1. SAINT ALPHONSUS MARY DE
LIGUORI PARISH
SUBMITTED BY: MARIELLE VERGARA TGEB2

2. LOCATION
 Humabon Street, Magallanes Village, 1232 Makati
City Philippines
852-8228
info@saintalphonsus.ph

3. VISION
 "We envision our Parish as an active community of
God, under the protection of Our Lady of Mt.
Carmel, faithful to the charism of St. Alphonsus,
for the salvation of souls."

4. MISSION
 "We commit ourselves to be fruitful and just, and
to be trusted friends of all who are with us in this
journey of faith, through prayer and service."

5. SLOGAN
 "Hand In Hand To Heaven Everyone!"

6. HISTORY
 In the early 1960s, the residents of Magallanes Village belonged to
the Parish of San Pedro, Makati, Rizal. However, the spiritual needs
of the people of the large territory of San Pedro could not be
properly attended to because of the small size of the parochial
church.
 In 1965, that the idea of putting up a parish for Magallanes Village
was first conceptualized by a group of ladies from the village, led by
Mrs. Corazon Arcenas. Sunday masses were first held inside the
village at the house of Mrs. Nene Diokno, then at Magdalena Park,
and even at the unfinished warehouse of the would-be South
Supermarket, where Paseo de Magallanes Commercial Center now
stands.

7. HISTORY
 Monsignor Ferdinand Mempin, together with the ladies to whom he served
as spiritual adviser, spearheaded the construction and establishment of our
church. On June 7, 1967, the then Archbishop of Manila, His Eminence
Rufino Cardinal Santos approved the naming of Saint Alphonsus Maria di
Liguori as titular or patron saint, to honor Don Alfonso Zobel, who
donated the 3,890 square meters of land for the church. Our Lady of
Mount Carmel and Saint James the Apostle were also approved as
secondary patrons, in honor of Don Alfonso’s grandmother Carmen Ayala-
Roxas and son, Jaime Zobel.
 Two months later, His Eminence, Rufino Cardinal Santos laid and blessed
the cornerstone of the church. A committee was formed to lay out the
plans and gather the resources to begin construction. They contracted a
National Artist,Architect Leandro Locsin, to design the church. On July 11,
1968, after a little over ten months of brainstorming and fundraising, the
church construction commenced. About one year and three weeks later,
the church was completed in time for St. Alphonsus’s feast day (August 1).
It was on a Saturday, August 2, 1969, that the first mass was held at the
newly-built parish.

8. HISTORY
 For about one year since its completion, Saint Alphonsus Mary di
Liguori Parish (SAMLP) existed without a pastor. However, on March 3,
1971, the Parish was blessed with its first leader – none other than the
very priest who envisioned and spearheaded the church – Msgr.
Ferdinand Mempin. Under his ten-year pastorship (1971-1981), a rectory
and a funeral chapel were built in 1971 and 1976, respectively.

9. HISTORY
 He was succeeded by the late Msgr. Nico Bautista, who was installed by Bishop
Miguel Sobrevinas on the 25th of April 1981. It was during his term (1981-1987)
that Sunday Masses in Tagalog started. He provided cushions for the kneelers
and was able to acquire a sizable lot behind the rectory. Fidel V. Ramos was
then serving under the presidency of the late former president Corazon Aquino
as General of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Msgr. Bautista talked with
former president Ramos, who was at the time a Magallanes Village resident,
and the latter decided to donate to SAMLP the said lot, which was property of
Villamor Airbase. On the lot now stands the Garden of the Risen Christ (the
crypts), built much later in the late 1990’s.

10. HISTORY
 After Msgr. Bautista, SAMLP welcomed its third
Parish Priest, Msgr. Benedicto Aquino. He
converted the old funeral chapel into a 24-hour
adoration chapel. He also gathered the resources
to initiate free medical clinics every Saturday.

11. HISTORY
 Nine years later, on January 30, 1996, the reigns were passed onto the
fourth Parish Priest, Msgr. Ernesto Cruz. He made several renovations and
improvements to the nearly 26-year old church which was now under his
care. He had the adoration chapel, the altar wall, and the baptistery
renovated in time for Saint Alphonsus’s feast day of the year 2000. On April
1 of the following year, the “Broken Bread” altar table (which survived the
fire of 2004) was blessed. This table and the big wooden crucifix used for
Good Friday were both taken from the ruins and are used up to now.

12. HISTORY
 Another great accomplishment during Msgr. Cruz’s time was
the construction of the “Garden Way of the Cross”, blessed by
Bishop Yalung in March 24, 2002. National Artist
Landscape Architect Ildefonso “I.P.” Santosundertook the
overall designing of the Garden. The sculptures were
commissioned masterpieces by other well-known artists such
as Napoleon Abueva, Eduardo Castrillo, Hadrian Mendoza,
Ramon Orlina, Impy Pilapil, and Jun Vicaldo, donated by
fourteen parishioners.

13. HISTORY
 On December 14, 2002, the blessing of the Carillon Bells and tower
officiated by Rev. Fr. Josefino Ramirez took place. It was also around
this time that Msgr. Cruz cleared the back lot of the rectory and built a
“Bahay Kubo” with the intention of providing a venue for social
gatherings, recollections, and similar affairs. Following this project, he
also made it possible for the church to become fully air-conditioned by
2003.

14. HISTORY
 Msgr. Cruz was later reassigned to a different church after eight and a
half years, and God sent us our fifth Parish Priest in the person of Rev.
Fr. Benito B. Tuazon. He was installed by His Eminence Gaudencio
Cardinal Rosales on September 3, 2004. Unfortunately, in less than a
week, a fire caused by faulty wiring consumed the church and brought
it down to ruins. The Bahay Kubo, which fellow parishioner Rino M.
Gomez reminds us is “a symbol of a true Filipino house of
brotherhood“ (Souvenir Program, page 31), became the alternate place
of worship.

15. HISTORY
 In the year following the incident, a fundraising committee and a special events
group were formed for the rebuilding of a new church. They tapped pulled all
their resources together to let the church rise from the ashes. They organized
various activities and events such as the “Pag-aalay Concert”, in cooperation
with the Ministry of Music; “Clean your Closet for a Cause”, with the Legion of
Mary; Christmas Concert by the Ruins (December 2004); Bazaar at the Ruins
(February 2005); “Car Raffle” with the Catholic Women’s’ League; “Serenade at
the Ruins” (March 2005); “Swing and Putt for Saint Alphonsus”; and “Man of La
Mancha”, in cooperation with Repertory Philippines Production, to name a few.

16. HISTORY
 The groundbreaking, led by His Eminence, Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, took
place on September 9, 2005. Even more fundraisers followed the
groundbreaking, and in August 2006, the 10-10-25 Campaign was launched.
The Campaign was adapted from a successful initiative undertaken by the Our
Lady of Pentecost Parish in Quezon City. The 10-10-25 scheme represented ten
various amounts to be pledged for ten months to complete the goal of 25
million pesos needed to finish the church. The Campaign, under the leadership
of Mrs. Dada Moreno, successfully ran from August 2006 to June 2007. The
goal amount of 25 million pesos was reached just a few days after June 30, 2007
the final day. Donations kept pouring in even after the campaign.

17. HISTORY
 The new church was completed in time for the Feast Day of Saint
Alphonsus. On August 1, 2007, the Solemn Dedication of SAMLP took
place, officiated by His Eminence, Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales. He was
joined by Lipa Archbishop Ramon V. Arguelles, Bishops Camilo
Gregorio of Batanes, Franciso C. San Diego of Pasig, Deogracias S.
Iniguez of Caloocan, Gabriel V. Reyes of Antipolo and Mylo Hubert C.
Vergara of San Jose de Nueva Ecija, Manila Auxiliary Bishop Bernardino
Cortes, Bishop-elect Francisco de Leon of Antipolo, Novaliches Bishop
Emeritus Teodoro C. Bacani and 30 other priests from various parishes
and religious orders.

18. HISTORY
 In 2008, the construction of the new baptistery and adoration
chapel began. It was completed and blessed on October 2009.
Thereafter, the renovation of the Parish Office also started.

19. HISTORY
 On May 1, 2010, St. Alphonsus Mary de Liguori Parish once again
welcomed its current parish priest, Rev. Fr. Edwin E. Mercado, who
once joined us as our first Assistant Parish Priest. Fr. Edwin was
installed last June 26, 2010 by His Eminence, Gaudencio Cardinal
Rosales. Like his predecessors, Fr. Mercado has high hopes for his
flock. Fr. Edwin with his “Edwinism“ (quick to grace a laugh to
everyone on almost anything), is focusing on parishioners’s active
involvement, formation, and environmental awareness. Specifically, Fr.
Edwin is calling all parishioners to “Face the new challenges of the
Parish and act on it together as one.“ These new challenges are:
- Formation
- Ecology
- Communication
- Legacy Building
- Youth
- Stewardship

20. HISTORY
 In 2010, Rev. Fr. Richard Sampler Garrido joined our Parish
as Parochial Vicar (Assistant Parish Priest). This solemn
Priest is very active in Annointing the sick and elderly
parishioners. In less than a year, Fr. Richard took charge of
the day-to-day administration of the Parish.

21. HISTORY
 In April 2011, we are again blessed with a new Parish
Priest, Rev. Fr. Isidro T. Marinay. Fr. Sid was installed on
June 11th 2011 by H.E. Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales. The
Celebration was attended by more than 30 Bishops and
Priests. The new Parish Pastoral Council was also
presented by Fr. Sid to Cardinal Rosales.

22. LITURGICAL MINISRTIES
•To proclaim the Word of God at Under the Code of Canon Law, an
Eucharistic Celebrations. This acolyte, or another of Christ's
privilege carries much faithful deputied, in certain
responsibility to ensure that the circumstances, to distribute Holy
Word is proclaimed properly and Communion
effectively.

23. LITURGICAL MINISTRIES
To enhance the full and active To create an atmosphere of
participation of the congregation in hospitality and friendliness among
the liturgical enactment of the the members of the community to
paschal mystery through our music. enjoy their participation in the
Eucharist.

24. LITURGICAL MINISTRIES
To serve in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
and in other celebrations, a service which is
to overflow into the love of neighbour in
daily life.

25. SOCIAL MINISTRIES
To provide multi-media To uphold everybody"s
presentations for masses including responsibility to love and care for
parish announcements to get the our Environment, and be
congregation involved not just in responsible stewards of God"s
the mass but in parish activities. creation.

26. SOCIAL MINISTRIES
Ora et Labora “Pray and Labor” To encourage small but repeated
acts of goodness towards
neighbour.

27. SOCIAL MINISTRIES
Ora et Labora “Pray and Labor” To give members a setting within the
parish community, support each other
and feel comfortable, help lead a
positive and joyful life, and assist in the
healing process of separation and loss
from a spouse.

28. MANDATED ORGANIZATIONS
To promote the devotion to, and To Serve the Lord thru charity
practice spirituality to, the Sacred work and loyalty, and working
Heart of Jesus together with other parish
ministries towards a vibrant
community.

29. MANDATED ORGANIZATIONS
Ora et Labora “Pray and Labor” Ora et Labora “Pray and Labor”

30. YOUTH MINISTRY
 Members of the St. Alphonsus Youth Giving the I
in Service.
 “Doing our Ordinary Duties Extraordinary Well”
 The Parish Youth Ministry was organized in June
2006. The group is comprised of young ladies and
gentleman ages 13-25 who want to serve God
whole-heartedly with the guidance of St.
Alphonsus and the Blessed Mother. Since then
they were able to hold three youth recollections,
one of which was in cooperation with the Knights
of the Altars and the Youth Fair.

31. YOUTH MINISTRY

32. Gift Giving

33. Reverse Caroling

34. With Fr. Richard and Fr. Edwin

35. Charity

36. Bonding with Youth

37. Retreat

38. Saint Alphonsus Mary de Liguori Parish

39. Saint Alphonsus Mary de Liguori Parish

40. Fr. Sid Marinay’s Installation

41. Fr. Sid Marinay’s Installation

42. EVANGELIZING BEYOND
BORDERS…
SUBMITTED BY: MARIELLE VERGARA
SUBMITTED TO: MR. MATURAN