Queen of Peace Parish Church, May 9, 1966-May 31, 2017

Bacolod’s Queen of Peace Parish Church is now “de-parished.” Inquirer Visayas

BACOLOD – This city’s iconic  Queen of Peace Parish Church was filled with 1,000 parishioners attending Mass on Wednesday morning.

But it was not an ordinary Mass.

While the atmosphere was solemn, it was sad as many of the parishioners were in tears.

The Mass was the last to be held at the Queen of Peace Parish Church since it would cease to be a parish church and  diocesan shrine starting Wednesday, which ironically was the feast of the church’s patroness, the Queen of Peace.

But Bacolod Bishop Patricio Buzon urged the faithful to make the “extraordinary celebration” as thanksgiving to the Virgin Mary “for all the graces she bestowed on us not only this year but for all the years since we became a parish under her patronage.”

Buzon kept his word when he issued a decree announcing that the   Queen of Peace Parish Church would no longer be a diocesan shrine starting May 31 following the diocese’s disagreement with the St. John Institute (SJI) board of trustees.

The announcement was read by chancellor Fr. Roy Gesulgon at the end of the last Mass  officiated by the bishop, before many teary-eyed members of the congregation, some of whom came in black.

The bishop, in his decree, said that as a consequence to the closure of the Church, there will be a suspension of all Church services.

“All clergy, diocesan or religious, are under obligation to abstain from celebrating the sacraments and other rites in the Queen of Peace Parish Church,” the decree also said.

In another decree, Gesulgon said the Queen of Peace Parish will temporarily be attached to the Redemptorist Shrine until a new parish church is constructed or established.

Fr. Arnold Delitina, Queen of Peace Parish priest, and Fr. Raymon Asoy, parochial vicar, shall continue to minister to the parochial needs of the community, the decree added.

“We may have lost our parish church, but we are still intact as a community, thanks to the motherly intervention of our Patroness, Mary Queen of Peace. Indeed, even in our loss, we are still greatly blessed,” the bishop said in his homily.

The church was built on May 9, 1966 by Chinese Catholic Apostolates to propagate the Catholic faith  to the Chinese community of Bacolod City.

It was built inside the SJI campus, a Chinese school that was also known as Hua Ming.

Still, the church was a favorite venue for weddings.

Among those who got married there were Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia and wife, Elsa who were also present during the last Mass.

Buzon, however, decided to withdraw from the church following a disagreement with the SJI board of trustee that wanted the church to be converted back into school chapel and no longer a parish so it could focus on the needs of the school.

The bishop, however, opposed the stand of SJI board of trustees, saying the  Queen of Peace Parish could serve both a parish church and a school chapel which it had been doing since it was put up in 1966  until the last three years.

In closing down the church, Buzon said  “We never intended to leave Hua Ming. We were forced out as you have seen in the events of the past months. They did not want us to remain as a parish, that is a nonnegotiable us,” he said.

“If they want to reopen the doors to renegotiation no problem,” Buzon added.

Cesar Villanueva, SJI president, said they were saddened but they accept and respect the decision of the bishop

“We are hopeful something can happen, we will wait for the time when talks can resume,” he said.        Asked who will make the first move, Villanueva said “let the Holy Spirit intervene and maybe the inspiration will come.”