus Rodriguez, Fr. Carlo Magno Saa witnessing. From then on many graces have been bestowed for the mission. We were also grateful that our Apostles of Mary, Sta. Lucia Clan was founded. It was after this consecration that it became necessary to remove the wooden floor in the house that served as our chapel. I really prayed to the Blessed Mother that it would not collapse with all inside during the mass. From then on, the floor in our chapel was the ground.     page 2 back to Philippine page