The Diocese of Dumaguete is starting a project to archive important historical documents and identify religious artifacts and relics in the different churches in its jurisdiction to include Negros Oriental and Siquijor.
Msgr. Julius Perpetuo Heruela, parish priest of St. Augustine of Hippo Parish of Bacong, Negros Oriental, who heads the Diocesan Commission on Heritage, in an interview Thursday evening disclosed that the project is in collaboration with a team from the University of Sto. Tomas Archives.
Professor Regalado Jose, UST archivist, earlier met with members of the Dumaguete clergy, headed by Bishop Julito Cortes, to speak about the importance of archiving old documents, records and other items that would tell of the diocese’s heritage.
Msgr. Heruela, Professor Jose and a few other team members visited the parishes and churches in the south of Negros Oriental on Wednesday, in Siquijor on Thursday and in the north of Negros Oriental on Friday.
This is just an initial survey of the “collections” of each parish and/or church, said Heruela.
The formal archiving will begin once there are trained individuals in the diocese that are able to work for this long-term project, he added.
Prof. Jose, in an interview, stressed the importance of having an archive as the documents would tell the story of the diocese.
The UST archivist explained that each parish, since its foundation, had its own set of archives comprising canonical books on baptismal, confirmation, wedding and burial, among others.
“All of the names here carried the lives of the people in that parish”, Jose said.
He recommends that each parish should have its own well-maintained archive.
In many places, the old archives are written in Spanish and are no longer in use, thus Jose recommends that the diocese take over these old books and keep them in a safe place because eventually these documents will give a glimpse of the history of not just the parish but the diocese as a whole, he stressed.
“There may be people who are born there who become political and prominent figures, and we get information from there”, Jose said.
Admitting that archiving needs a lot of time, money and effort, Prof. Jose underscored that it only needs “willpower” for the project to succeed.
“We just need to find the right people for it”, said Jose, pointing out that he does not earn much from being an archivist but he loves the work.
During the Spanish era, the parishes also had the books of expenses, books of inventory and the books of decrees, among others, that would also provide additional information such as on the physical structure of the church and the history of the parish, the UST professor said.
These books would also tell of the acquisition and the history of items found inside the churches and convents such as religious artifacts and relics as well as letters and other communications in a particular period he added.
On Saturday, the Diocese of Dumaguete will sponsor an archiving clinic from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at which Professor Jose will be the main speaker.
Invited to attend the archiving clinic, which will be held at the Holy Family Formation Center in Bacong, are secretaries/property custodians of religious artifacts and relics from the different parishes.
One of the highlights of the archiving clinic will be the process on how to handle the items that are to be archived, said Msgr. Heruela. (PNA/JFP)
