The National Shrine of St. Joseph 5.39

The History

By : Atty. Amado C. Otarra, Jr.


A large part of Mandaue City’s 3048 hectares of land area used to be the estate of the Jesuits in 1599 which estate was eventually acquired by the Augustinians in the early part of the 19th century.

Noted writers of the 16th century indicated that Mandaue was one of the villages of Cebu with a considerable population figure. This fact was confirmed by Pigafetta in his famous “First Voyage Around The World” wherein he noted that a large settlement of people was found along the coast from Talisay to Mandaue covering a distance of 8 kilometers. The administration of the village of Mandaue was taken over by the Jesuit missionaries who, at that time, were the administrators of the College of Cebu after the secular ministers, Father Juan de Roa and Father Herrera, had reportedly abandoned the place on September 15, 1638.

The religious needs of Mandaue, which had about 40 tributarios, were then attended to by Father Domingo Esguerra and Father Francisco Combes who were among the 50 priests of the Society of Jesus in the bishopric of Cebu.

In 1742 Mandaue was no longer a “visita” of the Cebu Cathedral because then Mandaue was incorporated in the “visita” of Liloan. From the Souvenir Book of Diocese of Cebu, record is shown that the Jesuit fathers founded the Parish of Mandaue between the years 1580 and 1700. The oldest record of Mandaue dated way back to the year 1762 as recorded by Redondo in his book, “Breve Reseña De Lo Que Fue Y De Lo Que Es La Diocesis De Cebu En Las Islas Filipinas”.

In 1768, all Jesuit missionaries in the Philippines were restrained from administering any of the Philippine parishes due to a raging Jesuit controversy then going on and the Jesuits were deported from the Philippines back to Spain while the investigations connected with the controversy was done which is why the Parish of Mandaue was abandoned. This was the time when the Augustinians took over and assumed administration of the Mandaue Parish whereat they immediately assigned a secular priest to minister the religious needs thereat in an acting capacity.

The Augustinian missionaries then were very scarce and, for this reason, they were forced to cede Mandaue to the Recollects who are actually their minor brothers so that, in 1846, Father Gregorio Saez, the first Recollect priest in Mandaue, was installed to serve the Mandaue Parish and he marked the Recollects’ administration of the Mandaue Parish.

The first church, a provisional one, was constructed in the 18th century by the Jesuit missionaries and the building consisted of hardwood and nipa for its materials of construction. In the year 1789, a report mentioned that this church building was in a very deplorable condition. In the year 1848, another church building must have been constructed because in the sacristy of the existing church building, an inscription is shown on a tablet which stated, as copied by the late Atty. Fructuoso B. Cabahug on March 25, 1937, thusly: “ANNO INCARNATIONIS DOMINI CAE MDCCCXL VIII DIE II AUGUSTI ECCLESIA GUBERNANTE SS. D.N. PIO PAPA LX”.

On August 10, 1843, another report mentioned that the church was structurally good and made of hewn stone and bricks but this colonial church edifice of Mandaue was badly damaged by a strong earthquake in 1922 and it was in 1936 that the building was successfully reconstructed. The reconstructed building, however, no longer possess the original aura of antiquity and the old Spanish ambience of that building wherein Father Ambrosio served as the Parish Priest from the year 1809 to 1846 when this churchbuilding was not yet damaged by the earthquake.

During the second world war which started in 1941, this churchbuilding, as reconstructed in 1936, was again badly damaged, along with the damage to the life-sized sculptures or statues of Jesus Christ and his 12 disciples or apostles gathered together during the memorable “Last Supper” which were then positioned at the southern wing of the churchbuilding. With the generous help of the faithful parishioners in Mandaue the damage to the building and those to the true-to-life statues were again rebuilt and reconstructed to full restoration condition during the incumbency of His Eminence, Bishop Manuel Yap in the year 1950.

From the year 1950 to 1990, various improvements were added to this building like the modern church pews, chandeliers, belfry, interior decors, carved wooden panels for its doors, new coats of paint on the interior walls, ceilings and the exterior walls, the innovative electronic church bells and electronic organ donated by the generous ancestors of Engr. Julius Ouano, which resulted to the totality of the picture of what is known now as the Mandaue Parish Church of the Parish of Saint Joseph, The Worker.

The churchbuilding marked the western end of Apolinario Mabini Street in the barangay called the ‘poblacion’ and also known as the Barangay Centro, directly facing the historic “Bantayan sa Hari” edifice, a watchtower which marked the eastern end of the same Apolinario Mabini Street in the Barangay of Looc. These monumental and historical edifices remained as silent but eloquent witnessess attesting, until now, without any fear of contradiction, that Mandaue City, as it is at present, is an extension of a glorious past wherein a kind of people who are endowed with the noble virtues of being God-fearing, honest, diligent and intelligent, have found their rightful places under the sun.

The decades of the 70’s and the 80’s brought about additional churchbuildings constructed within the territorial jurisdiction of Mandaue City like the construction of the San Roque Parish Churchbuilding in the barangay of Subangdaku in January of 1974. Another churchbuilding was constructed in the barangay of Basak, one of the northern barangays of the city, on February 27, 1976 and more commonly known as the Lady of Fatima Parish Church. On June 7, 1978, the Gethsemane Parish Churchbuilding was constructed and made operational in the barangay of Casuntingan which is one of the western barangays of the city, and a few years later, the Christ the King Parish churchbuilding was constructed in the barangay of Alang-alang within the eastern quadrant of the city map.

The spiritual needs of the people of Mandaue City, now numbering about 170,000, are well attended to by the religious services rendered by the administrators of the 5 parishes and 5 parish churches in the city.

Tradition has it until now that the biggest celebration of the fiesta is observed in Mandaue during the Feast of Saint Joseph, The Worker, the patron saint of the mother parish which, from time immemorial until now, remained as a citywide celebration every 8th day of May of the year. The Saint Joseph, The Worker’s, Parish Churchbuilding and the true-to-life sculptural rendition of the “Señor de Cena” stood firm in its level of prestige as among the foremost rarities and tourist attractions in the city of Mandaue.

ST. JOSEPH PARISH – MANDAUE
The Present

(by : Adessa F. Otarra)

The parish church of St. Joseph in Mandaue City has indeed gone a long way. For centuries it has stood remarkably in the heart of the city, straightly in view from the historical Bantayan sa Hari watchtower in Looc.

It started off as a small church in the 16th century, when the Jesuits, who brought with them an image of St. Joseph with the child Jesus, came to Mandaue and preached about Jesus. Then it became a bigger structure after the small church was destroyed by an earthquake. In the later years, restorations were made in between natural and man-caused destructions, until it was finally reconstructed into the much improved and beautified edifice that it is now. Although the church had undergone many physical changes, it is during this time that the renovation was most expensive and major. The four huge posts that used to block the church-goers’ view of the altar were removed, the entire roofing replaced, the ceiling transformed into a cloud-like view, the walls strengthened and repainted, the whole flooring re-tiled with granite, the pews refurbished, the windowpanes enhanced with colored glasses, the choir loft made more spacious and breathable, and basically, ventilation of the whole church is at its best. The altar, too, has been modified to give more emphasis on the masses celebrated there. Truly, much has been accomplished yet the end is still underway as reconstruction is still far from over. But this early, it can be said and affirmed that the parish church of St. Joseph in Mandaue has, beyond doubt, blossomed into a place like heaven on earth !

Adding to the glory of this majestic edifice, this said parish of St. Joseph in Mandaue has been declared, during the July 1999 Episcopal Conference (or the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines - CBCP), as a National Shrine. To be a national shrine requires the approval of the Episcopal Conference with the presence of these conditions in particular - the beautiful liturgical celebrations, the administration of sacraments of the eucharist and penance (ready access to the sacraments), and the great love that the people have shown for St. Joseph. With the new church that it is now and being a National Shrine, it means that not only is the said parish now like heaven that’s very conducive to praying, it also offers greater means for the faithful to go to heaven! Being a shrine, one can gain plenary indulgence when he visits the said church, go to confession, receive communion and pray for our Pope’s intentions. Partial indulgence can also be gained if one will pray the litany of St. Joseph before his venerated image.

On the 8th of August 2001, at 4:30 in the afternoon, the beloved church of Mandaue, the National Shrine of St. Joseph, was “Dedicated and Consecrated”. By such it meant that it was solemnly prepared for worship which happens only once in a lifetime except if the church will again undergo a major reconstruction. For such, respected bishops and priests not only from the Archdiocese of Cebu but also from neighboring archdioceses came and concelebrated with the beloved Archbishop of Cebu, His Eminence Ricardo Cardinal Vidal. With such, Mandauehanons in particular and Filipinos in general, all who share the same faith and devotion to St. Joseph, had a grand reason to gather together and be one in jubilation.

An enormously transformed structure…a National Shrine…indeed a clear manifestation of the deeply prayerful Mandauehanons, a silent witness to the noble objectives and actions of the church-men (clergy and the lay), under the humble leadership of the parish priest and his assisting vicars, and a concrete evidence of how good God is and how much He loves His people. Indeed, with God, all things are possible. (afotarra)