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Father Purdy's Letters
Dear Friends and Benefactors, The city of Iloilo is located on the Island of Panay in the central region of Visayas. It is an older city and is home to one of oldest dioceses in the Philippines. In 1594, the Council of the Indies instructed the Governor General and the Bishop of Manila to divide up the Philippines into sections for the different missionary groups. The Augustinians had been present in the Philippines since 1565. The area of Iloilo, Cebu, Capiz and Antique were evangelized by the Augustinians since the late 1500s. The cathedral of Jaro claims is foundation (the original was built of bamboo) in 1587. It is in this section of Iloilo that our Church has been built, and this September consecrated by His Excellency Bishop Williamson.
Aside from the recent consecration of the church, Iloilo is the second oldest mission of the Society in the Philippines being established shortly after Manila. Because of these two facts, I thought it fitting to give you a brief history of the mission and our Apostolate here. Of course, there is no one better to tell the story than those who lived it. (Forgive the collage of pictures, some do not fit the text, but are part of the history.) “As early as 1989, word of the SSPX missions to the Philippines, particularly in Manila, reached Iloilo through Illongo relatives of Manila faithful. At that time, a group of Illongos, being aware of the errors spreading through the Church after Vatican II, began to meet in discussion groups. In 1990, the formation of a group called the Praying Army of the Immaculate Heart of Mary came about by these meetings. The Praying Army had three main intentions: to make known the errors of modernism in the Church and to bring back the true doctrines and traditions; to make reparation for all the sins committed against the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts; and the return of the Tridentine Mass “In August of 1993, Miss Elinor Pallisada of the University of San Augustin, decided to go to Manila to invite the SSX to Iloilo. It was her discernment, dissatisfaction, and rejection of the new catechism imposed upon Catholic schools that prompted her to make the trip and request. An active Legion of Mary member since her youth, she was informed of the SSPX by fellow Legion members who had moved to America and attended SSPX chapels.
“In 1993, Fr. Paul Morgan and Fr. Stephen Abraham came to Iloilo. They were invited to stay in the home of the Salazar family. One of the children of this family was on the verge of death from Leukemia in a medical center not far from the first Mass center in Manila. It was Fr. Abraham who came to visit their son and give the last sacraments and who was with this child when he died. The priests of the local parish would not come, or for some reason were not available. In gratitude, they welcomed the priests into their home in Iloilo. “In this first visit, Fr. Morgan and Abraham were introduced to the Praying Army of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. They were invited to say Mass for the group in the Viray residence. At the request of Miss Palisada, the first Ignatian retreat was also preached to a group of students of San Augustin University. In love with the perfection by which the SSPX priests said the Mass and the doctrines they preached, the group asked Fr. Morgan to come to Iloilo regularly. From this request, monthly Mass began to be celebrated in Iloilo, the chapel having been erected in the house of the Viray family.
“It was not without great crosses that we held fast to tradition. When Miss Palisada requested the retreat for the students of San Augustin, she suffered condemnation and inquisition from the University Chairman of Academic Affairs. The late Atty Teodoro Dominguez, legal advisor of the SSPX, generously helped her with her case. When Archbishop Piamonte came to know of the activities, the Salazar family was reprimanded which caused them to withdraw from the SSPX. As for the Praying Army, the anger of the Archbishop was put to pen and on December 16 – 24, a pastoral letter was read every morning during the Missa de Gallo condemning the SSPX and its Founder, rebuking all who associated with them (including the Praying Army) threatening excommunication. The core of the group also was summoned to the Archbishop’s palace where they received further harsh rebukes. By this time more than half the group left for fear of the excommunication. By the grace of God the Masses continued, and soon the attendance was at 150. The Viray residence could no longer be used to accommodate the numbers, so Mass was transferred to a bigger building owned by the Palma Family. These latter also withdrew from the SSPX because of threats from the Archbishop. The Mass center would have to move again, to the Zamora residence. “Since the beginning, yearly retreats have been preached for men and women to strengthen the Faith and give the faithful more courage to persevere. Summer camps for boys and girls were also held. In 1994, Iloilo was blessed with weekly Mass and also on major feasts.
“In November of 1994, the SSPX Superior General Fr. Franz Schmidberger came to Iloilo to give a conference, “Open your eyes to the grave errors of Modernism in the Catholic Church”, at which more than 500 attended. “In 1995, there came a group of Pangasinan (strangers to Iloilo), appearing very holy and traditional. They were taken in by one of the families. Many problems began and suspicions against the Society. Eventually a split occurred in the group; of 160 only 50 remained. Of those to depart, the Zamora family was included and therefore the Mass center moved again. Having a new apartment adjoining their home, the Viray family offered this for a chapel. Bishop Williamson visited in 1996 and blessed the little chapel of Our Lady of Consolation and St. Joseph. Apart from the Mass each weekend, the Blessed Sacrament was permitted to stay on the altar. Each afternoon at 5:30pm, the three mysteries of the holy rosary were prayed and the Perpetual Help novena recited. From this so many graces came to our group.
“In 2001, through the spreading of the devotion of the Miraculous medal, a lot was acquired for the building of a church. In 2004 the ground breaking took place as well as the blessing of the cornerstone by Bishop Williamson. With the Church being completed, a procession of the Blessed Sacrament was held from the old chapel to the new church, for the two locations are not too far from each other. In 2006, Bishop Williamson was able to consecrate the altar and entire Church, Our Lady of Consolation and St. Joseph.
“We are immensely grateful to Archbishop Lefebvre for his stand in defense of Tradition. Likewise we are blessed for his Priestly Society of St. Pius X who has served our needs now for over a decade. We pray for their continued perseverance. MJV.” |
