The St. Isidore, The Farmer parish in Zamboanguita, Negros Oriental celebrated December 30th its 150th anniversary as a parish.
Bishop Julito Cortes of the Diocese of Dumaguete led a concelebrated mass at 10 a.m. at the St. Isidore, The Farmer church in Zamboanguita, to mark the sesquicentennial anniversary of the said parish.
Fr. Archie Toroy, team priest of Zamboanguita, disclosed that the parish was formally established on Dec. 30, 1866.
However, the decree was already issued on May 21, 1866 by then Bishop Romualdo Jimenez of Cebu, the first Recollect missionary in the Philippines, he said.
Negros Oriental was then part of the diocese of Cebu.
Fr. Faustino Sanchez of the Order of the Agustinion Recollects (OAR), was the first priest assigned to the Zamboanguita parish, Fr. Toroy said.
The current Church structure in Zamboanguita is of semi-Gothic architecture, which was done by a priest-contractor, Fr. Fermin Zamanes, OAR, Fr. Toroy further said, quoting Fr. Roman Sagun, the historian of the Diocese of Dumaguete.
The church was built from 1947 to 1951 and is made of mostly limestone.
The last Recollect priest of Zamboanguita parish was Rev. Fr. Cirilo Durana, who was assigned there from 1975 to 1982, when the Diocese of Dumaguete took over.
Since then, a total of 14 diocesan priests have served at the St. Isidore The Farmer parish in Zamboanguita.
The first was Rev. Fr. Patricio Badoy, from 1982 to 1987, and currently, Fr. Oscar Calunod as the parish priest and Fr. Toroy as team priest.
The parish covers 29 chapels and has 22 religious organizations.
The theme for the 150th anniversary celebration is A Gift, A Celebration of Life, Gratitude, Hope, and a Call to Compassion. (PNA/JFP)
