V. A missionary Church for Asia and the world
Pope Leo XIII’s Apostolic Constitution Quae mari Sinico breathed a new vitality into the Philippine Church in the American era. For nearly three centuries, the Philippines only had one archdiocese and three dioceses. The Diocese of Jaro was carved out of Cebu in 1865. Quae mari Sinico created the dioceses of Lipa, Tuguegarao, Capiz, and Zamboanga. The early 20th century however was a period of myriad challenges amid changes brought by the new dispensation. The Church had to contend with the arrival of Protestant missionaries and the Aglipayan schism. The big dispute with the Americans was the ownership of friar lands, which the Holy See decided to dispose of. Only affluent Filipinos, however, benefitted from the sale.
Four Americans replaced the Spanish bishops, and with the departure of many friars, non-Spanish religious orders started pouring in: the Redemptorists (1905), St. Joseph’s Missionary Society (1906), Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (1907), Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (1908), the Society of the Divine Word (1908), and the Christian Brothers (1911). The Americans established the first council of the Knights of Columbus, the lay fraternal and charitable organization, in the Walled City of Intramuros in 1905.
33rd International Eucharistic Congress (Feb. 3-7, 1937)
Aerial view of San Carlos Seminary in Makati in 1937
In a sign of its growing importance in the Universal Church, the Philippines became the first country in Asia to host the International Eucharistic Congress in 1937. The theme, “The Eucharistic Apostolate in the Mission,” emphasized the evangelization of the Far East.
The war emergency prompted the bishops of the Philippines to form the Catholic Welfare Organization in 1945. Soon it became the official organization of the Church hierarchy, and in 1968, it became the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, tasked to promote solidarity in the Philippine Church, formulate joint pastoral policies and programs, promote the pastoral thrusts of the Universal Church, assume responsibilities as evangelizer in relation to the people and with the civil authority in particular, and foster relations with other episcopal conferences. Church leaders closed ranks against moves of the state seen as hostile to Catholic education.
In 1960, Rufino Jiao Santos of Pampanga became the first Filipino cleric to be elevated to the College of Cardinals. Santos, one of the active fathers of the Second Vatican Council, was a builder, leaving as his legacy the establishment of Catholic Charities, St. Paul’s Hospital, and more importantly, Radio Veritas Asia—the short-wave station that brought the Word of God to the world’s largest but least Christian continent. The reconstruction of the Manila Cathedral, which was destroyed by World War II, in 1958 was symbolic of efforts to rebuild the Philippine Church. Vatican II ushered in an era of change, most visibly in the liturgical life of the Church.
Reconstruction of the Manila Cathedral, 1954-1958
Blessing of Manila Cathedral Bell (Dec. 7, 1958)
Rufino Cardinal Santos
The Second Plenary Council of the Philippines heralded another period of renewal, with the Philippine Church resolving to be a community of Christ’s disciples and a “Church of the Poor.” The council, convened in 1991, also called for integral evangelization and holistic spirituality. The push for social justice had prompted the hierarchy, led by Jaime Cardinal Sin, to support the popular revolt that toppled the Marcos dictatorship in 1986.
Cardinal Sin gives Holy Communion to Mother Teresa (Noli Yamsuan, Scenes of Sin)
Cardinal Sin in Tondo (Noli Yamsuan, Scenes of Sin)
Jaime Cardinal Sin prays before the remains of Ninoy Aquino
Catholic clergy back the 1986 military-led revolt versus Marcos (Noli Yamsuan, Scenes of Sin)
Today, the Philippines has a total of 86 archdioceses, dioceses, prelatures, and apostolic vicariates, with over 80 million faithful. The Philippine Church looks forward to 2021 on the 500th year of the arrival Christianity in the Philippines, grateful for triumphs as well as tribulations, but more so for standing the test of time as an ever-faithful people of God.