San Pablo Apostol Parish (Tondo) Needs Your Help

It’s exactly two months away from Christmas and we’re all beginning to make a list of people and charities that we want to remember in this Season of Giving. Let us include our brothers and sisters in Bohol who need our support and prayers as they move on and recover from the tragedy of last week’s earthquake. God bless you all, Boholanos! Hubby and I will visit your island soon as our small way of supporting the recovery of your local tourism.

The hallway by the entrance of the old San Pablo Apostol Parish Church in Tondo. (Photo taken by Mary Anne Velas-Suarin through a Samsung Note II.)

For those who also have some more to share, please include the parish of San Pablo Apostol in Velasquez Street, Tondo, Manila, in your gift-giving list. The parish (with two small churches and four smaller chapels that are often submerged in flood waters during the rainy season) is building a new church and currently raising funds for its completion.

The new church’s design was done (gratis) by an internationally-known Italian architect, Danilo Lisi, with the support of a young Filipino architect, Lito Tabuldan. (See photo below of a perspective drawing of the church.)

We were able to visit one of the old churches of the parish but it was closed when we arrived so I was able to get a picture of the main entrance and a few of the interiors only (although the latter were captured through steel railings/bars). Here is a picture of the entrance to one of the old churches of the parish:

The area where the parish is located is near the Port Area so flood waters easily come in particularly during the rainy season. Can you imagine how this affects the parishioners and church goers? It is also home to some of the most impoverished families in our country so by supporting the building of a new church, we are directly contributing to the spiritual growth of our brothers and sisters there.

Through this blog, I would like to thank one of my best friends, Badette Tamayo, a veteran journalist, who invited me and JR to go with her there last October 22 (which is also her birthday!). It was not really planned but when I sent her a text message to greet her as the clock stroke at midnight and asked what her plans were, she immediately offered me and JR an opportunity to share the blessings of her birthday. She said she wanted to visit and make a donation to the church and so I  decided right there and then that, of course, we will join her! This is a perfect way to celebrate one’s birthday so I wish you, Badette, many more blessings and opportunities to share those gifts!

I also like to thank JR, my ever-thoughtful husband, who patiently drove for us even if it was his first time to go to Tondo. It was indeed a challenging day because we did not know how to reach the place! We relied on Google maps and the SMS-sent directions of another friend, Jaja, who grew up in Tondo. Thanks, Jaja! (And thanks as well to the pedicab drivers and strangers, with tattoos and all, hehe, who kindly gave us directions along the way! Mga kuya, salamat po sa mga directions n’yo! You may not be able to read this….but then again, who knows?!)

My dear friends and readers, please remember the parishioners of San Pablo Apostol Church as you plan for your Christmas gift-giving. We were also informed that they are organizing a fundraising dinner-dance on December 5 at the Hotel Sofitel in CCP Complex so this is a great way to welcome the Christmas season – by dancing the night away for a good cause!

For inquiries on this event and donations, please get in touch with Maureen or Mila. Their contact details are shared below.

The proposed San Pablo Apostol Parish Church in Tondo. Illustration courtesy of the design and architectural team led by Architects Danilo Lisi and Giansandro di Iorio.

Contacts:

San Pablo Apostol Parish

2279 Velasquez St., Tondo Manila 1013 | Tel. no.  (632) 353 3001 | Email  sanpabloapostol.tondo@gmail.com / maureen.sanpablotondo@gmail.com

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This is not a paid blog. (I do not ask for any donation for this site’s maintenance but I hope you can plant a tree on your birthday/s.)