Priest builds houses of God to renew faith

FLORIDABLANCA -- Fr. Jess G. Manabat of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish here is regarded as the "builder priest" of Pampanga.

Devout Roman Catholics disclosed that Manabat had built a church, parish hall and convent at the Mawaque Resettlement Center (MRC) in Mabalacat City when he was assigned in the area for about four years beginning 1998.

"Father Jess is the builder priest of Pampanga. He builds the houses of God and improves the church's facilities as soon he takes over a parish," said long-time MRC residents who witnessed how Manabat had started from scratch and then worked for the construction of all the necessary facilities in the parish dominated by victims of Mt. Pinatubos eruption.

Manabat said he had initially lived at the MRCs hospital because there was no shelter for me and not even a chapel for the thousands of residents. He said what he had immediately done was to remind people that the lack of a church or chapel should not stop them from holding Holy Masses. He added that he had turned one of the rooms at the hospital into a chapel. Manabat said they held Holy Mass on Sundays at the streets.

We continue the mass at the streets even when the rains are strong. Expressing faith and devotion to God should not be stopped by the lack of an ideal place and rains, he added.

Manabat said he had asked families at the MRC to donate at least P20 each for the construction of the church and other facilities. Many of them gave more than P20 each. They were determined to have their own church, he added. Manabat said the church, parish hall and convent at the MRC were all completed over a period of fours year. He added: I was starting to enjoy the collective fruits of labor when I got a new assignment as a parish priest in another place.

A very challenging experience but a rewarding one, said Manabat in describing his stint as parish priest of the MRCs Christ the Prince of Peace Parish. He said he was down by dengue while living at the MRC hospital. He added that he almost died and his doctor had to use 15 bags of blood to save him.

In recent interview at the Sacred Heart of Jesus convent-church at the Palmayo Resettlement here, Manabat said he is attracting parishioners with liturgical arts. "I make the Church and its facilities very attractive to the people so they will attend mass and other religious activities more often than usual. Then I implant in their hearts and minds the importance of working together to keep the Church beautiful and sacred. More importantly, we have to remember that the real church is the people of God. The People of God is the Body of Christ, which is the Church."

Manabat said he was an elementary student when he felt "the artist in me," particularly on designing rooms and buildings. "I ended up as a priest and not an architect or interior designer," he added in a jest.

Manabat, a native of Macabebe town, studied at the Mother of Good Counsel Seminary at the City of San Fernando, Pampanga and he was one of the 30 students of the 1984 batch. He said they were asked to transfer rooms yearly at the seminary. He added that his classmates had raced to win the rights to occupy the room he just vacated. I design and fix my room well. I do the same thing on a larger scale when I am assigned as a parish priest.

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Priest builds houses of God to renew faith