St. Francis of Assisi in La Verna turns 4

A very young parish in the Archdiocese recently celebrated its fiesta.

The St. Francis of Assisi Parish in La Verna Hills Subd., Davao City recently celebrated its 4th fiesta last September 17 with the Holy Mass presided by Most Rev. Romulo G. Valles, D.D. Archbishop of Davao and CBCP President.

The Archbishop even lauded the parish for not changing the original date of the feast day of its patron despite falling on a working day.

“I am thankful that we have sustained this date of September 17 for the The Stigmata of St. Francis of Assisi,” he said.

“La Verna, I came to know, is an important place in the life of St. Francis of Assisi, who was given with stigmata, a mark through wounds with blood similar to Christ in the Crucifixion,” he added.

As a leader in the Archdiocese of Davao, Valles urged all other parishes to take the date of the feast day as it is.

“Under my term, as the archbishop of Davao, I would greatly discourage to change the fiesta date. Stick to it,” Valles said.

“For me, it is very important to keep the day, its sacredness, its historical significance,” the Archbishop added.

In his Homily, Valles also stressed how the grace of God survived the Church.

“The church has survived not because of our goodness but because of the grace and mercy of the Lord,” he said.

He also stressed that priests all over the world are in struggle to follow the Lord.

“Amid all the issues in this church, I ask you to pray for our priests. Far from perfect, but I’m sure we try our best to cooperate. We are limited, sinful, and frail but we are always struggling to cooperate with the grace and mercy of God,” Valles said.

“St. Francis of Assisi, no doubt, gives us priests a very good example and inspiration how to live and carry out our life as priests,” he added.