CEBU, Philippines - As part of its 88th anniversary celebration, a Catholic chapel in Barangay Tangke, Talisay City, will have Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal to officiate a Holy Mass there on May 29.
Fr. Judito “Boboy” Rosende, a resident priest of Sta. Cruz Catholic Chapel in Sitio Tunga, Tangke, said the Cardinal will also formally bless their new chapel, which now can accommodate 300 to more than 1,000 parishioners, including the portions within the adjacent basketball court.
Rosende said at least P1 million was spent for the repair and renovation of the 88-year-old chapel, which was funded by first district Rep. Eduardo R. Gullas and from donations of the residents.
The priest, who had been assigned there for nine months, said he, like all the people in Tangke hopes to make the chapel another church considering that their parishioners are growing. The Sta. Cruz Catholic Chapel has eight smaller chapels in the barangay under it.
“We are trying to put religion at the center of the lives of the people here in Tangke. Kahibalo na man ta nga gidungog gyud ni diring lugara tungod sa drugas, but we hope to change that through the words of God,” said Rosende.
For her part, city treasurer Emma Macuto, a resident of Tangke and a supporter of Rosende’s cause, said the many chapel-based activities they have there are all aimed at luring the locals to go back to their religion.
Tangke has become infamous because of the illegal drugs reportedly being casually traded there. A big part of this coastal village is also inhabited by families living way below the poverty line.
But with the goal to rehabilitate Tangke, Rosende said the chapel will become the center of all that.
Last Friday, an opening salvo for the grand celebration of the chapel’s 88th anniversary celebration, which is on May 30, was attended by hundreds of parishioners. Icons of the patron saints of each of the eight chapels in the barangays also became a part of the procession as a way “to unite Tangke,” said the priest. (FREEMAN NEWS)