The San Lorenzo Ruiz Parish History

The San Lorenzo Ruiz Parish
Yesterday and Today

In 1982, a one hectare vacant lot owned by the Diocese of Davao was home to several squatters and became the subject of judicial proceeding.

The court, through Judge Martinez, awarded ownership of the contested lang in favor of the Diocese, thereby sealing the site of the future San Lorenzo Ruiz Parish in Barangay Talomo.

However, it was only on June 28, 1983 that the squatters were finally persuaded to peacefully and voluntarily vacate the place in deference to a higher purpose.

The later Fr. Paul DC Cunanan was appointed as administrator of the Talomo Church by then Archbishop Antonio Mabutas, DD.

An edifice made of light materials was constructed and became the church building of the up and coming parish. On July 17, 1983, the first mass was offered at the church site. A regular Sunday mass was scheduled in the month of August with pastoral lectures in the afternoon.

As early as May 1983, people were wondering what name should be given to the future parish. After a meeting with chapel leaders at the Immaculate Conception chapel at Talomo Center Beach, five names were proposed: St. John the Apostle, Sta. Teresa de Avila, Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Augustine, and Blessed Lorenzo Ruiz.

After a thorough deliberation by the community, majority of the GKK members voted for Blessed Lorenzo Ruiz as Patron Saint of Talomo, for the reason that he was the first Filipino “Blessed”, a martyr because of his faith, worthy of emulation. He was beatified by Pope Paul II in the Philippines on February 18, 1981.

September 28, 1984 became a milestone for Talomo since it was the day when the one-hectare church site was blessed by the Archbishop of Davao, the late Msgr. Antonio Mabutas, DD.

It was also the occasion when the statue of Blessed Lorenzo Ruiz was enthroned. The statues was donated by Mrs. Catalina Santos.

A year after, on September 28, 1985 the parish celebrated its first parochial fiesta. The event was made more significant with the announcement of the assignment of Rev. Fr. Paul DC Cunanan as the first Parish Priest.

Succeeding assignments of parish priests and associated priests followed, each one indelibly imprinting their brand of personality and loving contributions in the annals of the church.

In 1990, Rev. Fr. Rey Roque was the first parish priest with Fr. Jimmy Gamboa as his associate. Together, they initiated several fund raisin activities for the construction of the church and administration building.

In 1996, Fr. Emmanuel Cifra was installed as Parish Priest with Fr. Manny Soriso as his associate, followed by Fr. Nestor Dalumpines. During this period, the roof of the newly constructed church building was already in place, paving the way for the celebration of the first holy mass on an Easter Sunday.

Since then, Sunday masses were held at the new building while weekday masses remained at the old church building. When the flooring was fully cemented, celebration of all masses was already held in the new church building.

In June of 1999, Fr. Agustin “Djang” Paunon, was installed as Parish Priest with Fr. Nestor Dalumpines as his associate for a period of one year, followed by Fr. Enrico Enriquez, Fr. Joey Francisco, Fr. Ricky Penalos, and Fr. Niel Sombreo in succession.

By this time the process of change took place in so many ways but not with mixed reactions from the parishioners. The GKKs were divided into clusters of 30 families each, with their own patron saint, designated GKK day and scheduled masses.

Meanwhile, the church construction was fast nearing its completion. Thru the initiative of Fr. Agustin (Djang) Paunon, coupled with the positive response of the parishioners to his fund raising campaign, the marble flooring of the altar and the chair in the adoration chapel were finished. Kublai, the national artist was contracted to do the sculptured images inside the church.

In June 2005, Fr. Severino (Ben) Capulong was installed as the new parish priest. His succession of associate priests include Fr. Pedro (Pet) Maniwang, Fr. Rommel Banilad, Fr. Leif Simbajon, and eventually, Fr. Danilo (Danny) Detollo.

In his own time, Fr. Ben also made several improvements and changes both in the physical and structural organization of the church.

Masses were held at the center chapel of the Christian community where GKKs belonged; conduct of formation seminar is centralized with the formation team; the Parish Pastoral Council and the Parish Finance Council were created and construction and renovation of the church continued.

On the other side, other completed and on-gping projects include the construction of the stage, repainting of the church, contsruction of the perimeter fence and installation of stained glass on the main altar and both sides of the church.

All these projects were made possible through the continuous outpouring of financial and material support from concerned parishioners who unselfishly shared their time and money with the church. The different ministries and organizations, with wholehearted support, continue to perform pastoral duties without expecting any material return or recognition. Without doubt, all of these are done in the service of the Lord, with the faith and love of San Lorenzo Ruiz as the beacon and light.