Centennial Milestones

By Pietro Bernardino S. Albano

The first baptism was held on 01 January 1906 and was administered by one Fr Lorenzo Gregorio, the first "cura encargado" (priest-in-charge) of Saint Joseph de Gagalangin Parish.

Starting from Fr Gregorio came a succession of several cura encargados; some of which were re-assigned to Gagalangin. It was only when Fr Enrique Reyes was appointed that the title "cura parroco" (parish priest) was used in the church (baptismal/matrimonial/death) documents.

The first church was a small "visita" situated where the St Joseph School (across Mercury Drug) now stands.

The first president of the Parish Council (forerunner of what is now known as the Parish Pastoral Council) was Dr Paulino E Albano Sr, concurrently Grand Knight of the Knights of Columbus during that time. He was succeeded by his wife Dr Pilar Valdes-Albano whose term was marked with enormous efforts in raising funds to build a bigger church and establish a parochial school.

The architectural design and construction of the church was made by possible by the father and son tandem of Engr Eduardo Santiago and Arch Juanito Santiago who both did the work "gratis et amore".

The first salubong was held at the Rotonda in 1980 after Msgr Feliciano Santos took over the parish portfolio from Msgr Pedro Pajarillo. Franco Albano Alcantara was the soloist.

Msgr Pedro Pajarillo served the parish for almost 48 years from 1932 till his death in 1980. Fr Alfredo Guerrero ranks second having been pastor for almost 9 years.

The parish used to commemorate its foundation day every 24th of December. In fact there is a marker remembering its 50th anniversary in 1974. During Fr Alfredo Guerrero's term, a committee was set up to research on the history of the parish (in line with Fr Guerrero's dream to convert the church into an archdiocesan shrine of St Joseph). Accidentally, the committee unearthed a document mentioning the correct date when the parish was established: 16 December 1905. Since 1997 the celebration has been moved to the correct date. The committee was composed of Pietro Albano (Chair), Allan Dabu, Michael Flores, Richard Leyson, and Vladimir Reyes.