THE BUILDING OF ST. IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA

PARISH CHURCH

            At the outset let it be understood that by Church is meant not only for physical structure, but also or more substantially, the community of worshippers within the geographical boundaries of the St. Ignatius Parish.  The Parish used to include other barangays like Talon-Talon, Mampang, Tugbungan, Guiwan, Putik, Lumbangan, Lunzuran, Lumayang, and Divisoria.  With the creation of new parishes of Talon-Talon, Tugbungan, Putik, Guiwan, St. Ignatius is now only the entire barangay of Tetuan wihich is still the biggest of 98 barangays in the City of Zamboanga and with a population of more than 25,000 – bigger than some municipalities in the neighboring provinces of Zamboanga de Sur and Zamboanga del Norte.

            Records shows that at the start, there was a small chapel constructed on a lot. Owned by Don Balbino Natividad, a permanent resident of Tetuan.  (The Natividad is one of the biggest clans in the Parish spread throughout the city up to the hinterlands and reputed to be large property owners.  Members held various positions in the government and parishes.  At least one became a Jesuit priest).  In January of 1863, apparently having reached the required number of Catholic would be parishioners and with the availability of the would-be parish priest, the St. Ignatius of Loyola Parish was created with a Jesuit, Rev. Fr. Ramon Barua, SJ as its first Parish Priest.  Recently, the street fronting the Church grounds, stretching from the diocesan seminary along Don Alfaro Street to Don Toribio Street was renamed Fr. Ramon Barua, SJ Street, in, lieu of Padre Jose Burgos, a Filipino priest and patriot who might have never served in Mindanao in his entire priesthood.  It was a legislative act with which Padre Burgos himself might not find fault since his fellow priest although a Jesuit and a Spaniard, was serving well the Filipino faithful even during those turbulent revolutionary days in the country.

             A bigger lot was acquired later and a bigger Church was built and this is the same site where the longest and widest renovated St. Ignatius of Loyola Parish Church is about to be completed.  The new Immaculate Conception Cathedral may be the tallest Church in the country, but it is not as spacious as the new Tetuan Parish Church.  It suits well the parish, being the biggest barangay in this highly urbanized City of Zamboanga.

             The name St. Ignatius of Loyola it is very significant not only because the faithful followers of the soldier-saint were ministering to the needs of the Church in Mindanao at the time, but also because for the next 90 years – from 1863-1953 – only Jesuits served as Parish Priest in this parish.

             There is no truth to the rumor that Jesuit-trained or Atenean Tetuanos would someday petition the Archbishop to appoint only Jesuit or Jesuit-trained as their parish priest to keep the Ignatian fervor burning.  It is significant to note though that prominent Tetuanos continue to send their sons and daughters to the Jesuit Ateneo de Zamboanga – their very own Alma Mater. Understandably, there is always a Jesuit available for mass in the Parish even on Sundays or on days when the diocesan priests are on retreat.

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