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(Foreword: The
following historical
narratives were taken from
the souvenir program of the
40th foundation anniversary
of the Missionaries of our
Lady of La Salette in the
Philippines and the July
1983 Newsletter Issue of St.
James Parish.) |
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What was formerly known as Carig is now
known as Santiago, Isabela founded on May 4, 1743. Following the
custom of that time to name towns after the saint whose feast is
celebrated on the day of the foundation, the patron saint should have
been "Santa Monica". The choice of Apostle James, however, was of
strategic importance to the town in the fight against the highlanders
who continuously raided the Christian settlements. Among the
Spaniards, James the Apotle, also known as "Santiago Guerrero", was a
mysterious fighter whom they believed had helped them in decisive
battles in the re-conquest of Spain from the Moors. Since a
"fighting" saint would be an inspiration in the resistance of the
Christian lowlanders, Santiago Apostol was declared patron saint of
Carig, and, for a time, the full name of the town was Santiago de Carig.
In 1746, three years after the its founding as a "pueblo", Santiago had only 47 catechumens, seven of whom became apostates. In 1752, there were 55 neophytes or converts and 57 catechumens according to the missionaries resided in Sta. Barbara de Lappao. Santiago was accepted as the first Vicariate by Fr. Gregorio Mariņas in 1755. The Vicariates were transferred from Paul to Carig in 1772. Carig had a convent and a church of regular structure until the middle of the 19th century. Its actual population was two thousand six hundred and fifty one (2,651) souls and one thousand six hundred and sixty (1,660) tributaries.
Fr. Manuel Candela, OP was assigned to Carig in 1883 and built a beautiful church structure but was not finished because he fell into the hands of the Tagalog "insurectos"
of the Philippine Revolution. After the
Revolution of 1896 and during the early days of the American regime, the
friars, having left the parishes and there being no sufficient native
clergy to man the parishes, Carig became a "visita" of Ehague (now,
Echague, Isabela). Fr. Nicanor Alcid, the Parish priest at that
time occasionally ministered to the spiritual needs of Carig. Fr. Salazar Victorino who was with the "insurectos" introduced the Aglipayan religion.
When the Missionaries of the Immaculate Heart (CICM)
came to the country in 1907, negotiations were made with them to take
over the parish. (By that time the Dominicans have left the towns
they were administering in Isabela.) This must have happened in 1906 or
1909 because when Cagayan Valley became a Diocese with its seat in
Tuguegarao, Cagayan, the so-called Belgian Fathers were already
established in Carig. Among those who served in the Parish of
Carig, the best remembered were Fr. Joseph Waffelaert who was assigned
to Santiago in December 1916. In June 1923, Fr. Felix Bamp took
over. Again, in March 1931, Fr. Waffelaert was re-assigned as
Parish Priest. From June 1931 to 1945, Fr. Serafin de Vesse as
Parish Priest and Fr. Lawrence Dekaester assumed administration.
Both of them were unfortunately killed by the Japanese in March 3, 1945.
A diocesan priest, Father Domingo P. Mallo, took
over on October 12, 1945 and is known to have been the only diocesan
priest to have served as parish priest of Santiago. At different
times, his assistants were Fr. Cipriano Fontanilla and Fr. Pio Morales.
The parish then included the municipalities of Cordon and San Mateo plus
the so-called Forest Region, which eventually became part of the
Province of Quirino.
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The new facade of the parish church (2004) |
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The first church
building
completed in
1954 |
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As the old
church building
looked through
late 70s |
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After negotiations with the late Bishop Constance
Jurgens, Bishop of the Diocese of Tuguegarao by the Provincial Superior
of the newly created Immaculate Heart of Province (IHM), USA,
and with the permission given by the then Superior General, Fr. Joseph
Imhof, MS, the Missionaries of our Lady of La Salette assumed
administration
over the parish.
On November 5, 1948, Frs. Conrad Blanchet, Raymond
Leduc, Paul Douillard and Bro. Donat Levasseur left New York. They
reached Manila on December
12, 1948 and arrived in Santiago December 22, 1948. Fr. Mallo remained with them for a while to brief them
on Philippine culture and to get them acquainted with parish pratices in
the Philippine context. |
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