A HISTORY OF THE FIVE (5) PARISH CHURCHES OF DOLORES

By Msgr Lope C. Robredillo

Although the pueblo of Dolores was founded (not on August 31, 1863 as has been wrongly celebrated by the municipal government in 2019; I have a photocopy of the founding document from an archives in Madrid, Spain, to prove this; but) by a Royal Decree on April 5, 1864, its parochial status independent from Tubig (Taft), came into being, for lack of Franciscan personnel, only on April 19, 1878 by authority of Friar Benito Romero de Madredijos. Bishop of Cebu.  Its present parochial church, constructed in 1960, is located in the poblacion, but it has four predecessors.  A once-over at each of these may be in order.

The Original Stone Church in Bacod.  It should be recalled that one

of the ancient towns on Eastern Samar, contemporaneous with Borongan and Tubig, was Bacod, which once stood on the northern bank of Dolores river, more than a kilometer from its mouth.  It was here that the Jesuits from the mission center in Tinago (now part of Tarangnan, Samar) and later on in Palapag used to visit in their evangelization work that started in 1596. Through the efforts of these missionaries, the town was founded and the people of Bacod were able to build a church and a convento of stone (iglesia e convento de piedra) in the 1600s.  Though there is no surviving description of it, it can be surmised that its design and actual size must have been similar to the old church of either Tubig or Sulat, and it was obviously the oldest stone church in Eastern Samar, much older than either that of Guiuan or that of Borongan.

When the Sumoroy rebellion started in Palapag in 1649, one of the towns that joined it was Bacod whose insurgents burned both the stone church and the convento.  After the rebellion, the town was suppressed and put under interdict.  No wonder, the people of Dolores used to say that the bungto was cursed (gin-maldicion), although, in technical language, what they meant was probably that the town was placed under interdict.  In the minds of old people, the curse was effective because, later on, the whole bungto (town) was eaten up by the river through floods and had to be abandoned.  Old folks likewise attribute the frequent conflagration of the town to that curse.  By 1800s, it was counted a sitio of Carolina to which many of its inhabitants transferred.  It had a capilla made of wood and nipa. Today, the remains of these structures are now part of the Dolores river bed.   That is why, if the inhabitants living along Dolores river and Can-avid river had to attend religious celebrations, they had to go to the parish church of Tubig. 

The Second Stone Church in Paric.  When the Franciscans replaced the Jesuit missionaries in 1768, they started developing a village this time not along the Dolores river but along Can-avid river.  The village was called

Paric.  The barrio was located on the southern bank of Can-avid river, in what is now the barrio of Canteros.  It had jurisdiction over the villages that dotted both rivers. Eventually, it became large that documents of 1839, for example, listed it among the pueblos of Samar with its own gobernadorcillo, even if it was not formally recognized as such.

After Father Manuel Valverde became the parish priest of Tubig, he replaced the old capilla of wood and nipa by building a church of stone masonry in 1831, initially at his own expense.  His efforts resulted in the rise of a church of coral stone and lime with nipa roofing, measuring 30 ft high, 39 ft wide, and 120 ft long.  The parish church was dedicated to St Joachim the Patriarch.  As of 1885, the wall of the façade had a crack due to

an earthquake.  The first priest to have conducted regular service to this church was Father Gil Martinez beginning 1871, although he seems to have been officially appointed Pastor of both Tubig and Paric in 1875.  After Paric was separated from Tubig in 1878 as an independent parish by Bishop de Madredijos of Cebu, its first parish priest, Fr Jose del Olmo, continued making improvements on the church.

The Third Stone Church and the Wooden Church in Dolores. In 1886, on account of the danger that the town might be swallowed up by the Ulot river because of the constant erosion of the river bank, Father Vicente Carmona, parish priest, together with the town officials that included Carlos

Robredillo (gobernadorcillo, 1885-1887), Leoperto Planesniles (teniente primero) and Martin Irasga (teniente segundo), petitioned Emilio Terrero y Perinat, Governor-General (1885-1888), to transfer the poblacion from Paric to a barrio named Dolores, located near the northern portion of the mouth of Dolores river.  When the petition was approved, the ecclesial and civil authorities transferred the poblacion in 1887 (not in 1888, as sometimes asserted).  One of the first projects of the parishioners was to replace the wood and nipa chapel of Dolores with a stone church to match the change of its status from barrio to poblacion. At that time, the entire land of the church also included the area where the town plaza and municipal buildings now stand. 

From 1889 to 1893, Father Carmona, according to Valentin Marin, “built a very special church in whose construction all the modern advances compatible with the conditions in which most of the towns are found have been used. The church offers a very pleasant appearance and its construction has made use of choice lumber, with foundations up to a height of one and a half meters of masonry.”  When Revolution broke out, Father Isidro Calonge left the parish.  Though it became vacant, still, from time to time, a priest would come to say mass in the church until 1903 when Father Felix Minaya was appointed as parish administrator.  Unfortunately, in 1905, a number of Pulajanes, headed by Cenecio Lazarra of Oras, set the church on fire.  The remains of this burnt church still exist, just adjacent to

the house of the Balicat family, not far from the present rectory (convento).  Later, the faithful, with the help of the Franciscan parish priests, erected a church of light materials, with a bell tower in the middle of the façade. Except for the arched aperture at the belfry, the façade, entire of wood, had no windows. In early 50s, the church of wood and galvanized iron was already exhibiting wear and tear and, in the judgment of many, it could no longer withstand strong typhoons that often visited upon the town.

          Fifth Church: The Present Concrete Church in Dolores. When he became the parish priest of Dolores in 1955, Father Francisco Tizon, a diocesan parish priest from Catbalogan, Samar, broached the idea of constructing a concrete church.  Supported by the Parish Pastoral Council (PPC), he met with the members on June 28, 1959 to plan out the project.  A committee, called Dolores Church Construction Committee (DCCC), was created to manage the implementation of the plan.  The committee was

composed of 42 members, each representing an organization—civic or religious—in the parish.  Chair was Mr Valentin Villacarillo, who was the owner of the San Joaquin Lumber Mills.

          From among the models presented, the Committee chose the design that was estimated to cost P120,000—a staggering amount at that time!  The services of Architect Ester Su and Engr. Epimaco Galero, both of Butuan City, were enlisted.  The perspective of the church was prominently displayed for the parishioners to see.  (By the way, one who has been to the Cathedral of Butuan City, or has seen its pictures on Facebook, would not be surprised why the parish church of Dolores looks like a replicate of that Cathedral.)  To finance the project, various efforts were made—pledges, donations, etc.  When a modest sum was generated, the groundbreaking and cornerstone laying were held on March 6, 1960.

          Construction started the following day.  The technical assistance of Mr Restituto Arago, master carpenter, was sought, while local carpenters and ordinary laborers rendered their services free of charge.  Those that could not give cash hauled gravel and sand as their share.  Families took turns in serving lunch and snacks to the volunteer workers.  Various civil and religious organizations vied with one another for fund raising—through

popularity contests, raffle draws, solicitation of palay, and others.  At the end of the first year, the concrete walls around the whole structure were finished, and work on other parts continued, with shifts of volunteer laborers working under the direction of a few paid professional carpenters.

          During the parish and town fiesta of August 16, 1965, the construction of the edifice was almost through, except for the finishing touches and ornamentations.  The main altar, donated by the Picardo Family, though finished in 1965, was blessed by the Most Rev Godofredo Pedernal, Bishop of Borongan, on March 13, 1973.  This altar table was originally located at the third and last level of the sanctuary, standing where

the Blessed Sacrament is now housed.  But in keeping with the liturgical changes of Vatican II, it was moved down by Father Tizon to the second level in 1969, where it presently placed. The finishing touches—ceiling, glass for the upper and lower windows, shutters for the front and side doors, marbling of the center aisle—were completed in 1975.  Father Tizon hired the services of Catbalogan workers for the precast ornamentations, like the cornice and other ornate molding designs, both inside and outside the building.  During the incumbency of Father Conrado Balagapo (1978-1981), the entire floor of the nave was covered with tiles through the contributions of the parishioners.  On the silver anniversary of its construction, the parish church was blessed by the Most Rev Nestor Cariño, Bishop of Borongan, on August 16, 1985. 

          As it looked in 1985, the original Church of St Joachim in Dolores

was 56.5 ft. wide, 133.5 ft. long and 29.41 ft. high and had two levels, each side having 10 arched windows, while each side of the ground level had eight windows and two arched doors, each of which separated by a pier.  At the center of the second level of the façade is a classic circular decorative, with decorative blocks below it, on the front wall, which is flanked by two high flat buttresses that extend from the first to the second levels, each bearing a semi-detached long cross.  In front of the main door is a squarish projecting portico, with moldings and cornices.  The main part of the façade is itself flanked by squarish structures, both having three parallel long slender arched windows with fixed glasses.  The one of the left was intended as a baptistery, the one on the right as a sacristy.  From the sacristy rises the high squarish bell tower that has two parallel long windows of fixed colored and smoked glasses.  The belfry has three stories, the top most having two open Romanesque windows on each of the four sides.  Like the pediment that has a cross on top, the belfry likewise has a cross standing at the pinnacle.

Under Father Anacleto Asebias, Jr. (1985-1988), the entire structure,

both inside and outside, was repainted. He enclosed the now reduced land of the church with a fence of concrete and steel, save the boundary with the houses on San Jose Street.  He installed the image of St Joachim beneath the classic circular decorative on the front wall.  In 1993, a concrete image of St Joachim was placed in front of the church, thanks to Congressman Wilmar Lucero who was the hermano mayor that year.  In 1987, Father Asebias continued the construction of the choir loft that was started by Father Tizon but discontinued on account of new liturgical rules.  He used as railings of the loft the communion rail that was removed in keeping with the liturgical changes of the Vatican II. 

When Msgr Crescente Japzon became the pastor (1996-2001), several

improvement were made. A garage was put up adjacent to the sacristy near the sanctuary. The ground that separates the church from the rectory, and the stretch from the gate that leads to the rectory were concreted.   The trees growing beside the church were enclosed in concrete boxes, and concrete benches were made for churchgoers who could not be accommodate inside the church especially on Sundays.  A tennis court was constructed in 1998 on the vacant lot opposite the Municipal Community Hospital through the assistance of the family of Mr & Mrs Leovigildo Geli and Mr & Mrs Ceferino Coles.

Msgr Japzon restored the main altar of marble to its place on the second level after it had been moved to the first level by his predecessor to accommodate the liturgy of the neo-catechumenate.  He converted the 6 windows on either side of the first level into doors with iron grills, through the donation of certain families.  A concrete wall was raised behind the

church, and the sacristy was improved.  The choir loft also underwent a facelift, and the stairs leading to the choir loft and the stairs of the belfry were made concrete.  A new set of images of the Stations of the Cross replaced the old one, and mounted on the pillars of the nave. On top of the cornice of both the sacristy and baptistery of the façade, he placed balustrade railings. The room on the ground floor of the belfry, which originally served as sacristy for Sunday Mass during the time of Father Tizon, was expanded and converted into an air-conditioned adoration chapel in 2000 by Msgr Japzon.  Most of these projects came from sponsors of town fiestas and feasts of saints of devotion.  In 2002, however, the adoration chapel was closed.

By 2007, it became obvious that the parish church needed general repairs and repainting, since it was in state of deterioration after 45 years.  In fact, the leaks made it necessary for some churchgoers to use umbrella to avoid getting wet.  Congressman & Mrs Marcelino Libanan (neé Elda Ellado) came to the rescue.  As hermano mayor of the parish and town

fiesta of 2008, in commemoration of their 25^th wedding anniversary, they replaced the entire roofing with new GI sheets, repaired the ceiling, restored the cornice, some parts of which have fallen to the floor and replaced the broken window glasses.  They also made changes on the sanctuary by putting a structure behind the chair of the celebrant that now serves as pedestal for floral decoration, and by narrowing the space between the back wall of the church and the concrete divider that encloses the wooden-chalice housing the tabernacle and the images of St Joachim and those of Jesus and Mary.  Finally, they had the entire exterior and interior of the church painted.  The Congressman and wife spent P2 million for the entire project, largely of restoration.

Seven years after the major repairs done by the Libanans, Father Philip Campomanes (2015-to date) had the exterior repainted and, in 2017, its interior.  At the sanctuary, new moldings were placed on the pedestals

where the image of St Joachim and the Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart were mounted.  The pedestals of the side altars that flanked the main altar were also provided with moldings in 2015. He installed a new wiring system to the entire building, purchased a new sound system, including new

speakers and mixer.  Also in 2017, heavy industrial fans were set up to replace the old ones.  The pews were repaired and re-varnished in 2018, financed by the hermano mayor of the Santo Niño, and once again in 2019. The DOMARA, an organization of Doloresnons in Metro Manila, donated 6 chandeliers. The hermano mayor of de Belen of 2019 purchased a new amplifier. In the same year, through the contribution of the parishioners, a new fence of concrete and steel to enclose the rectory was constructed to replace the one old one done under Father Asebias, but this time, a steel gate that leads to the rectory has been provided for security reasons.  In 2020, a new cabinet was added in the sacristy.