The Sinco Apostolate

Known as Asin Apostolate nowadays, this missionary work at an Ifugao community in Tuba, Benguet owes its beginning to a Hungarian priest named Fr. Joseph E. Khral, S.J. In December 1964, he met an Ifugao woodcarver named Raymundo Apiles. The Jesuit missionary visited his village and saw the spiritual needs of the budding Catholic community amid thriving non-Catholic sects.The first mass was held July 1965 in a curio shop. But later on, these private houses could not accommodate the spiritual needs of the fast-growing community. The Holy Name Society members at their own initiative taught young children catechism lessons, basic prayers and rosary. These tasks were soon afterward taken over by the Assumption Sisters. The need to construct a chapel soon arose. And so, after obtaining a permission from the parish priest of St. Vincent Parish, a concrete chapel was constructed in a land bought by Fr. Khral from Gilbert Semon. The chapel was blest and inaugurated on 24 December 1965. The beautiful wooden images of the saints, like those of the belen displayed every Christmas season, were carved by the generous and expert woodcarvers.Raymundo Apiles himself carved the crucifix that still hangs today. Thereafter Jesuit priests took turns in ministering to the peoples spiritual necessities. Not long afterward, priests from St. Vincent parish Fathers Lambrecht and Paul Bollen  trekked to Sinco for the Sunday liturgical services. For lack of priests, Bishop William Brasseur decided to hand over the spiritual care of the village to the Recollects priests. Father Felipe Maraya, OAR was the first Filipino Recollect priest to visit Sinco and regularly celebrated masses in the late sixties. In 1970, Fr. Crisostomo Garnica, OAR and the Recollect novices would follow suit and regularly attended to the liturgical and other sacramental needs of the budding community. In the 1990s, Father Gaudencio Geronimo de Mesa, Jr. OAR  whom everyone fondly call Father Jun  devoted much time to the Sinco Apostolate. What the Sinco apostolate had become from that time on was through Father Juns untiring leadership. He spearheaded the construction project of the new chapel; regular pastoral work that most especially included Sunday masses for three consecutive years 1991-1994; solemnized marriages; established organizations like Couples for Christ and Sinco St. Joseph the Worker Choir; and other religious activities such as the Holy week rites of Maundy Thursday, Stations of the Cross of Good Friday and Easter Vigil, Ash Wednesday (moved to Sunday, since Wednesday was a class day at CaReS.) The earthquake of 1990 did not spare the Roman Catholic chapel of the community. But still, masses went on every Sunday morning as scheduled while the concrete foundations and posts were laid. Fr. Jun urged the ifugao community to contribute for the renovation of the chapel. The fund raising earned almost Php 200,000 for the new church project. The rest of the amount was loaned from the coffers of St. Vincent parish whose parish priest was Fr. Manny Castro. A total of half million pesos was spent for the new house of God with the old chapel, below it converted into a multi-purpose center. 1 May 1996, on the feast of the patron of the woodcarving village, St. Joseph the worker, the brand-new temple of God was blest by Bishop Ernesto A. Salgado, DD who was assisted by two priests. Today the priests of St. Vincent parish attend to the Sinco faithful for three Sundays in a month. One Sunday, the Lords day, is all there is for a CaReS priest-formator and seminarians to continue serving the present generation of Ifugao whose faith remains as steadfast as when the first Recollect missionary touched their lives almost four decades ago.

- Source: Casiciaco Recoletos @50, p. 58-59

The Jail Apostolate

All for the Glory of God: who would dare enter the territory of the prisoners? July 1966  the beginning of the said Sunday morning missionary work. At that time, the seminary was under the Rectorship of Rev. Fr. Antonio Aguilar Martinez, OAR. Aimed to facilitate and develop the seminarians pastoral formation, the apostolate turned out more and more to be an avenue of a Christ-centered service for the Baguio City Jail inmates. Yes, we go inside the compound. And at the chapel dedicated to St. Dimas [patron Saint of of the imprisoned] we join them in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. The team is composed of a Recollect priest and at least two seminarians [1 aspirant; 1 postulant]. They usually depart from the seminary right after the 7:00 AM mass. In the light of the Holy Spirit, the apostolate continues up to the present. It undeniably manifests a genuine Augustinian Recollect love to our brothers and sisters inside the prison.

-Source: Casiciaco Recoletos @50, p. 15,23

The Dominican Hill Apostolate

The start of Sunday apostolate at Dominican
Hill, Baguio City is part of the seminarians pastoral formation. We cannot make out the year when this apostolate has to be present, but then up to this date the sharing of Gods love continues. Every Sunday at 9:00 in the morning, the seminarians and priest are all ready for the mass apostolate at the Dominican Hill by which at first it was located at an abandoned underground building but now it is transferred at the Dominican Mirador Elementary Scool. The seminarians serve as choir and for sometimes assist the priest  uring the celebration of the mass. This apostolate serves to be the training ground of the future Recollects I their pastoral ministry in the near future.

The Ave Maria Apostolate

CaReS: Your will be done. It seems that this very word of Mother Mary during her recognition of Gods divine plan in the history of salvation to be the mother of the savior is the same word uttered by our community, CaReS (Casiciaco Recoletos Seminary) upon the acceptance of Ave Maria as an additional apostolate. This humble community chapel located in a mountain top which is over looking to the Marcos Highway and other scenic spots of Baguio City. However, it is not about the view why we came, but for the apostolate and spiritual assistance of the folks. Mother Mary welcomes us with open arms together with the warm people every time we come to celebrate with them the Holy Mass, with a Recollect priest and some seminarians as the choir, once in a month. With this, we become more oriented of how it is be an apostolic as an indispensable character of the Order. And in other way around, as Marian devotees, this is all for our Mother Mary. We are ready to respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit to the mission of her church and eventually to the faithful. Thus, we are continue doing this ad Jesum per Mariam (to Jesus through Mary) with our participation in its saving mission as living witnesses to the truth.