The Congregation will soon assume a new parish in the Metro-Manila area. It is the parish of The Resurrection (Pagkabuhay parish) belonging to the diocese of Novaliches,
suffragan of the Archdiocese of Manila. This parish was founded on November 15, 1978 - 35 years ago - and is temporarily served by a diocesan priest.
The diocese of Novaliches is relatively new. It was created in December 2002, when the Archdiocese of Manila was partitioned up. Its territory covers the northern part of Quezon City and Caloocan City. Her official name is: “Jesus the Good Shepherd”. It has a population of 3.8 million people, in 137,000 square kilometers. Over 95% of the population is recognized as members of the Catholic Church.
The diocese has 123 priests, including diocesan and religious; this means a priest every thirty thousand faithful. It has only 12 major seminarians. Other data indicate that the diocese has 59 parishes and 8 diocesan schools serving more than 4,500 students. 328 religious sisters are living in the same diocesan territory.
Thus, the diocesan Bishop Antonio Tobias has received with pleasure the interest of our Congregation to increase their service in Novaliches, as our current parish in Bagong Silang is located in the same diocese, where we have been serving since 10 years ago. Bishop Tobias is 72 years old - was born in Manila in 1941 - and a bishop since 1983. He assumed Novaliches in January 2004.
A curious coincidence: the name of the new parish, "The Resurrection" is very similar to the parish where we are already serving in the diocese in the area of Bagong Silang: "The Resurrection of the Lord." The difference in the naming is minimal.
09/08/2013