1967 – 2026 From the files of Bros. Elias Lopez, Conrado Gempesaw, Roger Antalan (former priest), Andy Gutierrez and Sis. Choleng Albay. By: Bro. Francisco “Bobby” R. Leonor, Bro. Matt M. Sogueco | Sis. Pop Barcela (proofreader) HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Every Monday evening after the 5:30 P.M. Mass, a group...
Deemed as one of Davao City’s famous historical landmarks, the Metropolitan Church of Saint Peter, also known as San Pedro Cathedral, dates its origin to 1848. The first makeshift chapel, dedicated to San Pedro, Roman Catholicism’s first pope, was built in its present location after the...
The streets filled with prayers and hymns as the Archdiocese of Davao conducted the Archdiocesan Penitential Walk against Corruption in the waking hours of October 25, 2025. It was a show of public repentance as both the clergy and laity marched together to San Pedro...
The Gospel reading last October 18, 2025 (Luke 18:1–8) reminded me of the animated film Kung Fu Panda. At first glance, connecting a Gospel passage about the importance of persistence in prayer with a comedy about a clumsy panda becoming a kung fu master might...
A decree issued on July 30, 1860 by Queen Isabel II led to the creation of a politico-military government in Mindanao and its neighboring islands. Under Article 13 of the edict, which was published in the Gaceta of Madrid on August 5, Mindanao was subdivided...
On the first day of Misa de Gallo, I celebrated Holy Mass with our brothers, the Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs), at Maa City Jail, not at dawn but at the time allowed inside the jail. And that detail became the reflection. We often think the rooster...
As the final echoes of fireworks fade and a new calendar page is turned, January 1 marks not only as the start of another year but a sacred moment of grace for the Church. While many welcome the New Year with celebration and noise, the...
He was not a Filipino but when he died on October 18, 1927, the entire town mourned, and when he was buried in the shoreline of Cateel, Davao Oriental, everyone was in attendance. Fr. Jose Grimal, a Spanish Jesuit missionary, died when he was only 51...
Founded in 1883 by Jesuit priest Fr. Domingo Bove, the history of Cuabo, a village in Mati City, is more cursed than tragic, and nature, thrice over, played a violent role in its life. Its first settlers, chosen no less by the priest and known...
For me, the joy of Christmas doesn’t only begin on December 25. It begins when my alarm rings way too early, when the sky is still dark and the world feels quiet and sleepy. Here in the Archdiocese of Davao, Christmas starts at dawn, with...