Our Lady of Most Holy Rosary Parish Church (Makinabang)

Makinabang Church
Our Lady of Most Holy Rosary Parish Church
Iglesia Parroquial de Nuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario (Spanish)
Church facade 2023
Makinabang Church Location in Bulacan Makinabang Church Location in Luzon Makinabang Church Location in the Philippines
14°55′7″N 120°53′10″E
Location	Makinabang, Baliuag, Bulacan
Country	Philippines
Denomination	Roman Catholic
History
Status	Parish church
Dedicated	September 08, 2016
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architectural type	Church building
Groundbreaking	1940
Completed	1981
Specifications
Materials	Steel, mixed sand, gravel & cement
Administration
Archdiocese	Manila
Diocese	Malolos
Clergy
Archbishop	Jose Advincula
Bishop(s)	Dennis Cabanada Villarojo
Priest(s)	Nicanor J. Castro, V.F.

Our Lady of Most Holy Rosary Parish Church, commonly known as Makinabang Church or Bisitang Pula, is a Roman Catholic Marian church in Barangay Makinabang, Baliuag, Bulacan, Philippines. On October 7 it is one of four Roman Catholic parish churches in the municipality and is the focus of one of its largest processions each year. The other nearby Baliuag parishes which bound the church are: Saint Augustine Church (Población); Holy Family Parish (Tangos); and Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Sabang). The church is also about 2 miles from its neighbor, Sub-Parish Church of Sto. Cristo in barangay Santo Cristo.

Makinabang Church is under the Vicariate of Saint Augustine of Hippo and belongs to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Malolos, a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Manila. Its incumbent team of priests in solidum moderator is parish priest Nicanor J. Castro, V.F., who was formally installed as the 6th Parish Priest on February 12, 2021. He succeeded the (Judicial Vicar), Winniefred F. Naboya, who was formally installed in November 2013. Naboya replaced the former Parish Administrator, Macario R. Manahan, who succeeded Walderedo Castillo who died in 2008. The Parish Church's Vicar Forane is its current Parish Priest, Nicanor J. Castro, V.F..

Etymology

Before the 1521-1898 Spanish colonization of the Philippines, Makinabang was already a settlement or sitio and the largest in Baliuag. When the Spanish friars, particularly the Augustinians, founded Saint Augustine Church in 1733, a Spanish mestizo introduced a wood sugarcane press to the area. The machine extracted panutsa (molasses), which the villagers mixed in with their coffee and other foods. Natives called the press makina (from the Spanish maquina), at which they would queue and abáng (Tagalog, "wait"). Those queuing would enquire "Marami pa bang nakaabang?" ("Are there many more waiting?), from which the word Makina-bang and eventually Makinabang was formed.

The chapel and its fence were originally painted red, for which reason the parish was called Bisitang Pula ("red chapel").

History

Church interior in 2012

Statue of Makinabang's patron saint enshrined in its high altar

The church was built in 1920 and established as Parish in 1941 with its patron Nuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario (Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary), a Marian title in relation to the Rosary. Devotion to the Virgin Mary under this title goes back to 1571 when Pope Pius V instituted "Our Lady of Victory" as an annual feast to commemorate the victory in the Battle of Lepanto. The victory was attributed to a rosary procession that day in St. Peter's Square in Rome for the success of the mission of the Holy League to hold back Muslim forces from overrunning Western Europe. In 1573, Pope Gregory XIII changed the title of this feast-day to "Feast of the Holy Rosary". in 1716 Pope Clement XI added the feast to the General Roman Calendar and assigned it to the first Sunday in October. Pope Pius X changed the date to October 7 in 1913, in his effort to restore celebration of the liturgy of the Sundays.

In 1920 the parish priests Pastor Luciano (d. 1985) suggested to Church authorities in Bulacan to build a small ermita or Kapilya. The new parish covered the Barangays of Tarcan, Santa Barbara, and even Taal and Santo Cristo in Pulilan, Bulacan. The small chapel is made of wood, nipa and light building materials, while its attached convento was made of nipa.

Jovito Reyes reconstructed the dilapidated chapel, adding concrete buttresses, including the walls, roof and convento. Wealthy residents, headed by Councilor Carmen Fernando García, Delfin Cruz and Salud S. Tesoro, helped build the new patio and grotto of the Sagrada Corazón and Our Lady of Lourdes.

Amador Wisco Cruz succeeded Jovito as parish priest on July 20, 1957. He bought the 4,000 sq.m. lot wherein the parishioners built the Parish Hall of the Cursillistas and Catholic Women's League. He is also known as the translator/editor of the most popular version of the Pasyón (Copyright 1949), the "Casaysayan nang Pasióng Mahal ni Jesucristong Panginoón Natin na Sucat Ipag-alab nang Pusò nang Sinomang Babasa". In the early 1990s, Expedito Caleon and Jess Cruz assisted the then ailing Amador, who died in 1992 after having served the parish for 35 years. Then came Ronald Ortega, Walderedo Castillo (d. 2008), and Macario R. Manahan (d. 2013).

In preparation for its 75th Jubilee in October 2016, the Pastoral Council initiated repairs and improvements on the church building and its environs, under Winniefred F. Naboya.

On February 12, 2021, Nicanor Castro was installed as the 6th parish priest.

Pastors

Parish Priests

1941-1957 Rev. Fr. Jovito Reyes (d. 1968)

1957-1988 Rev. Fr. Amador Cruz (d. 1992)

1993-2003 Rev. Fr. Ronaldo "Bogs" Ortega

2003-2008 Rev. Fr. Walderedo Castillo (d. 2008)

2013-2021 Rev. Fr. Winniefred Naboya

2021-Present Rev. Fr. Nicanor Castro

Parish Administrators

1940-1941 Rev. Fr. Jovito Reyes (d. 1968)

1988-1992 Rev. Fr. Jesus Cruz (d. 2016)

1988-1993 Rev. Fr. Expedito Caleon

2008-2012 Rev. Msgr. Macario Manahan (d. 2013)

2012-2013 Rev. Fr. Winniefred Naboya

Chapels

Current chapels

• Bisita ni Sta. Barbara (Brgy. Santa Barbara, Baliwag City)
• Bisita ng Kamahal-mahalang Puso ni Hesus (Brgy. Tarcan, Baliwag City)
• Bisita ng Sagrado Corazon de Jesus (Sitio Mulawin Matanda, Brgy. Tarcan, Baliwag City)
• Bisita ni San Isidro Labrador (Sitio Mulawin Bata, Brgy. Tarcan, Baliwag City)
• Bisita ng Banal na Krus (Brgy. Sta. Barbara, Baliwag City)
• Bisita ni San Pio ng Pietrelcina (Padre Pio Community, Brgy. Sta. Barbara, Baliwag City)

Former chapels

• Bisita ng Mahal na Birhen ng Lourdes (Brgy. Taal, Pulilan)
• Parokya ng Pag-Akyat sa Langit ni Hesukristo (formerly known as Bisita ng Sto. Cristo) (Brgy. Sto. Cristo, Pulilan)

References

Books

• Baliwag: Then and Now, by Roland E. Villacorte, Philippine Graphic Arts, Inc., Caloocan City, 1970, 1985 * 2001 editions. pp. 350–351 (2001 edition); and pp. 392–396 (1985 edition).
• "Baliuwag, Lunduyan ng mga Bayani", Baliuag Tourism Council, 2008, Municipality of Baliuag, 2008 Edition, pp. 10–120.

Sources

• The 2010–2011 Catholic Directory of the Philippines (published by Claretian Publications for the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, June 2010)
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "St. William of Maleval". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

External links

• Media related to Our Lady of the Rosary Church (Baliuag, Bulacan) at Wikimedia Commons
• Our Lady of Most Holy Rosary Parish Church on Facebook