The Assumption Parish through the years

Once upon a time there was only one church in Davao City. That was the San Pedro Church. People all around had to go to San Pedro to hear Mass. Then as the city population grew, other parishes and churches were made like Sta. Ana, Fatima and St. Jude.

A dormitory for girls, Our Lady of Good Counsel, built in December 1952, run and managed by the M.I.C. Sisters, was put up for college, high school and working girls. In this dorm was a chapel. This was a blessing for the people of Jacinto, Mapa, Tionko and Mabini streets and its vicinity because they did not have to go San Pedro for their Masses.

In 1956, the Redemptorists came and started building a church on its present location. The Redemptorists who helped organize the parish and built the Assumption Church were Frs. John Scanlan, CssR., Gerard Daly, Christopher Keans, Francis Burns and Patrick Myers. The Brothers were Gerard, Charles and Dominic.

Before the church floor was concreted, we had to kneel on pieces of wood and on rainy days, it was just terrible. But the building of the church was a relief for the Sisters of the dorm because they did not have to clean up the mud after each Mass. Every bench in the church had to be solicited from the parishioners. The CWL was the first organization set up with Mrs. Felicidad Falcasantos as President. The Redemptorists stayed with us for a few years until they found a bigger site for their purpose – the building of the shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help in Bajada.

From the Redemptorists the parish was given to the P.M.E. Fathers with Fr. Jean Bernard Bazinet, P.M.E., as the first parish priest. Other priests who came after Fr. Brazinet were Frs. Conrad Lafortune, Benjamin Benedicto, and Edgar Rodriguez. The last two were Diocesan priests.

In 1972 when the Blessed Sacrament Congregation came, the Assumption Parish area was divided in two, giving the northern portion to the Redemptorists and what was left is the Assumption Parish, a portion then containing about 8,000 parishioners.

The church and convent are located on a half-hectare land donated to the Archdiocese of Davao by the Tionko family. The church can accommodate 350 persons inside but on bigger occasions chairs are placed along the outside to accommodate the overflow.

Three priests and a brother made up the pioneer Blessed Sacrament Community that came to Davao at the invitation of Archbishop Clovis Thibault, P.M.E. Fr. Joseph Roy, SSS, was installed as parish priest in a simple but very significant ceremony. This was the fulfillment of a cherished dream for both the parishioners and the Blessed Sacrament Congregation whose apostolate was to spread the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

Since the Blessed Sacrament Congregation took over the parish, many parish organizations have been set up by the parishioners with the guidance of the Fathers and Brothers. As was hoped by the pioneer SSS group to extend their influence beyond the parish limits, the Assumption Church became the prayer Center of the city and the Archdiocese. People from the parishes including those outside the city proper came to the Assumption Church for their adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Later on, the different parishes organized their own PEL (People’s Eucharistic League) for the convenience of their adorers, but the seminar and the reception ceremony to the PEL are still done at the Assumption Church, the Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament.

Weekly seminars sponsored by the different parish groups are held with the same ultimate goal – to deepen the understanding of the Holy Eucharist and to enrich Christian life through a more intimate union with this Central Sacrament of our faith.

The Fathers and Brothers of the Blessed Sacrament Congregation are making use of the existing organizations in order to instill in the people a greater love for the Holy Eucharist. The greater intimacy with the Eucharistic Christ will lead the people to a more zealous fulfillment of their responsibilities as Christians and contribute their share to the betterment of the Christian society in which they live.

This is your CHURCH and this is your PARISH. Build it and make it grow. Your strong faith in the living presence of Jesus Christ in the midst of His people through His Sacrament of LOVE will make these parishes grow into a power house of Christian holiness.

For a timeline of the Parish History, check out: Our Lady of the Assumption Parish Milestones.