Zamboanguita Parish Celebrates 150th Anniversary
The Zamboanguita Parish of St. Isidore the Farmer in Negros Oriental celebrated its 150th anniversary last December 30, with Bishop Julito Cortes of the Diocese of Dumaguete as the main celebrant during the 10 a.m. concelebrated mass that day.
Fr. Oscar Calunod is currently its parish priest and the parish covers 29 chapels with 22 organizations. The theme for this year’s celebration was “A Gift, A Celebration of Life, Gratitude, Hope and a Call to Compassion”.
Fr. Archie Toroy, team priest at Consanguinity, said that although the decree for the parish was signed in May 21, 1866 by then Bishop Romualdo Jimenez of Cebu (when Negros Oriental was still part of the Diocese of Cebu), the parish was formally established at a later date that year, on December 30. The construction of the current church structure started in 1947 and was completed four years later, made mostly of limestones and of semi-Gothic architecture.
