t is not uncommon to the Catholic faithful in Asia and Africa the significant growth of Catholic believers so much so that continuous building of Churches and shrines are on-going facts in the missions of the Franciscans of the Immaculate. Churches are in the process of being built in our missions in Brazil, in Nigeria, in Benin and in the Philippines. Churches are tangible monuments of faith which depict through stone and mortar the strong and undying faith of the peoples. We will launch a series of articles of the different "Shrines in the Making" taking place in the different missions of the Franciscans of the Immaculate. In this present article we present the history of the building of the Marian Shrine of Mary Coredemptrix in Cebu City, Philippines. The long journey of its construction amidst limited material resources of the friars came to conclusion on the occasion of its solemn consecration on Novemeber 18, 2007 by his Eminence Ricardo Cardinal Vidal.D.D. Here is the story of the shrine.
Seven years ago, in the year 2000, our Institute, the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, searched for a place in the island of Cebu where we could build a Church that will be dedicated to Mary Mediatrix of All Graces. It would also be our first Church in Cebu after having been in the Archdiocese of Cebu since the beginning of 1992. Finally, after a tedious search, Fr. Bonaventure Mary Valles, FI, who was then the General Delegate of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate was able to find a place at Brgy. San Jose, Talamban, Cebu City. The process of acquiring the land was then begun. It was quite difficult because it was composed of different lots belonging to different owners. Some were donated and some were bought.
Consequently, the earth moving started since the land was too steep and had to be flattened. At this time, a deep well was dug near the edge of the property and put into operation. Providentially the water that came out was quite clear and even potable, thanks to the Immaculate.
ittle is known of the early human settlement of the Philippines. Scientific evidence remains inconclusive. It is generally accepted that the first significant human settlement occurred sometime during the most recent ice age, the Pleistocene Epoch. At that time sea levels were lower, creating land bridges that connected the Southeast Asian mainland to some of the present-day islands of the Malay Archipelago, south of the Philippine Islands. Historians theorize that Paleolithic hunters from the mainland may have followed herds of wild animals across these land bridges, later finding their way to the Philippine Islands.
Some of these early migrations to the Philippine Islands were made by the ancestors of the present-day people of the Aeta and Agta tribes. These people continue to be primarily hunters and food gatherers, much as their ancestors were thousands of years ago. They are one of the world’s few remaining populations of Pygmies, who are characterized by shorter-than-average height. The Spanish colonizers of the 16th century called them Negritos, a term that is still widely used today.
People of Malay descent, who now make up the majority of the population, are believed to have settled in the Philippines in several waves of migration after the 3rd century BC. Their languages developed independently because they settled in widely scattered villages. Each village included from 30 to 100 families and was ruled by a datu, or chieftain. The economy was one of subsistence, with each village producing most of what it needed, and land was held in common. The villagers engaged in both shifting (slash-and-burn) and settled agriculture. Religion was animistic, or based on the worship of ancestors and other spirits, such as nature deities.
ilipinos are primarily descended from Malayan peoples who migrated to the islands thousands of years ago. During the past several centuries, a significant number of people have migrated from China. Some people of Spanish descent settled in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial period (1565-1898). The term Filipino originally described a person of Spanish descent born in the Philippines. In the 19th century it began to refer to the Christianized Malays who constituted the majority of the population. Although the term remains closely associated with this group, it also can describe any citizen of the Philippines.
The Philippines had a population of 64,318,120 in 1990. The estimated population in 2007 was 91,077,287. The population is growing by about 2 percent a year, giving the Philippines one of the world’s highest population-growth rates. The high birthrate contributes to a predominantly young population; in 2001 about 57 percent of the population was under the age of 25. The average population density is 306 persons per sq km (791 per sq mi). However, the distribution of the population is uneven; some areas are virtually uninhabited, while others are densely populated. The percentage of the population living in rural areas has steadily declined in recent decades. It decreased from 68 percent in 1970 to 57 percent in 1990. By 2000 urban dwellers outnumbered rural residents, with only 42 percent of the population living in rural areas.
epublic of the Philippines (in Filipino, Republika ng Pilipinas), island republic in the western Pacific Ocean, within the Malay Archipelago, an island grouping that extends southward to include Indonesia and Malaysia. The Philippines comprises more than 7,100 islands, but the 11 largest islands form most of the country’s land area. The mountainous terrain includes many active volcanoes. The location of the Philippines just north of the equator gives the country a moderate tropical climate suited for the cultivation of export crops such as coconuts and pineapples. Agriculture has long formed the backbone of the economy. After World War II (1939-1945) the Philippines was one of the first nations of Southeast Asia to try to industrialize its economy. It subsequently lagged behind most of its Asian neighbors in economic development. Manila, located on east central Luzon Island, is the national capital and largest city. The republic’s cultural institutions, industries, and federal government are concentrated in this rapidly growing metropolitan area
II. Land and Resources
The Philippines is bounded on the east by the Philippine Sea, on the south by the Sulu and Celebes seas, on the west by the South China Sea, and on the north by Luzon Strait. The Philippine Islands lie off the southeastern coast of the Asian mainland, across the South China Sea from Vietnam and China. The shortest distance to the mainland, from the northern Philippines to Hong Kong, is about 805 km (500 mi). The Philippines extends about 1,850 km (1,150 mi) from north to south (between Taiwan and Borneo Island) and about 1,100 km (700 mi) from east to west. Malaysia and Indonesia, which each hold territory on Borneo, are the republic’s closest political neighbors.
Click thumbnails to enlarge
The Philippines covers a total area, not including its extensive coastal waters, of 300,000 sq km (116,000 sq mi). More than 7,100 islands and islets are included in the Philippine archipelago. The 11 largest islands make up more than 90 percent of the total area. Only about 460 islands are larger than 2.6 sq km (1 sq mi), and about 1,000 are populated.
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The Word Was Made Flesh is a monthly missionary review of MISSiOMARIAE.NET. It publishes articles on the missions and related topics such as the Directives of the Magisterium on the missions, Apostolic spirituality, Mariology, homilies and sermons and more...
