ST.

ROSE OF LIMA PARISH

Bacacay, Albay Brief History and Profile In 1660, the town of Bacacay was made of a parish with Rt. Rose of Lima as its titular patroness. In the same year, the first Franciscan missionaries who evangelized the province built the Bacacay parish church. The original building, which is a few meters away from the present, was small and is now in ruins. The present church building has gone through the ravages of time. In 1952, it was totally destroyed by super typhoon Trix. Fr. Alfonso Molina and the Holy Name Society spearheaded the church repair project. When super typhoon Sisang hit Albay in 1987, it left the church in the same state of disrepair. However, with the parishioners strong desire to restore the church to its former grandeur, they wholeheartedly helped and built a beautiful and more imposing edifice under the leadership of Fr. Antonio Claudio as parish priest. Thus, a dream came true a renovated church and an elegant rectory. At present, St. Rose of Lima Parish is mother to two daughter parishes, namely, St. John Nepomucene in Bonga and Sacred Heart Mission Parish in Cagraray Island. The Parish is left with 39 barangays, 10 in the island, and 29 in the mainland. The estimated population is around 36,000 of which 34,000 are Catholics. Baacay is blessed with natures rich resources. Its shorelines teem with att ractive beach resorts patronized by vocationers. To top it all, there is the Bethlehem Pastoral Center located at Barangay Sogod. The name itself reminds a visitor of the Lords birthplace as he enters the cave-like chapel of the Blessed Sacrament. Bacacay is also noted as a marble town and home of the caragomoy. Many island residents depend on marble quarrying and mat-basket weaving for living. However, farming and fishing are still predominant local industries. But what Bacacay is most proud and noted for the fact that, at present, it holds the distinction of producing the highest number of living priest in the entire country. In line with the socio-economic, health and political programs, the parish availed of the following: the Grameen Banking System, a lending program for livelihood offered to the mothers of malnourished children.

On April 20, 1586 a child was born to Gaspar de Flores, a Spaniard, and Maria del Oliva, a woman of Inca descent. The infant who was one of ten children was one of ten children was so frail so she was given an emergency baptism at home and was named Isabel, after an aunt, Isabel de Herrera, who acted as grandmother. Several weeks later she was taken to the church of San Sebastian for the completion of her baptism by a priest, Don Antonio Polanco. By thye time she was confirmed in 1597 by Archbishop Toribio de Mongrovejo of Lima, she took the name Rose, the name with which she grew up. Rose was beautiful with her rosy complexion. She was worried, however, that her new name could be a tribute to her beauty. She was of a mystical bent and was never vain. She used all means conditioned by the time and place to fight every temptation to vanity. She lived a life of prayer and penance. Rose took for her model St. Catherine of Siena and, like St. Catherine, she experienced such an ardent love for God whenever she was in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. Exaltation completely filled her soul all the time. On the practical side, when her family started to be in financial crisis as their business went down, Rose helped out by selling her fine needle works and embroidered pieces. She also grew flowers to sell at the market. She always was the darling of her family. As she grew to maturity, her parents were anxious for her to get married. She had some suitors but she did not wish to marry at all. To bring marriage related questions and expectations to an end; Rose joined the third order of St. Dominic at the age of twenty, donned the habit, and took a vow of perpetual virginity. She lived in a summer home. For many years, Rose lived virtually as a recluse, rejecting worldly standards and practices. She lived her life in self-sacrifice, extreme penance and mortification in union with the suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ. At the height of her asceticism, she was never a true witness to social justice even at the disapproval of her own people. She grew in spiritual fortitude all the more as she faced the various challenges and the position to her way to life. She was keenly aware of the social issues of her time. She saw the sufferings of many, which led her to protest against some of the practices of the Spanish overlords who enriched themselves but did so little to improve the lives of Peruvian natives. Rose was cognizant of the evils around her and spoke against them fearlessly. She brought sick, suffering and hungry Indians and natives into her own home so that she might better care for them. She bore many and great adversities with much patience. According to Church authorities assigned to evaluate Roses life, Rose was a person of heroic virtues, whose supernatural experiences attested to her life of deep prayer and holiness. Her last years were spent in the house of a government official, Don Gonzalo de Massa. In her illness, she prayed, Lord increase my sufferings, and with them increase Thy love in my heart. She died on August 25, 1617 at the age of thirty one. When her remains were brought to the streets going to the Cathedral, a great cry of mourning arose from the crowd. Her burial did not take place immediately on account of the big number of mourners who came to see her. Finally, she was laid to the rest in Dominican Convent in Lima. She is regarded as the originator of Social service in Peru. After many miracles and the cures were attributed