Bulacan couple makes vestments for Pope Francis

RONALD Allan and Maricel Babaran, owners of Disenio Sagrado in Bulacan, are proud that Pope Francis will wear a vestment made by their shop. They allowed the Inquirer to see one of the vestment designs (background) but requested that the others not be photographed for they wanted the Pope and other church officials to see them first. CARMELA REYES-ESTROPE

When Pope Francis celebrates Mass for the Filipino faithful next week, he will wear the culture and symbols of the Philippines, the largest Catholic nation in Asia.

Disenio Sagrado, a garments shop based in Guiguinto town, Bulacan province, which produces liturgical vestments, has been tapped by the Roman Catholic Church to design and create the vestments to be used by the Pope in Masses during his first visit to the country.

The vestments will be embroidered with designs featuring sampaguita, the national flower, anahaw leaves and bamboo, said Ronald Allan Babaran, 33, one of the shop owners.

The sampaguita symbolizes the hospitality of Filipinos because it is strung into garlands that are used to welcome visitors, said Babaran, an undergraduate drafting student of Bulacan State University. Anahaw is the national leaf while bamboo symbolizes the Filipinos’ resilience amid trials and challenges that come their way.

Babaran said he and his wife, Maricel, and their employees were fortunate and blessed that their design was chosen by the liturgy office of the Roman Catholic Church in Manila for the papal visit.

Ecstatic

“We are ecstatic. We feel very fortunate, as if blessings are overflowing because of all vestment designs submitted by other shops in the country, the one created by my husband was chosen,” Maricel said.

While she and her husband will not get a chance to be near the Pope during his visits in Manila and typhoon-stricken Leyte province in the Visayas, Maricel said they are still happy and excited that they will be part of a major event in the country through their creations.

“We hope that people all over the world would emulate Pope Francis’ humility. We should avoid being arrogant and self-centered and be like Francis who shows compassion and love for others,” Babaran said.

The liturgical office will decide whether the Disenio Sagrado will also be used in the vestments to be used by other cardinals, bishops and priests who will join him in the Masses, he said.

They allowed the Inquirer to see one of the vestment designs in their work site near the Immaculate Conception Major Seminary in Barangay Tabe in Guiguinto and in their shop and showroom at the RIS Industrial and Commercial Complex, also in the same village. But they asked the other designs not to be photographed.

They said they wanted the Pope and other church officials to be the first people to see the vestments.

Violeta de la Cruz, 67, a resident of San Miguel town and one of Disenio Sagrado’s employees who worked on the vestments, said she wished the Pope would like what they created for him.

Other than the three vestments it made for Francis, Disenio Sagrado also produced 2,500 stoles that would be used by cardinals, bishops and priests during the Masses to be offered by the Pope.

Local materials

The shop is strict with the quality of embroidery, Maricel said. Its materials are sourced locally, she added.

Disenio Sagrado vestments have been used by Catholic Church leaders, like Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle and Malolos Bishop Jose Oliveros, and local priests. Priests also go to the shop to buy vestments and other items they give as gifts to fellow priests.

Babaran said he and his wife owe the success of their business to Fr. Rainell Pineda of the Immaculate Conception Major Seminary. The priest had recommended Disenio Sagrado to Catholic Church leaders to design and create Francis’ vestments.

They are proud whenever they see their creations worn by priests, he said. “We feel that we are blessed and part of their prayers,” he said.