During the American Occupation of the Philippines, the new Commonwealth Government established the Philippine Army, with Pres. Manuel Luis Molina Quezón (1878-1944) signing the Commonwealth Act. No. 1 or “National Defense Act” of the 21st of December 1935. Part of the act was the institutionalization of the Chaplain Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), which would see to the spiritual needs of the soldiers. The Chaplain Service was not just for addressing the spiritual needs of the Catholic majority in the armed forces, but the chaplains must be sensitive and adoptive to the needs of faiths of Western Protestants, independent churches like the Aglipayan and Iglesia ni Christo, and Moslems. Upon the establishment of the army, the Chief of Chaplains of the armed forces in the Philippine was Brigadier General/Fr. James Hugh O’Neill (1892-1972), who served from 1927 to 1929, and 1934 to 1936.
The chaplaincy services have had a long history will the military, especially when Emperor Constantine the Great (272-337 AD) ordered Christian priests to accompany the Roman troops to their way to battle. In Philippine history, Fr. Pedro Sanchez de la Reina served as the chaplain to the Portuguese explorer, Fernão de Magalhães (Magellan, 1480-1521) in his attempt to circumnavigate the globe. And in 1565, Fr. Andrés de Urdaneta, OSA (1508-1568) served as the military chaplain to the Spanish conquistador, Miguel López de Legazpi (1502-1572); and was later replaced by Fr. Diego de Herrera, OSA (died 1576). During the Katipunan Revolution against the Spanish government in the Philippines, Fr. Gregorio Labayan Aglipay Cruz (1860-1940) served as the spiritual advisor to the revolutionaries. Before the establishment of the Philippine Commonwealth Government, the first Filipino to become a chaplain in the armed forces was 1st Lieutenant/Fr. Fr. Pedro Pajarillo, who was assigned to the 45th Infantry Philippine Scouts. And on the 17th of September 1937, Pres. Quezón assigns Father Edwin Leo Ronan, CP (1884-1965) as the Chief of Chaplains for the Philippine Army.
In 1935, the new army headquarters of Camp William Francis Brennan Murphy was constructed in the Dilimán Estate of the future-Quezon City, and it would be expected that a chapel would have been constructed within the camp. The old chapel was destroyed during World War II, and a new chapel was built in 1947, with Major/Fr. Antonio T. Vera as its chaplain. Christened as the Saint Ignatius de Loyola Chapel, the church was rebuilt into its present structure in 1964. The original chapel was dedicated to the Spanish San Íñigo López de Oñaz Loyola (Saint Ignatius, 1491-1556), as he is the patron saint of soldiers. The choice of may have also been pushed by the many Jesuits who were active chaplains from the 1930s to the 1940s, as Saint Ignatius was also the founder of the Jesuits. Among the American Jesuit chaplains, there were Lieutenant Colonel/Fr. Thomas A. Shanahan (1895-1963), Major/Fr. John J. Dugan (1897-1964), Captain/Fr. William J. Duffy (1902-1998), Fr. Eugene J. O’Keefe (1904-1971), Commander/Fr. Joseph T. O’Callahan (1905-1964), and Fr. Hugh Francis Kennedy (died 1955). Some of the active Filipino Jesuits chaplains were Fr. Pablo M. Carasig, Fr. Pedro M. Dimaano, and Fr. Isaias X. Edralin; while Fr. Pacifico Arreza Ortiz (1913-1983) served in Corregidor, and joined Pres. Quezón in his escape to America aboard the USS Swordfish (SS-193) on the 19th of February 1942.
During World War II, there were two Jesuits chaplains who were part of the six priests helping forces defending Corregidor and Bataan, and were part of the infamous 112 kilometer Bataan Death March towards the POW Camp O’Donnell. Fr. Juan E. Gaerlan, SJ was killed by the Japanese along the way, whereas Fr. Matthias E. Zerfas (1908-1944) died in the camp. During a transfer to another POW camp in Formosa, 1st Lieutenant /Fr. Carl W. J. Hausmann, SJ (1898-1945) and Fr. William Thomas Cummings (1903-1945), passed away due to their injuries from battle and torture, as well as starvation. It was only Colonel/Fr. John Edward Duffy (1899-1958) and Major General/Fr. Robert Preston Taylor (1909-1997) who survived the war, and continued to serve until their retirement. It was Fr. Cummings who is attributed in saying: “There are no atheists in foxholes!“
Aside from the possible Jesuit influence, the choice of naming the chapel after Saint Ignatius stems for the Íñigo de Loyola’s military career, starting at the age of seventeen in 1508. During the Spanish-Italian War of 1521-1526, Íñigo de Loyola fought at the Battle of Pampeluna (Pamplona) on the 20th of May 1521; where he was struck on the right leg by a cannon ball. While recovering, Íñigo de Loyola read the 1374 Vita Christi (Life of Christ) by Ludolphus de Saxonia (1295-1378), and decided to pledge his life in service to the Lord, and enact a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and “kiss the earth” on which Jesus had walked on. The 1964 statue outside the Camp Aguinaldo chapel portrays Saint Ignatius is his classic pose offering his sword and dagger to the Santa Maria de Montserrat, and offering himself as a “Soldier of Christ.”
Within the Camp Aguinaldo chapel, there is a statue of Saint Ignatius wearing his priestly garbs and holding a book with the words “Ad Majórem Dei Glóriam” (For the Greater Glory of God). This is the Jesuit motto, which Saint Ignatius has been attributed of saying “Ad maiorem Dei gloriam inque hominum salute” or “for the greater glory of God and the salvation of humanity.” In 1539, Saint Ignatius established the Societas Iesu (Society of Jesus or Jesuits) order, with St. Peter Faber (born Pierre Lefevre, 1506-1546) and St. Francis Xavier (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta, 1506-1552). And the Jesuits were confirmed by Pope Paul III (born Alessandro Farnese, 1468-1549) with the papal bull of Regimini militantis ecclesiae (To the Government of the Church Militant), and Ignatius as its Superior General. The robes of Saint Ignatius are based on the 1904 painting of Albert Chevallier Tayler (1862–1925), who created a series of works on the life of the saint.
At the left side of the altar, at the Camp Aguinaldo chapel, there is another statute of Saint Ignatius offering his sword and dagger. This sculpture was installed in the 2011, to mark the placement of a relic of the saint. The reliquary at the base of the statue is labeled ex ossibus (latin: “from the bone”), which is considered a “first class relic” of the saint. The relic was first toured around different Philippine Jesuit churches and institutions, military chapels, before it was installed at the Saint Ignatius Cathedral.
To coincide of the renaming of Camp Murphy to Camp Aguinaldo, the Saint Ignatius Church was completed along Brigadier General Mateo M. Capinpin Avenue on the 3rd of July 1964; under the command of AFP Chief Lieutenant General Alfredo Manapat Santos (1905–1990) and chaplain Captain/Fr. Juan S. Bautista. The chapel would evolve into a church and undergo several renovations in 1993 under General Lisandro C. Abadia (born 1938) and chaplain Lieutenant/Fr. Cesar F. Salomon, 1995 under General Arturo Tiongson Enrile (1940-1998), and in 2011 under General Ricardo A. David Jr. (born 1955) and chaplain Lieutenant/Fr. Albert C. Siongco. And in 2013, air-conditioned confessional boxes were installed within the church.
The Saint Ignatius de Loyola Church was designed as modern outtake on the classic Baroque church layout, with a cross shaped structure and a high ceiling with a dome. By the late 1960s, the aisles were expanded to accommodate more parishioners, whom many were coming from the Murphy District of Cubao.
The 2011 renovation continued with the modern designs, with the installation of the zig-zag stainless stell candle holders, the granite altar with the etched glass images of the Eucharist and Alpha (Α) and Omega (Ω).
The dome was repainted with a trompe-l’œil sky effect, and the installation of eight stained glass portals with the images of the Holy Eucharist, the Crucifix, the Staurogram of Tau-Rho, the Sacred Heart, and the Lamb of God.
The aisle extensions were once open-air rectangular rooms that can be closed with metal-bar gates, and sealed off from the main chapel to act as multi-function rooms for prayer vigils and wakes. The partitions to the main church have been removed, and the steel gates are augmented with sliding glass doors. And the divisions between the walls have been shaped into arches, to accommodate the stained glass images of the Stations of the Cross, which are fourteen events of the passion and death of Jesus Christ.
The choir loft was built in the 1964, but it is hardly used as the choir now performs at the right transept of the church. There was a time when the different units of the armed forces had chorales, who would sing during the masses at the choir loft. Currently, the active chorales in the AFP are the PVAO Chorale (Philippine Veterans Affairs Office) and the PNP Chorale (Philippine National Police).
The church door, or portal, was also renovated to be shaped in an arch, with a glass door. Above the doorway is a stained glass image of Saint Ignatius.
The belfry, bell tower, was constructed in 1964. At the base of the tower is a Spanish Era bell, dated 1738. The bell is dedicated to San Peter, and may have been from the Fuerza de San Pedro (Fort Saint Peter), in Cebu City, which was reconstructed at the same year. Another possible source of the bell is the San Pedro Macati Church, which was built in 1620, destroyed by the British in 1762, and reconstructed in 1849.
At the base is a mark that indicates the bell was commissioned by the Archbishop of Manila Juan Ángel Rodríguez (1687-1742), who served in the Philippines, from 1733 to 1742. There is a possibility that the bell was created by Fray Buenaventura de San Matias, O.A.R. (1708-1741), who created a set of bells for Archbishop Rodríguez, for the Manila Cathedral. Fray Buenaventura was a son of a blacksmith, hence his knowledge of making bells, which may have been cast Herrería del Rey (The King’s Ironworks) in Manila.
On the 8th of December 1950, the Philippine Military Vicariate was established by Pope Pius XII (born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli, 1876-1958), with Bishop Rufino Jiao Santos (1908-1973) serving as its first vicar. And on the 12th of April 1986, Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła, 1920-2005) decreed a Spirituale militum curæ establishing the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines (MOP), with the St. Ignatius Church as its seat. This meant that the church was now elevated into the status of a cathedral, and the Military Ordinariate equal to a diocese, with Bishop Severino Miguel Pelayo (1934-1995) as the first Military Ordinary/Apostolic Administrator.
With the establishment of the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines, the Military Ordinary/Apostolic Administrator is now ranked equal to a cardinal in the Catholic Church, and a cathedra or bishop’s throne was installed at the left side of the altar. The cathedra was installed in 2017, when Bishop Oscar Jaime Llaneta Florencio (born 1966) was appointed as the new Military Ordinary/Apostolic Administrator, and his motto of Fiat Misericórdia Tua placed on the seal above his throne. The Latin phrase means “Your Mercy,” which is taken from the Te Deum Laudamus (Thee, O God, we praise) a 387 AD hymn written by Aurelius Ambrosius (340-397 AD) or Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis (354-430 AD).
With this elevated status, the MOP has jurisdiction over the Catholic members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), the Bureau of Jail Management & Penology (BJMP), and the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC), through its chaplains.
At the left transept of the cathedral, there is a minor altar with the image of Marian Immaculate Conception, who is the primary patron of Military Ordinariate of the Philippines, and the very country itself. To the left of the Virgin Mary is either Archangel Michael or the apostle Saint James as Santiago Matamoros (Saint James the Moor-slayer). To the right is the icon of the Italian San Giovanni da Capestrano (1386-1456), who was a “soldier-priest” leading the siege of Belgrade in 1456. All three saints are patrons of soldiers.
At the end of the left transept at stained glass windows of the first Filipino saint San Lorenzo Ruiz (1594-1637), the Sacred Heart of Mary, and St. Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer y Albás (1902-1975) founder of the Opus Dei. The emphasis on St. Josemaría Escrivá at the St. Ignatius de Loyola Cathedral may be a comparison that structure of the Opus Dei is a Personal Prelature much like the military ordinates, where both institutions have clergy, lay members, and curia which would carry out specific pastoral activities.
At the end of the right transept, there are stained glass windows of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, the Divine Mercy of Jesus, and the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The right transept is also now used as the choir row of the Ignatius de Loyola Cathedral.
In a sub-altar at the right transept, there is an icon of the French saint Thérèse of Lisieux (Marie Françoise-Thérèse Martin, 1873-1897), with an unidentified relic of the saint. The devotion to St. Thérèse has been grown exponentially since here canonization in 1914, with her writings “The Story of a Soul” (l’Histoire d’une Âme) has been an inspiration for many faithful.
A co-cathedral of the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines is The Shrine of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus: Doctor of the Church, at what was once part of the Colonel Jesús Antonio Villamor Airbase in Pasay City. The shrine started in 1947 as the Michael the Archangel Chapel in the Major Gen. John J. Nichols Airbase (now Villamor). When the chapel was rebuilt to accommodate more parishioners in 1983, the church was rededicated to Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus by Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, Archbishop Bruno Landi Torpigliani (1915-1995). When relics of St. Thérèse were toured at the chapel, a plan to house the relics and build a new church, which was completed in 2007 through the efforts of then- Military Ordinary/Apostolic Administrator Bishop Ramon Cabrera Arguelles (born November 12, 1944). Within the new church is the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines’s office of the Vicar of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the St. Michael the Archangel Chapel.
The second co-cathedral Military Ordinariate of the Philippines is the Saint Joseph Pro-Cathedral (constructed in 1975 and dedicated to St. Joseph in 2018) at the Philippine National Police headquarters (PNP), Camp General Rafael Pérez de Tagle Cramé; which is also the office of the Vicar to the PNP.
Since the construction of Camp Murphy in 1935, most of the American officers and service men were of different Christian Protestant denominations, and they felt uncomfortable entering the Filipino Catholic churches. So the built their own Evangelical Episcopal church, which still stands along Brigadier General Fidel Ventura Segundo Avenue, in Camp Aguinaldo.
The AFP Ecumenical Building (built in 1975), with the coat-of-arms of the AFP Chaplain Service
Although the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines is Catholic in nature, the AFP Chaplain Service still needs to address the spiritual needs of other faiths. Hence, on the 10th of December 1975, the AFP Ecumenical Building was constructed beside the St. Ignatius of Loyola Church. Although the Ecumenical Building is headquarters of the Military Ordinariate, it has rooms to accommodate chaplains and servicemen of various faiths. And to address the specific needs of the Moslem soldiers, the Chaplain Service coordinates closely with the Salam Mosque. And for the training of all priests and other clergy who wish to become chaplains, the Domūs Josephi Formation Center at the Villamor Air Base is the training center for future chaplains. On the coat-of-arms of the AFP Ecumenical Building is the motto of the Chaplain Corps: Pro Deo et Patria (For God and Country). On the coat-of-arms, the Philippine Flag is flanked by the White Cross of Protestant churches and the Star and Crescent of the Islamic faith.
As a young boy, I would often visit the Saint Ignatius of Loyola Church, as my family moved to the Murphy District of Cubao and thus making it easier to visit my uncle, and army officer living inside Camp Aguinaldo. For all those years, I had never realized the historical wealth of this now-cathedral. And in my research and talking to the current chaplain’s staff, I realized that neither do they. And I hope that this article will give honor to the Ignatius de Loyola Cathedral and the chaplains who not only tend to the spiritual services in the men in uniform, but also join them in their operations.
Other Christian chapels under the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines:
The Immaculate Conception Chapel in Camp Aguinaldo, the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Chapel in Camp Gen. Rigoberto Joaquin Atienza, the St. Froilán Chapel at the Bureau of Fire Protection National Headquarters, the Our Mother of Perpetual Help Chapel in the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) National Headquarters, the Lady of Guadalupe Chapel at BJMP National Capitol Region Office, the St. Martin of Tours Chapel in Camp Gen. Mateo M. Capinpin, the Holy Child Chapel at the Commodore Jose S. Francisco Naval Station, the Our Lady of Loreto Chapel in the Colonel Jesus Villamor Air Base, the St. Michael the Archangel Chapel at the Philippine Army Headquarters & Headquarters Service Group (HHSG), the St. Joseph and San Lorenzo Ruiz chapels in the National Capital Region Police Office, the Santo Niño Chapel at the Presidential Security Group Headquarters, the Stella Maris Chapel in the Gen. Pascual Villasis Ledesma Naval Station, the St. Agustine of Hippo Chapel at the Army Reserve Command, the St. Joseph the Worker Chapel in the Sangley Point Naval Station, the Santo Niño Chapel at the Police National Training Institute, the St. Michael the Archangel Chapel in Camp Gen. Vicente Podico Lim, the Our Lady of Miraculous Medal Chapel at the Air Education and Training Command, the St. Andrew Chapel in the Southern Luzon Command Headquarters, the St. Michael the Archangel Chapel at Camp Efigenio C. Navarro, the Our Mother of Perpetual Help Chapel in Camp Major-Gen. Prospero Arellano Olivas, the Mary: Seat of Wisdom Chapel at the Naval Education Training Command (NETC), the St. Thomas Aquinas Chapel in Camp General Servillano Aguilar Aquino, the Our Lady of Miraculous Medal and St. Vincent Ferrer chapels at Camp O’Donnell, the St. Joseph the Worker Chapel in Fort Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay, the San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila Chapel at Camp Melchor F. dela Cruz, the St. Vincent Ferrer Chapel in Camp Marcelo A. Adduru, the Sto. Niño Chapel at Camp Henry Tureman Allen, the St. Ignatius Chapel in the Philippine Military Academy, the Our Lady of La Naval Chapel at the Poro Point Naval Station, the Our Lady of Fatima Chapel in Camp Brig. Gen. Oscar Florendo, the St. Michael Chapel at the Wallace Air Base, the St. Paul the Apostle Chapel in Camp Bádo Dángwa, the Santo Niño Chapel at Camp Gen. Simeón Arboleda Ola, the St. Michael the Archangel Chapel in the Southern Luzon Naval Forces Headquarters, the St. Martin of Tours at Camp Elias Lakandula Angeles, the Holy Cross Chapel in the Colonel Antonio Marfori Bautista Air Base, the Santo Niño Chapel at the Naval Forces West Command (NAVFORWES) headquarters, the Sacred Heart of Jesus Chapel in the Western Command (WESCOM) headquarters, the Our Lady of Fatima Chapel at Camp Gen. Macario B. Peralta Jr., the Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Chapel in Camp Martin Teófilo Delgado, the St. Jude Thaddeus Chapel at the Central Command (CENTCOM) headquarters, the St. Ignatius of Loyola Chapel in Camp Sergio Osmeña Sr., the Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage Chapel at Camp Benito Nicanor Flordeliza Ebuen Air Base, the St. Peter and Paul Chapel in the Naval Forces Central Command (NAVFORCEN) headquarters, the Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel at Camp Sec. Ruperto Cadava Kangleón, the Santo Niño Chapel in Camp Vicente Rilles Lukbán, the Our Lady of Fatima Chapel and the Our Lady of La Naval Chapel at Camp Gen. Basilio Navarro, the Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Chapel in the Gen. Edwin Dudley Buencamino Andrews Air Base, the Santo Niño Chapel at Camp Major Cesar L. Sang-an, the Santo Niño Chapel in Camp Col. Romeo Abendan, the St. Ignatius de Loyola Chapel at Camp Col. Rafael Capada Rodriguez, the St. Ignatius Chapel in Camp Edilberto Evangelista, the St. Joseph Chapel at Camp Col. Oscar F. Natividad, the St. Ignatius of Loyola Chapel in Camp Lt. Vicente G. Alagar, the Our Mother of Perpetual Help Chapel at the Comd. Felix M. Apolinario Naval Station, the St. Peter the Apostle Chapel in Camp Catitipan, the St. Michael Chapel at Camp Fermin G. Lira, Jr., the Our Lady of Lourdes Chapel in Camp Gen. General Manuel Tecson Yan Sr., the Santo Niño de Cebu Chapel at Camp Gen. Gonzalo H. Siongco, and the St. Martin de Porres Chapel in Camp Gen. Salipada Khalid Pendatun.
Past Chaplains of the Saint Ignatius of Loyola Cathedral:
1947-1954 Major Antonio T. Vera 1954-1955 Captain Vicente S. Gabriel 1955-1961 1st Lieutenant Angel Padilla 1962-1963 Captain Emilio C. Palma 1963-1964 Captain Juan S. Bautista 1965 Captain Alonso V. Caparas 1965-1966 Captain Miguel Tadifa 1966-1967 Captain Jose N. Valdez 1967 Captain Asterio M. Villamil 1967-1968 Captain Crispin Crisologo 1968-1973 Captain Gaudencio A. Dacuycuy 1973-1977 Captain Simplicio Manigque, Jr. 1977-1981 Captain Antonio H. Holipas 1981-1982 Major Teofilo S. Rustia 1982-1983 Lieutenant-Colonel John Robert M. Pernia 1983-1985 Captain Angel R. Rollo 1985-1986 Captain Arturo A. Calsado 1986-1990 Lieutenant Rodolfo A. Gallardo 1990-1992 Lieutenant Jovito F. Cordero 1992-1997 Lieutenant Cesar F. Salomon 1997-1998 Major Edione R. Febrero 1998 Major Telesforo V. Esparrago 1998-2002 Major German Tiaga 2002-2003 Lieutenant Eustacio S. Galindo 2003-2009 Major Albert C. Songco 2009-2011 Major Arnold P. Magana 2011-2012 Lieutenant Albert C. Siongco 2012-2015 Lieutenant Dionisio William Q. Beleno 2015-2019 Brigadier General Tirso A. Dolina 2018 to present Brigadier General Raul S. Ciño
Some of the American Jesuits chaplains who joined in the liberation of the Philippines (1944-1945):
Lieutenant Commander/Fr. William J. Kenealy, SJ (1904-1974) Lieutenant/Fr. Bernard R. Boylan, SJ (1905-1978) Captain/Fr. Francis J. Murphy, SJ (1905-1995) Major/Fr. Anthony G. Carroll, SJ (born 1906)
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