Sancta Maria, Mater et Regina, Seminarium (''Saint Mary, Mother and Queen, Seminary''), formerly
St. Pius X Seminary - Cagay Campus, is a major seminary of the
Archdiocese of Capiz,
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
and one of the schools in Capiz. It is home to the archdiocese's philosophy and theology seminarians. SMMRS was founded by the former archbishop of Capiz, Onesimo C. Gordoncillo, D.D.
History
The Sancta Maria Mater et Regina Seminarium (SMMRS) can truly trace its roots back to
St. Pius X Seminary
The Seminary of St. Pius X (''Latin:'' ''Seminarium Sancti Pii Decimi''), or St. Pius X Seminary (SPXS), is a Filipino Roman Catholic secondary school and seminary in the Lawaan hills, Roxas City, Capiz, in the Philippines, run by the Catholic p ...
. The late archbishop of Capiz, Most Rev.
Antonio F. Frondosa, D.D., had explicitly expressed his intention to build another seminary aside from St. Pius X Seminary. It was in the late 1970s when Mr. Catalino A. Mabasa Jr. wrote a letter to Fr. Daniel M. Viloria, then rector of St. Pius X Seminary, offering his land property in Sitio Bang-bang, Brgy. Cagay, Roxas City as site for the new seminary to be built. Fr. Viloria referred the said letter to Archbishop Frondosa. The archbishop, however, refused the proposed site since it would be very difficult to supervise two seminaries that are far away from each other. The archbishop preferred that the major seminary be a stone’s throw away from St. Pius X Seminary.
When the Most Rev.
Onesimo C. Gordoncillo, D.D., took over the administration of the archdiocese in 1986, he followed up his predecessor’s plan of building a new seminary. In 1993, the
Congregation for Catholic Education
, type = Congregation
, seal = Coat of arms Holy See.svg
, seal_size = 100px
, seal_caption = Coat of arms of the Holy See
, logo =
, picture =Via della Conciliazione din Roma1.jpg
, picture_caption = Palazzo delle Congregazioni in Piazza ...
in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
upon recommendation of the apostolic visitators advised Archbishop Gordoncillo to separate the major seminarians from the minor seminarians. Without second thoughts, the good archbishop decided to construct a new seminary. He requested Msgr. Bonifacio D. Baldonado, then Oeconomus of Capiz, to look for an appropriate site for the new seminary. Msgr. Baldonado recommended Mr. Mabasa’s standing offer. Upon the recommendation of Msgr. Baldonado and Antonio F. Arinquin who visited the site, Archbishop Gordoncillo accepted Mr. Mabasa’s offer.
In 1995 the project to build the new seminary was formally launched in a Mass presided over by
Jaime Cardinal L. Sin at Villa San Miguel,
Mandaluyong
Mandaluyong, officially the City of Mandaluyong ( fil, Lungsod ng Mandaluyong), is a first class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 425,758 people.
Loca ...
. Mr. Francisco Alba donated a sizeable amount and spearheaded a fundraising campaign in
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
for the said project.
With the approval of the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
, the cornerstone of the envisioned seminary was laid on December 27, 1996. A construction committee was formed for the building of the new seminary, then estimated to cost 48 to 51 million pesos, with Mother Mary Thomas Del Rosario, O.P. as project engineer, Ramon Teruel as architect, Msgr. Bonifacio D. Baldonado as finance officer and Mr. Celestino Auxtero as liaison officer.
On July 14, 1999, the seminary was formally opened under the name of St. Pius X Seminary (SPXS), Cagay Campus, pending its registration with the
Securities and Exchange Commission
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...
. On the same date, college seminarians left SPXS; the day henceforth was called “Exodus.” It is commemorated annually to remind everyone of the historic departure from Lawaan to Cagay. Msgr. Vicente F. Hilata, P.A., then vicar general, presided over the opening Eucharistic celebration with twelve priests as concelebrants.
The pioneers of the newly established seminary comprised fifty seminarians and four priest-formators in residence: Jose F. Advincula Jr., first rector (now
Archbishop of Manila
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila ( lat, Archidioecesis Manilensis; fil, Arkidiyosesis ng Maynilà; es, Arquidiócesis de Manila) is the archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in Metro Manila, Philippines, encompassing ...
); Digno V. Jore, vice-rector and procurator; John Michael V. Asis, dean of studies; and Alston V. Azarcon, spiritual director.
In the summer of 2001, the Holy See granted the request of the
Archdiocese of Capiz to open the Theology Department, under the administration of
Victor B. Bendico, second rector (May 2000 - November 2007). On June 25, 2001, the Theology Department was formally opened with three first-year enrollees, namely: Vivencio Besa Jr., John D. Denosta, and Joey D. Javier. That same year the seminary was officially registered in the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) as SANCTA MARIA MATER ET REGINA SEMINARIUM.
In November 2007, Fr. Regie A. Pamposa was installed as the third rector of SMMRS (November 2007 – May 2014). Under the leadership of Fr. Pamposa, the seminary building was painted and further beautified. With the constant support and love of the seminary benefactors here and abroad, the seminary chapel was finally constructed and blessed on February 14, 2010 by Most Rev.
Edward Joseph Adams, D.D., then
papal nuncio
An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international org ...
to the Philippines.
On July 11, 2014, Fr. Joseph Bernie A. Barrios became the fourth rector of SMMRS. To date, the seminary has produced 50 priests, mostly serving the Archdiocese of Capiz and hundreds of successful Mariani alumni are working in various field.
Staff
*Most Rev. Jose F. Advincula Jr., D.D. - Archbishop of Capiz
*Rector: Fr. John Carl R. Robles, PhL-MA
*Vice-Rector: Fr. Arch. Dennis Dexter Sontillano
*Registrar: Fr. Cris De Asis, SSL
*Procurator: Fr. Vincent Bernas
*Spiritual Director: Fr. Ivan Mikael Delfin
*Socio Cultural and Media Ministry Director: Fr. Emmanuel Andrada
*Confessor and Resident Priest: Fr. John Marlon Bordo
*Dean of Philosophy: Fr. Cornelio D. Delfin, PhD
*Dean of Theology: Msgr. Freddie B. Billanes, PhL, STL, SSL
Pian Alumni Association
The St. Pius X Seminary Alumni Association, Inc., or PIANS, is a non-profit and non-stock corporation whose membership is composed of persons who have studied for at least one year in St. Pius X Seminary. It's not an ordinary alumni association because the seminary is not an ordinary educational institution created and incorporated solely under a national law, and regulated by the appropriate government agencies, such as the
Department of Education
An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
and the
SEC, but was also created under the laws of the Church and regulated by the Vatican, and administered by the bishop through his priests. Further, its purpose is not only to educate but also to train boys and young men for the presbytery and the future leaders of the Church.
Since the opening of the seminary almost 50 years ago, there are usually ordinations every year. Three Pians have become bishops. Though the association is composed of Pians (ex-seminarians), it is not a religious or ecclesiastical organization or corporation like the
Children of Mary
The Sodality of Our Lady, also known as the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary (in Latin, ''Congregationes seu sodalitates B. Mariæ Virginis''), is a Roman Catholic Marian society founded in 1563 by young Belgian Jesuit Jean Leunis (or Jan) a ...
,
Knights of Columbus
The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...
and
Couples for Christ
The Couples for Christ (CFC) is an international Catholic lay ecclesial movement whose goal is to renew and strengthen Christian values. It is one of 123 International Associations of the Faithful.
The organization is linked to the Vatican thr ...
.
[http://74.6.146.127/search/cache?ei=UTF-8&p=Global+Pians&rd=r1&type=937811&fr=greentree_ff1&u=www.friendster.com/group-discussion/index.php%3Ft%3Dmsg%26th%3D1676224%26start%3D0%26&w=global+pians+pian%27s&d=Nz5h5O_ZViQU&icp=1&.intl=ph&sig=NrZwDBMTnsvUitPTLehlMQ--]
Student life
* Seminarians from Sancta Maria, Mater et Regina, Seminarium are called Mariani (they are also called Pians).
* Most students of SMMRS are graduates from SPXS, with the exception of some transferees from other seminaries in other dioceses.
* Only St. Pius X Seminary and Sancta Maria, Mater et Regina, Seminarium have
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
and
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
subjects in Capiz.
* Aside from Classes, the seminarians from SMMRS are also grouped by Zones which were also named after the saints the pioneers chose during the seminary founding. Zones are like the seminarians' family next to the class. Zones are comprised by seminarians of year levels and members of each zones will always belong to the zone they picked even when they become priests or when they leave the institution. The zones are:
* Heralds (Zone 1 - Saint Charles Borromeo),
* Thomite Steels (Zone 2 - Saint Thomas Aquinas),
* Jumon Knights (Zone 3 - Saints Simon and Jude),
* Skull Bearers (Zone 4 - Saint Bruno),
* Kikos (Zone 5 - Saint Francis of Assisi),
* Magis (Zone 6 - Saints Isaac Jogues and John De Brebeuf).
See also
*
St. Pius X Seminary
The Seminary of St. Pius X (''Latin:'' ''Seminarium Sancti Pii Decimi''), or St. Pius X Seminary (SPXS), is a Filipino Roman Catholic secondary school and seminary in the Lawaan hills, Roxas City, Capiz, in the Philippines, run by the Catholic p ...
*
List of Roman Catholic Seminaries
This is a list of Catholic seminaries in the world, including those that have been closed. According to the 2012 Pontifical Yearbook, the total number of candidates for the priesthood in the world was 118,990 at the end of the year 2010. These ...
*
References
External links
* http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:99FTjiB1AbwJ:www.ucanews.com/2001/06/26/nuncio-leads-thanksgiving-for-dioceses-contribution-to-priesthood/+Sancta+Maria,+Mater+et+Regina,+Seminarium+Logo&cd=28&hl=tl&ct=clnk&gl=ph&client=firefox-a
{{Coord missing, Philippines
Catholic seminaries
Educational institutions established in 1999
Education in Roxas, Capiz
Seminaries and theological colleges in the Philippines
1999 establishments in the Philippines