The Shrine of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church located in

Pasay Pasay, officially the City of Pasay ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasay; ), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, i ...

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 ...

, across the main entrance of

Ninoy Aquino International Airport Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA , ; fil, Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Ninoy Aquino or ''Pandaigdigang Paliparan ng Ninoy Aquino''; ), originally known and still commonly referred to as Manila International Airport (MIA), is the main ...

Terminal 3. Dedicated to

Saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

Thérèse de Lisieux, the church is classified as a

diocesan In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

shrine governed by the

Military Ordinariate of the Philippines The Military Ordinariate of the Philippines is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or military ordinariate of the Catholic Church in the Philippines serving the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, and the Phil ...

History

The Shrine began in 1947 as a makeshift

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

in Nichols Air Base (now Villamor Air Base) constructed by Rev José Alberto, the first

military chaplain A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases they will also work with local civilians within a military area of operations. Although the term ''cha ...

assigned to the

Philippine Air Force The Philippine Air Force (PAF) ( tgl, Hukbong Himpapawid ng Pilipinas, , Army of the Air of the Philippines) ( es, Ejército Aérea del Filipinas, , Ejército de la Aérea de la Filipinas) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Armed Forc ...

. Originally dedicated to

Michael the Archangel Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

, it was expanded several times to meet the spiritual needs of the increasing numbers of Philippine Air Force servicemen. After undergoing major renovations in the 1980s, it was consecrated on 16 December 1983 and dedicated to Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus by

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Bruno Torpigliani, then- Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines. The Shrine was spared destruction during privatisation of some parts of Villamor Air Base under

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Joseph Estrada Joseph Ejercito Estrada, (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor. He served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, the 9th vice preside ...

, in a memorandum signed on 10 April 2000, and by the deed of usufruct granted to the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority on 9 November 2000 during the chairmanship of Rogelio L. Singson. After the visit of the pilgrim

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

s of St Thérèse in 2000, the Shrine again underwent a major reconstruction initiated by the reigning Ordinary, Archbishop Ramon C. Arguelles, to promote the saint's spirituality and to encourage devotion to the "Millennium Saint" amongst servicemen. From 8 March 2005, this project continued towards its completion under a new Ordinary, Most Rev Leopoldo S. Tumulak. On 6 January 2007, Archbishop of Manila

Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales Gaudencio Borbón Rosales (born August 10, 1932) is a Roman Catholic Cardinal who was Archbishop of Manila, succeeding Jaime Sin in 2003, and succeeded by Luis Antonio Tagle in 2011. Being the Metropolitan of the ecclesiastical province of Man ...

approved the request of Bishop Tumulak to hold liturgical services for the Military Ordinariate in the Shrine, which was collocated within the territory of the Archdiocese of Manila. The newly refurbished Shrine was consecrated and rededicated to St Thérèse on 17 May 2007. The presider at the consecration service was Archbishop of Cebu Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, while among the other co-celebrating bishops was

Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines; ceb, Hugpong sa mga Obispo nga Katoliko sa Pilipinas; bcl, Komperensya kan mga Obispo Katoliko kan Pilipinas; hil, Komperensya sang mga Obispo Katoliko sang Pilipinas; ilo, Kumperensya ti ...

President, Archbishop Ángel Lagdameo.The other Bishops present during the consecration of St. Therese Diocesan Shrine were Bishop Gabriel Reyes of Antipolo; Bishop Bernardino Cortez-Auxiliary Bishop of Manila; Bishop Antonio Galang of San Jose, Mindoro; and Bishop John Du of Dumaguete. Also on that day-the 82nd anniversary of the canonisation of St. Thérèse–the church was declared a Diocesan Shrine of the Ordinariate by Bishop Tumulak. Present at the service were

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, House Deputy Spe ...

, who unveiled the historical marker; high officials of the

Department of National Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philippin ...

; and the top brass of the

Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

Police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

and other uniformed services under the canonical jurisdiction of the Military Ordinariate.

Gallery

Image:Mass during the Consecration.JPG , The processional down the Shrine's aisle. Image:Inauguration Mass.JPG , View of the Shrine's

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

towards the high altar. Image:Cardinal Vidal Consecrating the Shrine.JPG , Ricardo Cardinal Vidal officiating at the service. Image:President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo with top brass of AFP and PNP.JPG , Top civilian and military officials attending the Shrine's inauguration Image:Cardinal Vidal and Bishop Tumulak with President Arroyo.JPG , President Macapagal-Arroyo signing a document witnessing the consecration. Image:Soldiers of Christ.JPG , Air Force personnel attending the Shrine's consecration. Image:Faithful at the Shrine of St. Therese.JPG , Devotees of St Thérèse hold up roses to be blessed. The flower is symbolic of the saint's

intercession Intercession or intercessory prayer is the act of praying to a deity on behalf of others, or Intercession of saints, asking a saint in heaven to pray on behalf of oneself or for others. The Apostle Paul's exhortation to Saint Timothy, Timothy sp ...

. Image:Al fresco columbarium.JPG , Columbarium located at an outer level of the church, lined with statues of St Thérèse.

References

External links

Therese relics returns to PH

Thousands flock to greet St Therese's relics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shrine Of St. Therese of the Child Jesus Roman Catholic churches in Metro Manila Department of National Defense (Philippines) Catholic pilgrimage sites Roman Catholic shrines in the Philippines Buildings and structures in Pasay