tidbits

Thursday, January 12, 2012

DIOCESAN CENTRUM OF TAGBILARAN

In line with the five year preparation for the Diamond Jubilee Anniversary of the Foundation of Diocese of Tagbilaran that set up pastoral programs for the development of the Basic Ecclesial Communities through the proclamation of the Gospel and subsequent catecheses on several important areas of our faith, the administration also envisions the integral development of the physical plant of the center of the diocese. Called the Development of the Diocesan Centrum of Tagbilaran, it is a project that serves to complement the spiritual growth of our people as it is envisaged to express in stone, concrete, wood, arts, hues, and lines the lived and in some way inculturated Faith of our people. With this project the Diocese hopes that our cherished Catholic Faith may live on.

Rationale of the Development of the Diocesan Centrum

The Diocesan Centrum of Tagbilaran is the administrative, religious, liturgical, historical, and pastoral centre of the Diocese of Tagbilaran. Located in kilometer 0, it is the heart and nerve of the People of God in the ecclesiastical jurisdiction. It encompasses the Bishop’s Palace (PALASYO), the Cathedral , the Formation Center, and its open Spaces.

The development of the Diocesan Centrum is a project envisaged to streamline the governance of the particular Church in Tagbilaran by rationalizing the areas where the administrative and pastoral work of the Bishop, his priests, and lay cooperators are conducted and by maximizing its physical spaces to accommodate the living quarters of its priests.

The project proceeds in two phases. The first phase is to revitalize the Palasyo. This is an undertaking that would rehabilitate its late 18th-century historical core and the 1950 façade. Its rear elevation and interior will be substantially renovated to articulate Boholano architecture.

The second phase involves the reconfiguration of the Diocese’s formation house located at the back of the Cathedral converting it into additional office spaces for the other departments of the Diocesan Curia, and into meeting rooms and conference halls open for the use of the Christian Faithful. Living suites on its upper floors are also contemplated to serve the guests, visitors, and pilgrims who would wish to avail of the Diocese’s modest hospitality.

PHASE 1: Rehabilitating the Tagbilaran Palasyo
The Palasyo is the official residence of the Bishop of Tagbilaran. It is the seat of the Diocesan Curia. It is from its hearth that our Bishop governs the Diocese as father in the Faith, and as faithful steward of Catholicity. It is from its heart where young priests are nurtured, the middle-aged are nourished, and the senior clergy are nursed.

The Palasyo is also the priests’ home, the central residence, the common resting abode – as it always had been for their Jesuit and Recollect predecessors.
However, the Palasyo has seen better days. We need a better home that addresses the priests’ personal and pastoral needs. Hence, the urgent need for the rehabilitation project. It has to be a residence that respects the structure’s late 18th century historical core. While preserving its 1950’s façade, the Palasyo articulates Boholano architecture on its rear elevation and in the interior design so that it becomes iconic for the island and its inhabitants, an emblem of the Church taking its root in Bohol, a symbolic capital of God’s home for His children.

In brief, the project Development of the Diocesan Centrum of Tagbilaran, Phase 1, calls for the following major structural alterations, viz., a renovated and capacious chapel where the Bishop, together with his priests, celebrate the canonical hours, the Holy Sacraments, and especially the worship of the Most Holy Eucharist; lounges, courtyards, balconies, and recreation rooms for communal activities; and, personal living quarters, formal and informal dining halls, receiving halls, and a reading room will complement the residence. The office spaces of the Diocesan Curia will be optimized to streamline the diocesan pastoral governance.

…that Faith may live on.