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CEBU CITY, Philippines - Father Valentino Gemelo, parish priest of the Our Lady of Immaculate Conception Parish Church, said the aid given by the Archdiocese of Cebu collected from the Masses celebrated on Sunday was a big help in reconstructing the century-old church and convent in Oslob town, about 117 kilometers south of Cebu City.
Gemelo said some kindhearted people also extended financial help to the church, but he could not yet reveal the total amount raised as they still have to do an accounting of the donations.
Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal has directed all parishes to raise funds for a day for the restoration of the Oslob church.
Vidal instructed the parish priests to conduct a special collection during all Masses on Sunday, which was also the Divine Mercy Sunday.
“We very well know the devastation wrought by the fire that totally destroyed the 160-year-old church, the Immaculate Conception Parish in Oslob, Cebu. I personally saw the destruction and felt very sad over this unfortunate incident,” said Vidal in his circular dated March 28, which was sent out to all parishes in the Archdiocese.
The 77-year-old prelate said this was not the time to ask who was to blame for the fire that gutted the church and the convent on Wednesday dawn.
“The best question to ask is, ‘How can we be of help’,” said Vidal.
“We have experienced the wrath of calamities in the past and we surely know how it feels to be victims of said disasters. Please encourage our faithful to be generous and let us be one in this effort to help the parish,” the Cardinal said.
The funds raised by the campaign would be used to purchase the immediate needs of the parish and its parishioners, said Vidal.
The priests were instructed to send the collected funds to the Oeconomus office or finance office of the Archdiocese at the Patria de Cebu in downtown Cebu City.
The church, which was about 64 meters long, 15 meters wide and 9 meters high, was completed in 1847.
The church was hit by fire thrice.
The first was in 1942 when Filipino guerrillas burned down the church. Trizer Dale Mansueto, History professor at the University of San Carlos, earlier said that while the reason was not explained in history books, it was common knowledge that Japanese soldiers were holed up inside the church at that time.
Only the walls and the columns, which were made of corals, were left of the church.
In 1955, fire of unknown origin gutted the whole complex except for the masonry wall of both buildings, according to the book, Angels in Stone by Father Pedro Galende, OSA.
“The people were only able to save the relief of the Virgin Mary, their patroness. The image that is being venerated now in Oslob,” said Mansueto.
The same relief was spared in the fire on Wednesday last week.
Fire investigators said the fire might have been triggered by faulty electrical wiring inside the room of Gemelo located on the second floor of the convent.
Gemelo is currently staying at the convent of the Religious of Virgin Mary (RVM) Sisters located at the back of the church.
On Sunday, Gemelo held Sunday Mass at the covered court of the municipality adjacent to the parish grounds.
During weekdays, Masses are held at the Camarin, a one-story structure located about 15 meters from the church where the carrosas and religious images are kept.
Gemelo earlier said he was confident that help would start pouring in after some parishioners told him that they had informed their relatives, who were working abroad, about the fire.
Mayor Ronald Guarin of Oslob said he would meet with the Parish Pastoral Council today to discuss the moves for the reconstruction of the church.
He said his help will be a private aid because local government units are barred by law to shell out funds for religious activities due to the separate of the Church and the State.
