Banga Caves, Ragay, Camarines Sur. Two weeks after the Cathedral of St. James the Greater in Libmanan was blessed and dedicated, another church in the diocese, the Nuestra Señora de Salvacion Parish in this municipality has gone through the same rituals, on Sunday, the 14th day of July 2024. Within the same celebration, Rev. Fr. Jonnel Sibulo was installed as new Parish Priest, succeeding Rev. Fr. Rey Abiog who has also been recently assigned as Parish Priest of St. Lorenzo Ruiz Parish in GRS, Ragay (Camarines Sur).
This church in Banga Caves had already been blessed and dedicated many years ago by the late Bishop-Prelate of Libmanan, Bishop Prospero Arellano, in the 1990’s, when its construction was completed. During the term, however, of Fr. Abiog, the church’s retablo was remodelled and remade, while the wooden altar table was replaced with one that is made of marble. Such a change was prompted by a reconsideration of no. 301 of the General Instruction on the Roman Missal (GIRM) which states: “In keeping with the Church’s traditional practice and with what the altar signifies, the table of a fixed altar should be of stone and indeed of natural stone.” Since the old altar table has completely been discarded, this necessitated that the replacement which is essentially a new one be rededicated. According to Canon # 1212 of the Code of Canon Law, “Sacred places lose their dedication or blessing if they have been destroyed in large part, or if they have been turned over permanently to profane use by decree of the competent ordinary or in fact.” The condition of the altar table in the church in Banga Caves certainly fits such a description. Besides, GIRM, no. 290 also states that “All churches should be dedicated or at least blessed. Cathedrals and parish churches, however, are to be dedicated with a solemn rite.” There is then more than enough reason why the church in Banga Caves had to go through the same rituals of blessing and rededication.
As already mentioned, it was Fr. Abiog who initiated the project. It took a long time for it to be completed as work was interrupted by the pandemic. But once things got back to normal, work continued and in fact got completed even before Fr. Abiog left for his new assignment.
Parishioners coming from the different barangays under the jurisdiction of the parish flocked to the church to witness the solemn rites presided by the Bishop of Libmanan, Jose Rojas. The municipal mayor, the Honorable Thaddeus Ramos, a consistent supporter of the parish, also graced the event, as have so many other generous sponsors and donors who contributed much for the completion of the project. Fr. Abiog himself was in attendance and so were Fr. Alejandro Besinio, the Vicar General, and Fr. Nolito Montaña, the Vicar Forane of St. Peter Baptist Vicariate, to which Banga Caves belongs.
Speaking of the remodelled retablo, featured here naturally were the parish’s patroness, Nuestra Señora de Salvacion, and the diocese’s principal patron, St. Joseph. The design was a bit refreshing as, painted in white, it differed from the usual wooden retablos in so many other churches in the diocese and elsewhere in the region that glitter with gold trimmings. The structure looked more like neo-romanesque in style, only that it is less ornate and elaborate, supported by only two huge columns in the middle and two smaller ones of each side, and without the usual arches. The altar table, esconced in the center of the sunctuary, also looked sturdy and embellished by decorative carvings. The floor space of the sanctuary has also been markedly enlarged and gray-tiled, bordered now on both extreme sides by concrete balusters. The celebration concluded with the usual fraternal agape held at the parish rectory.
