|
IFI Commemorates 71st Death Anniversary of First Obispo Maximo
A Memorial Mass for the 71st death anniversary of the first Obispo Maximo of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, the Most Reverend Gregorio L. Aglipay, was held at Aglipay Shrine in the Diocese of Batac on September 1, 2011. The solemn service was officiated by the Most Reverend Ephraim S. Fajutagana, 12th Obispo Maximo. “It is the spirit of Gregorio Aglipay – the spirit that seeks justice as the foundation of peace in a society that is battered by aggression and violence - that every member of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente must strive to live out”, Bishop Fajutagana urged the clergy and congregation in his homily. A Wreath Laying Ceremony at the crypt of Bishop Aglipay highlighted the memorial service attended by around two hundred faithful of the Diocese of Batac. Bishop Aglipay was a native of Batac, Ilocos Norte, where he had his early education and worked as a farmer in the tobacco fields. During the Filipino-American War, Aglipay who was already a priest, returned to the Ilocos and fought actively with his guerilla unit against the Americans and operated mostly in Batac and Badoc areas. On September 1, 1940, Bishop Aglipay died in Manila after leading the Iglesia Filipina Independiente for almost forty years. His remain was brought and buried in his hometown in Batac. A similar Commemoration Service was held at Aglipay Central Theological Seminary (ACTS) in the Diocese of Western Pangasinan. The Memorial Mass was presided by the Right Reverend Joselito T. Cruz, the Church's General Secretary. He was joined at the altar by the Reverend Dr. Eleuterio Revollido, ACTS Rector, and the Reverend Dr. Noel Dacuycuy, who served as speaker for the Aglipay Memorial Lecture which followed the memorial service. In Mindanao, a Memorial Mass and a Forum on Aglipay was held in the Parish of Placer, Diocese of Surigao, organized by the Mindanao Bishops Conference. The occasion has also offered time for the holding of the Mindanao Choral Festival that was participated in by choral groups representing each of the ten dioceses in Mindanao. Bishop Rhee Timbang of the Diocese of Surigao said that the Parish of Placer was chosen in recognition of its history. The parish was visited by Bishop Aglipay on June 10, 1905 during its fiesta celebration, and from where he deployed priests, one each to Dinagat and Siargao Islands to minister to newly organized parishes, to found more congregations and build new churches. Revolutionary leaders from neighboring mainland towns paid Bishop Aglipay a visit who pledged to organize congregations in their areas. |
|
|