Project 4, Quezon City: The History of the Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Parish

1950 Monasterio de Santa Clara (established 1630), Aurora Boulevard

During the post-war Reconstruction Era, one of the major government programs was the Homesite relocation projects for Manila residents displaced by the devastation of World War II. The Homesite Project 4 was completed in 1950, at the same time as the Franciscan Order of the Poor Clares’s Monasterio de Santa Clara along Aurora Boulevard, which served as the spiritual center of the community for almost two decades. However, as the years past and the communities of the Homesite Projects 2, 3, and 4 grew, along with the neighboring residents of Katipunan Avenue, the Monasterio de Santa Clara and the nearby Saint Joseph Parish could no longer manage the administration of the sacraments to the population.

1964 Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, Cubao

For the Project 4 community, a small chapel was built at the corner of Agustin de Legazpi and Casimiro “El Tulisan” Camerino streets, and dedicated to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, due to the Filipino’s devotion to the Immaculate Conception and the resurgence of belief in the Miraculous Medal. This was strengthened by the growing devotion of key Franciscan priests at the Monasterio de Santa Clara, who were inspired by teachings and work of the Polish Franciscan saint Maximilian Kolbe (born Rajmund Kolbe, 1894-1941), and later the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate (Congregatio Fratrum Franciscanorum Immaculatae, est. 1970). The new chapel was administered by the priests from the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Cubao.

1806 Saint Catherine Gontard Labouré (1806-1876) and the Medal of Our Lady of Graces

The Miraculous Medal or Medal of Our Lady of Graces is based on the vision of the French saint Catherine Gontard Labouré (1806-1876) of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in 1830. The medal was executed by Adrien-Jean-Maximilien Vachette (1753-1839), which features at the front the Immaculate Conception with her arms open as if ready to embrace her children,  as she stands on top of the globe that signifies her assumption to heaven, while her foot is crushing the serpent of sin, and the Mediatrix rays of light of grace shine from her hands. At the back side is the letter “M” with a Cross and bar of the mother of Jesus the redeemer, the Sacred Heart of Jesus (left) and the Immaculate Heart of Mary (right) with the flames of love, and the twelve stars of the apostles. Inscribed on the front of the medal is:

Ô Marie, conçue sans péché, priez pour nous qui avons recours à vous

O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you

1976 Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, Project 4

In a few years, the 1950s chapel gave way to the construction of a larger church. The Apostleship of Prayer, the Project 4 Women’s Club and Fr. Melquiades Ramos initiated the request for a new parish in 1961, and the cornerstone was laid on 6^th of April 1966 by Mayor Norberto Salandanan Amoranto (1907-1979). When Fr. Ramos stepped down as the chapel administrator in 1971, Fr. Federico V. Navarro took over the position and saw the completion of the church in 1974, with its consecration on 22^nd of June of that year by Cardinal Jaime Lachica Sin (1928-2005). And on the 3^rd of December 1974, Cardinal Sin placed the Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Church under the jurisdiction of the Vicariate of Saint Joseph, and later transferred to the Vicariate of Our Lady of Perpetual Help  on the 24^th of March 1983.

1976 Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, Project 4

The Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Parish is a simple low-ceiling Mission Style architecture with modernist accents, inspired by the Mission Style used by Arch. Arturo M. Mañalac (1915-1990) for the Monasterio de Santa Clara. The church was declared a parish on the 4^th of September 1976, and canonically erected as a parish on the 19^th of October of that same year.

1976 Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, Altar and Nave

During the 1996 to 2003 term of Fr. Emmanuel O. Suarez (1952-2013), the Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Parish (OLMMP) went through a major renovation in 2001, as part of the church’s 25^th anniversary celebrations. The renovations included the painting of the ceiling with a trompe-l’œil sky to make the building feel more spacious, and the installation of the Baroque styled retablo (altarpiece) and tabernacle of the Four Evangelists. Fr. Sarez was a dynamic parish priest, serving at the OLMMP from 1996 to 2003, the Santa Rita de Cascia Parish in Philam Homes from 2003 to 2006, the Santa Maria della Strada Parish from 2006 to 2012, and the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Project 6 from 2012 to 2013  until his passing in 2013. Before serving at the OLMMP, Fr. Sarez was the parish priest of the Parokya ng Ina ng Laging Saklolo in Tayabas  and the Sagrada Familia Parish in Caloocan; and he worked as the Executive Director Foundation for the Development of the Urban Poor (FDUP, est. 1988), president and director of the Bahay Pari Credit Cooperative (est. 1996), a board member of the Urban Land Reform Task Force (ULR-TF), member of the Presbyterial Council of the Archdiocese of Manila, co-chairman of the Committee on Housing of the Bishops-Businessmen’s Conference (BBC), treasurer of Center for Agrarian Reform and Development (CARRD), and pastoral director of the Diocesan Ministry for Liturgical Affairs Diocese of Cubao.

2009 Oratory and Garden

During the 2006 to 2012 term of Fr. Arnel F. Recinto (born 1967), an Oratory Chapel and Garden was constructed at the southwestern corner of the church. The Oratory Chapel was built as part of the 2009-2010 special Year of the Priest, on the 150^th anniversary of the “dies natalis” of Saint Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney (1786-1859), patron saint of the clergy. The garden is open to the public for the faithful to have a quite respite under the trees.

1976 Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, Narthex

During the 1982 to 1989 term of Msgr. Severino O. Lorica, Remedios Padilla founds the Third Order of Carmel (TOC) / the Secular Carmelite Order (SCO) at the OLMMP in 1983, making the church part of the Lay Carmelite NCR North Province. The TOC was founded in 1476, and established in the Philippines in 1954 by Fr. Fidelis Ruben F. Limcaco (1926-2019), at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral. The Lay Carmelite NCR North Province is comprised of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral of Cubao canonical community (est. 1954), the Parish of The Lord of Divine Mercy canonical community in Sikatuna (est. 1993), the Parish of Christ the King canonical community in Project 7, and the Parish of the Holy Family canonical community in Kamias.

1976 Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, Aisle and Stained Glass Windows of the Stations of the Cross

Since its conception in 1961, the Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Parish has been part of the development of the fifteen barangays of Project 4, and has a played a key role in many events of the area. Despite not having any fixtures and design created by known architects and artists, the OLMMP is a refuge for the residents of Project 4, and that is all that it is truly important.

1976 Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, Parish Office

The past and present parish priests of the Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Parish:

Fr. Federico V. Navarro	1972-1977
Bishop Severino Miguel Pelayo (1934-1995)	1977-1982
Msgr. Severino O. Lorica	1982-1989
Fr. Alfonso A. Bugaoan, Jr.	1989-1994
Fr. Celestino V. Pascual	1994-1996
Fr. Emmanuel O. Sarez (1952-2013)	1996-2003
Fr. Roberto P. Reyes (born 1955)	2003-2006
Fr. Arnel F. Recinto (born 1967)	2006-2012
Fr. Honorato N. Nadua, Jr.	2012-2018
Fr. Nelson C. Orqueta	2018 to present