ROLP Vision and Mission
VISIONWe, Resurrection of Our Lord Parish, local church of the Diocese of Parañaque, envision ourselves as a communion of diverse communities, embracing and sharing in Jesus’ mission to proclaim the reign of the Father, constantly renewed by the Holy Spirit and accompanied by Mary our Mother and Model. MISSIONAs a diocese / parish, we commit ourselves to proclaim the kingdom of God by:
For ROLP Constitution and By-Laws, click here...
OVERVIEW
RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD PARISH (ROLP) is a Roman Catholic Parish belonging to the Vicariate of San Antonio de Padua, in the Diocese of Parañaque. It was canonically erected on February 23, 1972, by the late Rufino J. Cardinal Santos, Archbishop of Manila, to service the burgeoning residential subdivisions to the south of Manila. The then-named Parish of the Resurrection originally included in its territory BF Homes Subdivision, Tahanan Village, RGV Village, Ireneville Subdivision, Teoville Subdivision, Sta. Rita Compound, and Goodwill Subdivision - all located along Sucat Road (now Arcadio Santos Ave.) in the then Municipality of Parañaque. With the subsequent establishment of new parishes in the area, the Parish of the Resurrection, later renamed the Resurrection of Our Lord Parish, had its territorial boundaries redefined. (See below) The first parish priest was Msgr. Ceferino Sanchez (1972-1989). After him came Msgr. Agerico Galang (1989-1990), Msgr. Feliciano Santos (1990-1997), Msgr. Ernesto Joaquin (1997-2004), and, the fifth and incumbent parish priest, Msgr. Mario Josefino F. Martinez (2005- ). Liturgical ServicesFor the full schedule of ROLP liturgical services, click here. Location
The present ROLP Church is geographically located at Elsie Gaches Street, BF Commercial Area, Parañaque City. Its present territorial boundaries (inclusive) are Elizalde St. all the way to the Ipil and Clinic mission areas on the North, President's Ave. on the East, Dela Rama St. on the West, and Inner Circle Homeowners' Association just before the Alabang Zapote Road to the South. For users on a broadband connection, please click here for an interactive location map of the BF Homes Parañaque Subdivision with emphasis on the ROLP Church area. Parish Priest
Msgr. Mario Josefino F. Martinez is the present Parish Priest. Born March 19, 1955, in his hometown of Dumalag, Capiz, Msgr. Mario was ordained into the priesthood on March 17, 1983, at the Mt. Carmel Parish in Roxas City by Archbishop Antonio F. Frondosa. He holds a doctorate in Canon Law. Msgr. Mario initially arrived in ROLP in August 2004 on a "look-see" basis and was officially installed as Parish Priest in January 2005, as replacement of Msgr. Ernesto Joaquin, who was reassigned to St. James Parish in Ayala Alabang. Last April 8, 2008, Bishop Jesse Mercado announced during his pastoral visit to ROLP the extension of Msgr. Mario's term as parish priest until the end of 2010. Assisting Msgr. Mario in running the day to day affairs and pastoral thrust and concerns of ROLP is a Parish Tri-Council composed of a Parish Pastoral Council, Parish Finance Council and Parish Administrative Council. For more information about the Parish Tri-Council and its component pastoral commissions, organizations and ministries, click here. Parish OrganizationsThe different Parish Organizations are listed here, with links to their individual pages. Photo GalleryPlease click here to be brought to the ROLP Gallery.
Parish History(Reprinted from the ROLP Silver Anniversary Program, 1998)
The year was 1972. BF Homes Paranaque was still a small, albeit sprawling community with clusters of houses here and there. There were only a few stores in what passed as a commercial center. Water problems were unheard of. Road barriers with security guards did not exist. Travel time from BF to Makati was only fifteen minutes. BF also had no church of its own. There was just a makeshift chapel with only twenty pews donated by the BF Homes management. At the time, the residents had to go to the parish church of San Antonio de Padua at Valley II Subdivision to fulfill their Sunday obligations. It was also common for them to occasionally take turns in fetching the San Antonio parish priest, Rev. Fr. Ceferino M. Sanchez, to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in the makeshift BF chapel. On February 23 of that same year, His Eminence Rufino J. Cardinal Santos, Archbishop of Manila, canonically erected the Parokya ng Simbahan ng Pagkabuhay, or the Parish of the Resurrection. Fr. Sanchez was appointed as its first parish priest. The original jurisdiction of the new Resurrection parish included BF Homes Paranaque, Tahanan Village, RGV Village, Ireneville Subdivision, Teoville Subdivision, Sta. Rita Compound and Goodwill Subdivision, all located along Sucat (now Arcadio Santos avenue), in Paranaque. Over the years those subdivisions were given their own new parishes, including a second one granted to BF Homes Paranaque - the Presentation of the Child Jesus (PCJ) Parish. Thus, the jurisdiction of the Parish of the Resurrection was officially trimmed down to the area bounded by Elizalde street from President’s Ave. all the way up to and including Ipil and Clinic sites on the North side, Dela Rama street on the West side, President's Ave. corner Elizalde St. up to and including Phase 6-A on the East side, and Inner Circle Homeowners' Association just before the Alabang Zapote road on the South side. From the original few families that composed the parish, the population rapidly swelled to thousands, which made the construction of a bigger church structure imperative. With the enthusiasm, generosity, and full cooperation of the parochial community and the able leadership of Fr. Sanchez, the project immediately took shape. Initial plans to improve the makeshift chapel were made in the early years of the parish, with ground breaking ceremonies held during the term of Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) President Col. Frank Labao (1979-1981). Construction and completion of the new church building took place during the term of PPC President Col. Franklin Littaua (1981-1985). Taking almost two years to build, the Church of the Resurrection was transformed into a basilica-like edifice. On December 15, 1985, coinciding with the 25th sacerdotal anniversary of Msgr. Sanchez, the new church of the Parish of the Resurrection was inaugurated with no less than the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, Archbishop Bruno Torpigliani, and Cardinal Sin as main celebrants and a number of bishops, monsignori, and priests as concelebrants. Together with the physical growth of the church structure, the Parish of the Resurrection also grew spiritually under the pastoral and ministerial care of Msgr. Sanchez, with Fr. Ernie Torres as assistant parish priest. Lending a helping hand in various capacities at one time or another were:
and many others who were on call. During Col. Littaua's second term as council president, initiatives were taken to formalize the Ministry of Lectors and the Mother Butler's Guild. Prior to this, the practice was to assign liturgical readers just before the Mass, while the washing of vestments and altar linen was left to a few willing parishioners. Fr. Ernie Torres patiently trained the pioneer lectors, including those from Tahanan Village which was still part of the Parish of the Resurrection at the time. Soon after, Ponciano Marquez took over the PPC leadership (1985-1987) and the parish became even more progressive and dynamic. Visions of a more involved and spiritually uplifted laity became the thrust, thus programs and activities to achieve these were undertaken. With the help of educator Mrs. Loreto Tomelden-Herrera, Msgr. Sanchez put up the Veritas Parochial School to bring quality Catholic education to the children of the parish. A Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration prayer room was also inaugurated in 1986 - the first such prayer room in the entire country - to deepen the spirituality of the parishioners. May 1989 saw a changing of the guard at the Parish. Msgr. Sanchez was transferred to another parish and Msgr. Agerico Galang was installed as new parish priest. Ciel Ortiz was the last PPC President (1987-1989) under Msgr. Sanchez. For the first time after 17 years, the parish had to adjust to a new parochial vicar. Difficulties were initially encountered but were overcome with the assistance of dedicated lay leaders and parishioners. Dr. Renato Bernabe served as PPC President (1989-1990) during Msgr. Galang's assignment. Shortly thereafter, on January 30, 1990, the Parish of the Resurrection had another change of parish priest. Msgr. Feliciano S. Santos took over the parish from Msgr. Galang who was given another assignment. A dynamic and indefatigable priest, Msgr. Santos challenged the empowered laity to actively participate in the spiritual enrichment of the community. Mandated organizations renewed their commitment to serve, and more parishioners joined various organizations and ministries. A historical landmark during the tenure of Msgr. Santos was the erection of a permanent Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration (PEA) Chapel across the street from the parish church. Inaugurated on October 27, 1991, the PEA Chapel provided parishioners and visitors a welcome respite in times of trouble, and a place to express the joys of their daily life to the Lord. The growth of Veritas Parochial School was also ensured with Msgr. Santos at its helm and Mrs. Leticia Gonzales assisting him as principal. From a one-room affair where the first nursery pupils learned their ABC's, Veritas Parochial School grew into a three-storey structure beside the parish church, complete with a high school department and staffed by competent faculty members and administrators. Graduates of the parochial school have gone on to pursue their collegiate courses at top universities. Through the Parish Renewal Experience Seminar (PREX) which Msgr. Santos patiently conducted himself, parishioners were spiritually enriched and renewed. The Family Life Center, which provides medical, dental, counseling, natural family planning, and related services to the parishioners (specially the less fortunate) was inaugurated in March 1994. Mrs. Gloria Sumanga was president of the Pastor's Council from 1991 to 1994. Being an English professor, she also initiated the Parish Newsletter which brought the parish and its activities to the parishioners. Prior to his retirement in 1997, Msgr. Santos initiated renovation work on the church structure to accomodate the ever-growing number of parishioners attending the Sunday Masses and other activities. All eleven Sunday Masses have always been fully attended, and on special occasions like Christmas and Holy Week, the parish church becomes a sea of humanity. Renovation work was designed and executed by Architect Paulynn Pacia, herself a parishioner, based on inputs from Msgr. Santos. Its prominent feature is a striking stained glass mural of the Resurrection scene filling up almost the entire upper facade of the church. Msgr. Santos retired as parish priest before the completion of the project he initiated, but parishioners will surely remember him and be forever grateful for the outcomes of his dreams. Presidents of the Pastor's Council during the remaining years of Msgr. Santos' term were Dr. Renato Bernabe (1994-1996) and Constancio Halili, Jr. (1996-?). Appointed fourth parish priest was Msgr. Ernesto A. Joaquin. He was installed on October 25, 1997 in ceremonies presided over by Cardinal Sin. The occasion also marked the rededication of the renovated church of the Parish of the Resurrection and the silver jubilee of the Parish, making it a truly significant day, indeed, for the parish. (In 2004, Msgr. Joaquin was reassigned to St. James parish in Ayala Alabang and Msgr. Mario F. Martinez took over as ROLP parish priest. (For an account of Msgr. Martinez’ first three years in ROLP and the Parish Pastoral Council’s plans and programs for the next three years , go to "Journey in Faith.") |
