1860 St. Anthony Mary Claret & 2004-2005 St. Anthony Mary Claret Memorial, CSQC
At the corner of Mayumi and the 2.3 Maginhawa Street of Teachers Village, the Claret School of Quezon City is the home of the ecclesiastical Philippine Province of the Claretian missionaries (CMF or Cordis Mariae Filii in Latin, Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary), who are also called the Congregation of Missionaries, Sons of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The CMF was founded by the Spanish priest, Saint Antonio María Claret y Clarà (1807-1870), in 1949. Fr. Claret was a devotee to the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Inmaculado Corazón de María), and he wanted to create an order with that devotion to evangelize around the world. On July 1949, Claret gathered five young priests at the Seminari Conciliar (conciliar seminary) of Vic, where Claret studies and was ordained in 1829, and founded the Cordis Mariae Filii. The five priests were Father Stephen Sala y Masnou (1812-1858), Frather Manuel Vilaró y Serrat (1816-1858), Father Dominic Fábregas (1817-1895), Father Joseph Xifré y Mussach (1817-1899), and Father Jaime Clotet (1822-1898). On December 1865, Pope Pius IX (born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti, 1792-1878) officially recognized the congregation.
1716 Santa Barbara Parish of the Holy Family Church, Pangasinan
1966 Claret Minor Seminary in Zamboanga City
1974 San Antonio Maria Claret Church, Zamboanga City, photo by Arvin Buenconsejo Bellen
The Claretian missionaries arrived in the Philippines in 1946, and took over the administration of the Santa Barbara Parish of the Holy Family Church (est. 1716), in the Province of Pangasinan. Years laters, the CMF expanded their evangelization to Mindanao, Basilan and Zamboanga. Arriving in Basilan 1949, the CMF established institutions such as the Claret High Schools of Isabela, Lamitan, Maluso and Tumahubong (est. 1968); the Claret College of Isabela (formerly the Fatima High School), the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish of Maluso in 1962, and the San Vicente Ferrer Parish (est. 1969) in Tumahubong. In 1963, the whole island of Basilan was declared as the Catholic Prelature of Isabela in Basilan, with the Spanish Claretian, Most Rev. José María Querexeta, as its first bishop in 1964. Arriving in the province of Zamboanga, the CMF established the institutions such as the Parish of Las Mercedes in 1951, the Claret Minor Seminary in 1966, the Claret School of Zamboanga in 1969, the San Antonio Maria Claret Parish in Zamboanga City (est. 1974), and the Risen Christ Parish (est. 1995) in Tungawan.
1967 Claret School of Quezon City (CSQC)
By the 1960s, the CMF was looking to establish its headquarters for all its Philippine missions, in Metro Manila. Bishop Querexeta was able to acquire the 29, 101 square meter lot, and in 1967 the Claret School of Quezon City opened its boys elementary school. The first buildings were named after founding Claretians, Fr. Xifré and Fr. Clotet, and were designed by Arc. Arturo Mañalac.
Arch. Arturo M. Mañalac (1915-1990) had built a reputation as a designer of Catholic churches, often combining traditional church architecture with modern styles during the mid to latter 20th century. Mañalac was a graduate of the School of Architecture of the University of Santo Tomas (UST), following in the footsteps of his uncle, Antonio Mañalac Toledo (1889-1972). In his travels to the United States, Mañalac was exposed to the Californian mission style of the Mexican-American Catholic expansions in the 1900s. Looking at the simplicity of this genre, Mañalac knew this style would be the best to employ in the humid weather of the Philippines, as well as capture the growing interest in modern architecture, which he had first explored with Art Deco; as seen in the 1944 Gala-Enriquez House in Sariaya, Quezon Province. Before working with the mission style, Arch. Mañalac would experiment on the elements of classical Philippine Baroque, Neo-Gothic and Neo-Romanesque styles; such as the 1941 Baroque Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in the Kamuning area, the 1950 Neo-Romanesque Immaculate Conception Parish in Cubao, and the Augustinian Recollect’s Neo-Gothic 1952 Convento de San Sebastian in Sampaloc, 1953 Casiciaco Recoletos Seminary in Baguio, and the Immaculate Conception Cathedral Parish, in Puerto Princesa City.For his Mission Style works, Arch. Mañalac created works for the Franciscan order; such as the 1947 reconstruction of the Saint Anthony Shrine in Sampaloc, the 1950 Monasterio de Santa Clara and 1957 Santa Rita de Cascia Parish in Quezon City, and the 1953 Santuario De San Antonio Parish in Makati City. Arch. Mañalac also served as the director of the United Architects of the Philippines (UAP), and president of the Philippine Institute of Architects (PIA).
Claret School of Quezon City (CSQC), Sport Center
Just a year into its operations, there was a growing demand from parents of the neighboring Teachers Village and Sikatuna Village to enroll their sons in other grade levels, so in 1986, the Intermediate Grade School Department was opened. And in 1972, the High School Department was established. With the growing population, three more buildings were constructed by the 1990s, named after Fr. Sala, Fr. Vilaró and Fr. Fàbregas. In 2001, Claret Child Study Center was launched, and followed by the Claret Sports Center.
St. Anthony Mary Claret
Throughout the campus, there are sculptures of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and St. Claret, which were installed in the 1990s. These wooden icons were created by Luisito Ac-Ac (born 1952), from the carving town of Paete, Laguna Province. Ac-ac took his further studies at the University of the Philippines, College of Fine Arts, to major in Visual Communication. Ac-ac also minored in sculpture, where he apprenticed under fellow Pateño, Froilan Madriñan, and National Artists, Napoleon Abueva. Upon graduating, Ac-Ac worked as an illustrator at the Bookman Printing and Kayumanggi Press and El Dorado Comics of Graphic and Atlas. He later returned to his home town, and has been practicing wood carving hence.
1967 Claret School of Quezon City (CSQC) Auditorium
From the opening of the Claret School of Quezon City in 1967, the neighboring communities would go to its auditorium to attend Sunday mass for the CMF priests. However, the chapel was too small for the growing community, so in CMF moved to have a church erected within its compound. By 1969, the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish (IHMP) was institutionalized, under the Archdiocese of Manila. Despite the naming the new parish, it would take almost a decade before a church to be constructed.
1977 Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish
While the CMF and the local communities were conductive various fund raising activities, the family of Arch. Orlando M. Mateo, a resident of the nearby Sikatuna Village, recommended his boss, the National Artist for Architecture, Leandro Locsin to design the new church. Completed in 1977, the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish was created to look like a traditional “Salakot” hat, showcasing Locsin’s “Modern Filipino” aesthetics. This modernist approached is continued with the expressionist sculptures of the Spanish Claretian priest, Fr. Segundo Gutiérrez y Domínguez (1932-2012), and the National Artist for Sculpture, Napoleón Isabelo “Billy” Veloso Abueva (1930-2018).
1972-75 Leandro Locsin – Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish
Leandro Valencia Locsin (1928-1994) is a man of many talents and interests, as evident in his entry to pre-law, then transferring to music and then architecture at the University of Santo Tomas. Early in his career, Locsin was creating theater sets for ballet and musical performances. Throughout his career, Locsin has designed 71 residences, 81 buildings, and 1 state palace; among these are 9 churches and chapels, and 17 government buildings. Best known for his massive, yet very breezy architectural style, Locsin’s most famous works are the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the Folk Arts Theatre, the Philippine International Convention Center, 1976; and the Philippine Plaza Hotel, the National Arts Center at Makiling, Los Baños, Laguna, the terminal of the Manila International Airport, and the Istana Nurul Iman (Palace of Religious Light), the palace of the Sultan of Brunei, which has a total floor area of 200,000 square meters. Locsin has garnered much recognition throughout his career, including the Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) Award for Architecture in 1959, the American Institute of Architects Hawaii Chapter’s Pan-Pacific Citation for consistent excellence in design in 1961, the Rizal Centennial Award for Architecture in 1962, the Republic Cultural Heritage Award in 1970, the Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan Award in 1972, and the Gold Medal Award from the Philippine Institute of Architects in 1978, an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1980, the United Architects of the Philippines’ Likha Award and Gold Medal, and National Artist in Architecture in 1990.
Claretian Missionaries
Beside the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish is the Claretian Provincial Curia Community compound. Within the compound are the offices of the Provincial Curia, the Claretian Missionaries Convent (est. 1967), the Claret Postulancy House, and the Claret Vocation Office. Another notable institution in the compound is the Claretian Communications Foundation, Inc., the publishing arm of the CMF. Established in 1981 as the Claretian Publications in 1981, the Claretian Communications handles the production and distribution of religious books, electronic and audio books, and videos.
1988 Claret College Seminary & 1993 Meditation Garden
With the closing of the Zamboanga Minor Seminary, the Claretian Provincial Curia Community compound was getting too crowded to retain the Claretian novices. In 1985, the Claret Theology House opened along Tandang Sora Avenue, 3.9 kilometers away. This was followed by the acquisition of Sanville Subdivision property, along Cenacle Drive, and the opening of the Claret Formation Center (now the Claret College Seminary) in 1988. Within the Sanville compound were the Freshman and Sophomore Dormitory (built 1988, now the Stephen Sala Dormitory), the Joseph Xifre Dormitory (built 2000, now the Potulants House), and the Claret Retreat House (built 2002).
1975 Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, photo by Claret Seminary Philippines
2005 St. Anthony Mary Claret Memorial, CSQC
Despite starting their missions later that more established Catholic orders, such as the Dominicans and Jesuits; the Philippine Clartian communities continue to grow. There are three more Claretian missions and churches in the Philippines, aside from those mentioned earlier: the San Antonio Maria Claret Parish in Novaliches, the Claretian Ormoc Community (est. 2004) in the Province of Leyte, and the Claret Mission in Saranggani (est. 2013) in Koronadal City; which illustration the continuing legacy and advocacy of the CMF to spread the gospel.
Teachers Village, Quezon City: The History of the CMF and the Claret School Compound At the corner of Mayumi and the 2.3 Maginhawa Street of Teachers Village, the Claret School of Quezon City…