DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The Our Lady of Fatima Parish proceeded to officiate the Holy Mass led by parish priest Fr. Severino “Ben” Capulong despite the big fire that happened early Sunday morning, March 5.
The parish, located in the city’s Aurora Boulevard Street, installed covered tents and a simple altar to continue the celebration outside the church structure, hours after the authorities declared fire out.
“Angay gihapon natong pasalamatan ang Ginoo, pasidonggan ang atong Inahan ug si Hesu Kristo, iyang anak bisan tuod sa dakong delubyo nga atong nasinati sa dili pa lang dugay. Usa ka semana kagahapon, nasonogan ang atong mga kaigsoonan sa Piapi, hinay-hinay nga nibangon, ang balay sa tawo nasunog. Kagabie, ang balay mismo sa Ginoo, ang balay sa atong Inahan Birhin Maria nasunog,” said Fr. Ben Capulong at the start of the mass.
(We still need to thank God, praise our Mother and Jesus Christ, her son, despite the deluge that we have experienced. Last week, the houses of our brothers and sisters in Piapi (Boulevard) were engulfed in flames, but they slowly moved on. Last night, God’s own house, the home of our mother, Virgin Mary was burned.)
A big part of the left side of the altar, including the sacristy where sacred objects were stored for every mass, was destroyed.
Despite the incident, Capulong encouraged the churchgoers to remain thankful for the blessings of family and life, and to help each other in times of crisis.
“Luyo niining tanan naa ra gihapoy hinongdan nga kita magpasalamat, naa gihapon nga kita mudayeg sa Ginoo kay daghan pa man kaayong grasya ug panalangin nga atong nadawat kaysa sa kining dakong sunog nga atong nahiagoman,” he added.
(We have so much to be thankful for despite what happened. We praise God for the number of blessings and prayers we received compared to fire that we experienced.)
The fire was alerted to the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP)-Davao at 1:39 in the morning. It was declared fire out after an hour or around 2:30.
The BFP- Davao is yet to determine the cause and the total cost of the damage as they are still waiting for the church to declare the list of things affected by the fire and its corresponding amount.
“Isa sa atong ginatan-aw nga angulo is kining sa kuryente gihapon no knowing nga kining atong simbahan naa kini silay mga suga nga incandescent lamp nila nga ginapasiga,” said SFO4 Ramil Gillado, Chief Intelligence and Investigation Section of Davao City Fire District.
[One of the angles we’re looking at is the electricity (electrical system) knowing that the church uses incandescent lamps.]
Gillado said there are no reported casualties during the incident. (davaotoday.com)
Catholic Church, davao city, fire
