Filipino Catholics get head start on 500th anniversary celebrations

Filipino Catholics in Vancouver are getting a head start on celebrating the 500th anniversary of Christianity in the Philippines.

The year 2021 marks 500 years since the Christian faith was introduced to the nation and members of the Archdiocese of Vancouver’s Filipino Catholic community are already greeting the anniversary with enthusiasm.

“The reception of the faith from the colonizers who came to the Philippines in 1521 was not something that immediately brought anything really worthwhile for the locals. If at all, it was seen as an imposition of a foreign culture on the land,” said Deacon Greg Barcelon, head of the archdiocese’s Filipino Ministry.

“Little did we know that wrapped within something that looked dark was the gift of faith the locals eventually embraced and passed on from one generation to the next.”

For people from the Philippines now living in Vancouver, “working hard, giving everything that one can give, staying resilient in the face of adversity are all part of our culture,” he said.

“Little do they know, the typical attitude of a Filipino expressed in ‘Bahala na!’ loosely translated to ‘I leave it to fate,’ actually comes from ‘Bathala na!’ or ‘Let God take care of it.’”

Deacon Barcelon recently hosted a song-writing competition with two categories: a song inspired by “Gifted to Give,” the theme of the 500th anniversary celebration, and a Mass setting in English or Filipino. The awards were officially presented and announced Dec. 10.

“I started with a melody in April,” Victoria Benjamin, composer of the winning theme song, told The B.C. Catholic. “Then I started reading up about what we’re celebrating and I put the words together.”

Though Benjamin has played the piano at Our Lady of Sorrows Parish for over 15 years, she is not formally trained in music. She almost gave up part-way through the songwriting process, but family encouraged her to continue and she was overjoyed to win the contest.

Musician and St. Monica’s Parish choir director Michael Goco took first place for his Filipino Mass setting.

“The celebration of 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines is certainly a milestone deserving to be marked with much joy and hope, not just in the Philippines, but around the world,” he wrote in his contest submission.

“It is not an overstatement to say that over the years, many Filipino migrants have brought the faith with them and rooted themselves in the same faith wherever they have gone to, sustaining and nourishing in many cases the local churches where they find their new homes and communities.”

Deacon Barcelon said the award-winning compositions will be used at Filipino church events throughout the Lower Mainland even before 2021 begins. They will likely debut Dec. 16, on the first day of Simbang Gabi, a centuries-old tradition in the Philippines that involves celebrating nine Masses before dawn for nine consecutive days in honour of Mary and in anticipation of Christmas.

In modern times, Simbang Gabi Masses may be scheduled in the evening instead of the morning, and are often celebrated with skits, music, and a large meal. It’s a joyous occasion some parishes in the Lower Mainland have been celebrating for nearly 20 years.

Deacon Barcelon said though pandemic-related government restrictions have made large events impossible this year, parishes are seeking and finding creative ways to make the celebrations special. He said the ban on public Masses has forced Simbang Gabi to go virtual, opening the events up to anyone with an internet connection instead of the small group of 50 people per church under previous government orders.

“It gives us an opportunity to have more people celebrate in Simbang Gabi.”

This year, festivities will likely involve people watching livestreams at home or in their cars in church parking lots for nine consecutive days. “We’re trying to figure out how we can make it more interesting in terms of people interacting with each other,” online while they participate.

So far 12 parishes have said they will livestream Simbang Gabi Masses: All Saints, Blessed Sacrament, Guardian Angels, Holy Trinity, Immaculate Conception (Delta), Our Lady of Good Counsel, St. Joseph’s (Mission), St. Joseph’s (Langley), St. Mary’s (Vancouver), St. Patrick’s (Vancouver), St. Joseph the Worker, and St. Jude’s.

Earlier this year, the archdiocese’s Filipino Ministry also hosted a painting competition in honour of the 500th anniversary, and Deacon Barcelon said many more events including competitions, monthly Masses, and a pilgrimage of a statue of the Child Jesus, are in the works.

Related: