Parish celebrates 25th foundation anniversary
By St. Jude Thaddeus Parish
The Parish of St. Jude Thaddeus in Concepcion Grande, Naga City, was canonically erected on June 28, 1997, upon the recommendation of Rev. Msgr. Juan Alarcon, then parish priest of the Immaculate Conception Parish, and upon the the advice of Rev. Fr. Rogelio Largoza, the Vicar Forane of St. John the Evangelist Parish.
From then on, the parish has been an important center of Catholic faith in this heavily residential area of Naga City. Rev. Msgr. Jose Roberto Z. Carpio, a former resident formator of the Holy Rosary Major Seminary was installed as the first Parish Priest.
The creation of the parish was occasioned by the reasonable spiritual and pastoral needs of barangays Concepcion Grande and Del Rosario, which were formerly within the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Immaculate Conception Parish.
That time, Barangay Concepcion Grande had around 7,598 residents and was composed of the following sitios and Ssubdivisions: Villa Sorabella, Sitio Magdalena, Ramaida Village, Sitio Sapang Palay, BF Homes, Villa Grande Homes, and Almeda Village; while Del Rosario had around 5,021 residents and was composed of the following sitios and Subdivisions: Sitio Salvacion, Villa Corazon Subdivision, Doña Conchita, Monte Cielo and Jardin Real I and II.
The formal erection of the Parish and the installation of its parish priest took place on June 28, 1997, at the chapel of Villa Grande Homes, with Rev. Msgr. Benjamin Reblando, Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Caceres, reading the decree of erection.
St. Jude Thaddeus whose feast day is celebrated every 28th of October was also named titular patron of the parish. Providentially, the parish attained its dream and desired objective through the generosity of the Almeda Family who donated 3,000-square meter lot in Almeda Village.
The donated space for the church proved ideal as the place of the parish church as it sits between the two barangays.
The construction work ran smoothly and with facility with the professional assistance of Architect Benedicto Reyes who offered his service generously.
Fund drives, including tithes, pledges, donations from goodhearted parishioners and devotees, were initiated to defray the construction expenses. With the aid from the Archbishop Leonardo Z. Legaspi, OP, DD, the church construction began on February 28, 1999.
On October 28, 2014, Most Rev. Rolando Tria Tirona issued a Decree of Conferment establishing the parish as an Archdiocesan Shrine.
Today the parish has 11 pastoral areas with their corresponding mission stations and has embraced the pastoral thrust of establishing Saradit na Kristyanong Komunidad.