MISSION AND BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF LINGAYEN- DAGUPAN
The Diocese of Lingayen was erected on May 19, 1928, comprising the entire province of Pangasinan. In 1954, because of the destruction brought on Lingayen by World War 11, the See was transferred to Dagupan, and the diocese is now known as the Diocese of Lingayen Dagupan. On Jan. 12,1985 the western part of Pangasinan was made th
e Diocese of Alaminos, and the eastern part the Diocese of Urdaneta, both dioceses becoming suffragans of Lingayen-Dagupan along with the dioceses of Cabanatuan, San Jose (Nueva Ecija), and San Fernando (La Union). The Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan comprises two (2) cities and fifteen (15) municipalities in the central part of the province. The present Archbishop is the Most Rev. Socrates B. Villegas. There are fifty-two (52) parishes, chaplaincies and pastoral stations in the archdiocese served by 110 priests, 81 consecrated men and women. Catholic institutions include three (3) seminaries, fifteen (15) Archdiocesan Catholic schools, a clinic, a Lay Formation Center. The archdiocese is now preparing for its 100th anniversary of its er****on as a diocese this 2028. BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CHAPLAINCY OF SAN ROQUE
San Roque Chaplaincy was born from the mother parish of Our Lady of Purification Parish, Binmaley, Pangasinan. It is located in Barangay Camaley in Binmaley, Pangasinan. It is a mission territory, surrounded by the towns of Binmaley and Calasiao and the cities of Dagupan and San Carlos. The main road in the Chaplaincy serves as alternate route to the aforementioned cities and towns. It encompasses five barangays of Binmaley, Pangasinan namely Camaley, Calit, Naguilayan, Santa Rosa, and Tombor with nine satellite chapels of which San Roque is the Mother Church. The San Roque Chapel was built in 1998 to accommodate about one hundred fifty (150) parishioners since it was only then a barangay chapel. Later on, a canopy was added to the structure in order to accommodate more parishioners. It is now able to accommodate three hundred (300) parishioners. The Chaplaincy is also one of the apostolate areas of the Missionaries of Charity sisters of Mother Theresa. The present Chaplain is Rev. Jeremias B. He was assigned to the chaplaincy by the Most Rev. Villegas on March 2, 2018. Together with the parishioners, he has administered programs in the building of the community as a church by providing servant-leadership in his ministry. The chaplaincy is looking forward for it to become formally a Parish. Only by the mercy of God can this endeavor of building a new church building come to its fruitful completion. With God’s grace, everything is possible. THE NEED FOR FUND SUPPORT OF THE PROJECT
The population data for 2018 of the Chaplaincy of San Roque, taken from the Municipality of Binmaley, is 14,924. Most people depend on fishing for their livelihood since the land area are mostly fishponds and surrounded by rivers. There are small-time steward-farmers of the community who plant rice to the portions of agricultural lands and take care of fishponds owned by affluent people. For the past two years, the local populace has embarked on several fund development projects. However, the limited resources of the people due to their poor economic conditions have made it so much more difficult for them to come out with the needed resources to build their church. The chaplaincy has been looking for help from other sources outside of their district to augment the meager resources they have raised. SPECIFIC NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED
The present church cannot anymore accommodate the growing number of parishioners attending the services, especially during big celebrations. The people have been joining the services outside of the church. The building of the church structure has at the same time provided an occasion for the building of the community as a Church. While the people have seen themselves as “people of God”, they have bonded together to build the church where they can gather as a community to praise and give glory to God. The present location of the church is prone to frequent flooding. It is located in a low-lying area of the barangay. The construction of the new church building will resolve this recurrent problem of the community. The construction of the new chapel shall benefit the almost predominantly poor parishioners. It shall provide them a more conducive place of worship, a place of communality where they can congregate as worshipping people, and a sense of belongingness where they can see themselves as one community under the mercy and providence of God. WHAT HAS BEEN DONE
The community of San Roque has held several fund development projects since 2018 when it was discerned that a new church is needed. Presently, the Chaplaincy has raised One Million Five Hundred Thousand Philippine pesos (Php 1,500,000.00) from the big-hearted contributions of the people, mainly from the poor members of the community.
