FROM PARISH CHURCH TO CATHEDRAL

A MISCOMMUNICATION within the Catholic Church 37 years ago will finally be settled with the coming to Dagupan on December 27 of the Papal Nuncio to the Philippines, His Excellency Edward Joseph Adams.

Fr. Oliver Mendoza, secretary of Archbishop Socrates Villegas, said Monsignor Adams will do what his predecessor, former Papal Nuncio Bruno Torpigliani, did in early 1974, when the latter consecrated the then newly-built St. John the Evangelist Parish on Burgos Street as a cathedral.

That event was not properly communicated to the Vatican, which was why the St. John the Evangelist church remained on record as a parish.

Dagupan, which is currently celebrating its 30-day fiesta in honor of its patron saint, St. John the Evangelist, will now have more reason to rejoice with the visit of the papal who will be welcomed by 76 priests.

Also attending the event are Bishops Marlo Peralta of Alaminos, Jacinto Jose of Urdaneta, Artemio Rillera of San Fernando, La Union and the bishops of San Jose and Cabanatuan.

Fr. Mendoza said the old cathedral, which was the original Episcopal Seat of the archdiocese on Zamora Street in Dagupan, was built during the Spanish time and rebuilt many times over, the last time after it was devastated by the July 16, 1990 earthquake.

The old cathedral, which is part of Dagupan’s rich history, being the place where the Spanish forces in Pangasinan made their last stand against the Katipuneros of General Francisco Macabulos, is being renamed Sanctuario de San Juan Evangelista.

The new one, built in the 1970s on Burgos Street and recently renovated with brick tiles on its interior and exterior walls under Archbishop Socrates Villegas, is now officially called the St. John the Evangelist Metropolitan Cathedral.

Fr. Mendoza said the old cathedral became the seat of the Lingayen-Dagupan Diocese starting in 1954, until it was elevated into an archdiocese in 1963. Both events happened during the reign of Archbishop Mariano Madriaga.

Prior to this, the old seat of the diocese was in Lingayen but it was transferred to Dagupan after Lingayen was badly devastated during the Second World War.

Meanwhile, on the same day, two new priests will be ordained by Archbishop Villegas. They are Rev. Allan Soriano of Malasiqui and Rev. Jasper Hebron of Lingayen. Also to be ordained as deacon is seminarian Dexter Carino of Dagupan City.

Fr. Mendoza said they expect the local officialdom of Pangasinan and Dagupan to attend the event.—LM

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