SSPX News Archive Philippines Photo Album St. Bernard Novitiate, Iloilo January 2004 Dear friends and Faithful, A very blessed Christmas and New Year to all of you from the rice fields of Santa Barbara, Philippines. I have had a busy Christmas with many trips into the city sometimes as early as 3.30 am for the novena of Masses before Christmas, called the Missa de Gallo (Mass of the Cockcrow) plus our normal Mass schedule here at the Noviciate. For the last two weeks there is hardly a day that I have not had to be in the city and back to the Noviciate, so I have been very grateful for the new (used) vehicle which you have helped me to buy. In November while I was in Manila after our retreat I went looking for a suitable vehicle and while the Suzuki model I had thought wasn't available another Japanese well known in these parts, the Mitsubishi, was available. As they are used vehicles coming from Japan they are converted from right hand drive to left hand. This the Filipinos are very good at and our vehicle is doing very well over our rough country roads. The Vehicle is a 1995 Mitsubishi Delica van, 4x4, has power steering, air conditioning, a sun roof, tape player, power windows and rides very well. I have enjoyed my drives into the city this year and with some adequate sleep even managed to feel alive for midnight Mass Christmas Eve. I hope that it will give us a good many years of service, and being a diesel engine it should have a long life. There were only 80 thousand kms on the clock so not excessive for the year. The Price. Only 275,000 pesos or not quite 7000 Canadian dollars. So with the 5000 collected from the chapels during my visit home to the West Coast of Canada and a little of my own we managed to swing a deal. Otherwise we have just finished the 10 x 22 meter workshop where we hope that a lot of activity will take place over the years. As well more and more ground is coming back under cultivation, besides the rice, bananas, feed corn for the pigs (the mother pig just gave a litter of 12 the Saturday before Christmas. All are doing well) sweet corn for the table, egg plant, papaya, tomato (300 seedlings) cashew, cacao (cocoa) plus many more things from God's cornucopia. In the city we are about to start a new chapel, which will be a welcome relief from the windowless garage that they have been using for the past 7 years. It will be a temporary chapel until we can build the big church, but if we were in a garage for 7 years, I suspect that we may be in the temporary chapel for 14. In any case, the plan is to build about 10 x 20 meters with some additional rooms for sacristy and repository or priest's room etc. All of this for about 1.3 million pesos. Most of which we have but if you feel inclined to help us out again, a few dollars goes a long way. (Nearly 42 pesos to the Can. dollar). So may the New Year find you all rested and eager to seek out the will of God throughout this coming year. I have reserved Masses on the following dates for your intentions, New Years Day, January 4th and January 10th. Plus I have asked the Brothers to remember our benefactors daily in their daily prayers, works and sacrifices. Yours prayerfully in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, Fr. L. Gerspacher (Some banking details) Acc. name Society of St. Pius X, Inc. Bank Bank of the Philippine Islands Branch ILOILO - JARO Branch E. Lopez cor. Ledesma Sts. Jaro, Iloilo City Acc. No. 1334-0610-58 (U.S. dollar account) Acc. No. 1335-8056-03 (Peso account) International routing no. 08004 0022 (new corrected #) Swist code BOPIPHMM   back to Photo Album Contents