It was year 2016 when the good Bishop Renato Mayugba of the Diocese of Laoag, Ilocos Norte took the initiative in offering the Parish of St. Jude Thaddeus in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte to be administered by the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament. His aspiration is to establish a parish that will animate the deepening of Eucharistic piety and devotion in the whole diocese of Laoag.

It has been five years since our immersion in the diocese of Laoag started. Yet even then in our earlier immersion, the diocese and its clergy already recognized the mission and spirituality of our congregation as a vital help in their desire to restore and center the local Church’s faith in the Blessed Sacrament.

St Jude Thaddeus Parish, Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte, Philippines

 Yearly since then, the diocese constantly affirmed the positive impact of the presence of the Blessed Sacrament religious in the parish of St. Jude. To mention, the bishop had been enthusiastically inquiring of our formal acceptance to their request to administer the Parish of St. Jude and to establish canonically a local community in it.

Given all these, the Provincial Council on the record had requested for formal appraisal through all the religious assigned in St. Jude Parish. The following principles, requisites and conditions to accepting parish and establishing canonical status to local community were assured of compliance and satisfaction:

1. Official document of invitation from the diocesan bishop to the congregation to administer a parish in the diocese.
2. Recognition from the diocesan bishop and his clergy to the nature of the mission and spirituality of the congregation, hence the right of its expression in the pastoral setting as contribution to the local church.
3. Acceptability and feasibility of the forms and expressions of the congregation’s mission and spirituality in the parish.
4. Availability of lay faithful to commit for both the congregation’s aggregation and the diocese’s pastoral priorities.
5. Adaptability of the religious to the culture of the diocese, particularly in the parish.
6. Assurance from the Bishop that Ilocano-speaking religious is not a requirement in the diocese.
7. Sustainability of financial resources in the parish for both support in the pastoral programs and the daily needs of the religious personnel.

The Provincial Council together with all the Pastors and Local Superiors in the Province approved unanimously the recommendation to the General Council for the granting of Canonical Status of Pagudpud Community.

The Decree of Canonical erection for Pagudpud as a Local Community was issued in Rome through the office of the General Superior, Fr. Eugenio Barbosa Martins, SSS on October 28, 2021, Feast of St. Jude Thaddeus, the principal patron of the Parish in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte.

The Rite of the Declaration of the Canonical Erection of Pagudpud was celebrated during the Parish Fiesta Mass presided by His Excellency Most Rev. Renato Mayuba, D.D., Bishop of Laoag.

Likewise, the letter of appointment to Rev. Fr. Edgard Bugna, SSS as the Local Superior of Pagudpud community was officially read during the said Parish Fiesta Mass.

The community of Pagudpud is composed of:

• Edgard Bugna, SSS (Local Superior),
• Andres Malawis, SSS (Parish Administrator),
• and Br. Nathaniel Obal, SSS (Scholastic on Pastoral Immersion).

Provincial Newsletter
December 2021