Blessing of our Home for the Elderly and Sick Sisters
His Excellency Bishop Buenaventura Famadico, D.D. presided the Mass on January 24, 2021, on the occasion of the blessing of Casa Romero, our home for the elderly and sick Sisters. Due to the health protocols of the Covid-19 pandemic, very few guests were invited even among the Sisters. The idea of building this home was born during the term of Sr. Alice Fulgencio as provincial superior (2003-2009) and fundraisers formally started in the time of Sr. Sarah Garcia (2009-2015). The “Bahay na Pangarap” (dream home) was finally built in the 6th year of Sr. Mabel Pilar as provincial superior. The gratitude of all the Sisters in the Province is best expressed in the following excerpts of Sr. Mabel’s message for the Blessing of Casa M. Romero:
“On behalf of the FMA Philippines - Papua New Guinea Province, I would like to thank Mother Yvonne and the General Council for inspiring and supporting us in this common endeavor. We also thank our very kind contractor Bing Sinon and her team for their hard work and sacrifices … in accomplishing their work despite the challenges brought about by the pandemic. Thanks too, to our dear friend and mentor Sr. Celeste Parilla, PDDM for her availability and readiness to share her expertise in the field of architecture and fine arts … Our heartfelt thanks too to our dear Sr. Cathy Urgello, our provincial economer, who made herself available to follow up all the concerns and the nitty-gritty of construction and furnishing. To all our generous friends and benefactors both here and abroad, all the FMA Educating Communities including our communities in PNG, the families and relatives of the Sisters, our past pupils, especially the National Federation Core Group, and the 2000 Dreamers of 2kD Team of Holy Trinity Academy, and all the Sisters of the Province, my sincere and wholehearted gratitude. Without your untiring support and great love for our sick and elderly Sisters through all these years, this beautiful home will not be here standing today…" Here is the inscription that shall be placed on the Gratitude Wall of Casa Romero: This is a house that love and gratitude built. Casa Maria Romero stands as an eloquent witness to Divine providence and the determined, persevering efforts of our Provincial Educating Community to provide a home for our elderly FMA. Let its every brick and stone sing in gratitude, and may the lives of those who dwell herein, whom Don Bosco wishes to be his “living monuments of gratitude to Mary,” transform this “Bahay na Pangarap” into a “Bahay ng Pasasalamat” to all those who built it with their generosity and love.
