In the beginning

The Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish (IHMP), was created on July 21, 1969 by virtue of an issuance called "Decreto de Ereccion" by Archbishop Rufino `Cardinal' Santos of the Archdiocese of Manila.

It was carved from the Sacred Heart Parish in Kamuning District, Quezon City and its boundaries were:
North- Quezon Boulevard-Commonwealth Avenue
West: - Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (Edsa)
South- Transmission Line-Metropolitan Water Pipe Line
East- U.P. Boundary

It covered barangays Botocan, Malaya, San Vicente, Old Capitol Site, Central District, Pinyahan, Sikatuna Village. Teachers Village (now split into East & West), Botanical Garden, Forestry, Pechayan, NIA site, UP Village and UP campus.
The Claretian Missionary Fathers (CMF) more popularly known as "Claretians" were assigned by the Archdiocese of Manila to administer the newly created parish.
The selection of the Claretian Fathers as administrators of the IHMP was very logical.
The Claretians had previously acquired from the defunct Philippine Housing and Homesite Corporation (PHHC) now the National Housing Authority (NHA) a tract of land in UP Village which they intended to use as the site for the Claret School they were to build in Diliman District, Quezon City.
As quid pro quo, the Claretians committed to segregate a portion of the Claret school lot to be used as the site for the parish church.
Today, the IHMP has a population estimated at 80,000 parishioners.

The pioneering years

1969: In order to accommodate requests from U.P. and Teachers Village residents, the Claret School's auditorium located at the ground floor of the school's main building was converted into a temporary chapel.

April 5: Holy Thursday, the first Mass as well as the Holy Week liturgy were celebrated in the Claret School auditorium.
September 7: The IHMP was inaugurated and Rev. Fr. Jesus Vazquez, cmf was installed as the first parish priest.

1970: On May 3 the laying of the cornerstone of the Church was held at 4:30 PM with Bishop Artemio G. Casas, Katulong ng Arsobispo ng Maynila officiating.

Among the myriads of the VIPs and sponsors for the affair were Mayor and Mrs. Norberto Amoranto; UP Law Dean Irene Cortes; Comm. and Mrs. Conrado Diaz, Atty. and Mrs. Juanito Doctor; Senator and Mrs. Neptali Gonzales (then a congressman); Mayor and Mrs. Jose Luciano;

Vice-Mayor (then) and Mrs. Mel Mathay; Commodore and Mrs. Dioscoro Papa and Congressman Frisco San Juan.

Immediately after the laying of the cornerstone, the construction of the Church went into high gear.

1972: Fr. Jose Maria Albistur, cmf succeeded Fr. Jesus Vasquez as parish priest and Bro. Jose C. Villareal was appointed the first President of the newly created Parish Pastoral Council (PPC).

Starting May of that year, Masses were celebrated in the church even while the civil works on the building were in full swing. The Parish returned the use of the Claret auditorium to the school.

On September 2, the IHMP Catholic Women's League was organized with Sis. Josefa "Pepay" Antonio-Pattugalan as its charter president.

Sis. Pepay was succeeded by Rosario Magno (1974-1977); Nieves Dayrit (1979-1981); Juliana C. Rodriguez (1982-1983); Augustina E. Urbano (1984-1985); Amelia S. Uichanco (1986); Mini Agloro+ (1987-1989); Carolina Bautista (1990-1993); Nonita R. de Mesa (1994-1997); Anatalia Z. de Belen (1998-2000); Remedios S. Manliclic (2000-2002); Vicky P. de Castro (2002-2004).

1973: Fr. Santiago Gonzales, cmf took over from Fr. Albistur with Bro. Jose Evangelista as PPC President.

Santiago Gonzales, cmf

1975: Bro. Melencio Magno was appointed PPC President for a 4-year term

1976: Fr. Ignacio Blanco, cmf took over from Fr. Gonzales serving as cura paroco until 1982.

Ignacio A. Blanco, cmf

1977: May 27 was a red letter day for the parish. On this day, the Immaculate Heart of Mary was installed as the Patroness of the parish. Also on this occasion, wood-carved icons of the Risen Lord and the Immaculate Heart of Mary sculpted by Claretian priest Fr. Segundo Gutierrez from narra, a Philippine hardwood were blessed.

On June 21, by virtue of an issuance from the Archdiocese of Manila the UP campus including Krus na Ligas were segregated from IHMP to form part of the Parish of the Holy Sacrifice based at the UP campus.

1979: Bro. Guillermo C. Herrera (now deceased) took over the PPC Presidency from Bro. Mel Magno.

1981: By the middle of the year, the construction of the ceiling as well as the installation of the lighting fixtures, ceiling fans and sound system were completed.

On September 1981 Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin officiated at the unveiling and blessing of the Abueva sculpture of the 14 Stations of the Cross with former First Lady Leonila Garcia as a special guest. Mrs. Leonila Garcia and Prof. Napoleon Abueva both come from Bohol province.

Carmelo L. Astiz, cmf

1982: Fr. Carmelo Astiz, cmf succeeded Fr. Blanco as parish priest and Bro. Pacifico Punzalan was appointed PPC President.

1983: Bro. Roberto Miguel (also now deceased) took over from Bro. Herrera as PPC President. The iron-bar and concrete fencing of the churchyard was completed and the pavements upgraded.

In June of that year, the IHMP Eucharist League was organized with Sis. Ching Serraon as its first president with a term of 5 years. Sis. Ching was succeeded by Sis. Charing Magno who served a president from 1989-1998. Sis. Mini Agloro took over in April 1998 but six months later, she died. Sis. Zeny Lumba succeeded Sis. Mini in December 1998 who likewise died while in office in November 2001. The following month, the incumbent president, Sis. Vigin Torres was elected as such in December.

1984: Fr. Domingo Moraleda, cmf was appointed parish priest.

Domingo M. Moraleda, cmf

1985: Fr. Juan Manuel Suñaz, cmf took over as pastor from Fr. Moraleda.

Juan Manuel L. Suñaz, cmf

Angel C. Calvo, cmf

1986: Fr. Angel Calvo, cmf became interim parish priest and Bro. Felix `Peyette' Lukban was named PPC President. Bro. Peyette initiated the construction of the Adoration Chapel. He is also credited with the installation of the ceiling and wall fans in the church. He initiated the installation of a sophisticated sound system.

Peyette Lukban

1986 Fr. Desiderio Martin took over for an 8-year term.

Des Martin, cmf

1989: The Parish Renewal Experience (PREX) movement was organized in April 1989 with Kuya Tony and Ate Aida Reyeg as the 1^st Chaircouple. The PREX Class No. 1 was held from April 29 - May 1, 1989. The Reyegs were succeeded as Prex Chaircouple by Kuya Nemie and Ate Elsie Peralta [April 1993]; Kuya Pip and Ate Wilma Cua [April 1994]; Kuya Rudy and Ate Zeny Lee [September 1994]; Kuya Sonny and Ate Maribel Miguel, now residing in USA [July 1995]; Kuya Caloy+ and Ate Norie Fernandez [December 1996]; Kuya Art and Ate Tess Cordova [October 1997]; Kuya Rem and Ate Vi Toledano [March 2001] todate.

1990: Bro. Melanio Alvarez, dean of the Lay Ministers of the Eucharist was appointed PPC President.

When Bro. Mel Alvarez took over as PPC President, the roof of the church was leaking all over. It was dilapidated and in a state of disrepair. By the end of his term the church had a brand-new roof.

Bro. Mel Alvarez completed the construction of the Adoration Chapel started by Bro. Peyette Lukban. He also purchased a heavy duty electric generator for use in case of brown-outs. This genset is still in use today.

1992: Sis. Marilyn Bala was appointed the first and only woman PPC President.

1993: On February 19, Sikatuna Village and barangays Botocan and Malaya were segregated from IHMP to form a new parish called the Parish of the Lord of Divine Mercy. As recounted by Fr. Desiderio Martin:

"One day in the early 1990's when Fr. Domingo Moraleda, cmf, was still the Provincial Superior of the Claretians, His Eminence, Jaime Cardinal Sin came on an official visitation to the parish and was brought to Sikatuna Village. He saw that the people were ready. It was easy for the Cardinal to agree that a new parish be created composed of Sikatuna Village, barangays Botocan and Malaya.

1994: Fr. Daniel Deloso, cmf was appointed pastor vice Fr. Martin and Bro. Epifanio `Pip' and Wilma Cua were appointed as the first PPC Chair-couple. The PCC adopted a new policy of making the PPC leadership conjugal in order to involve the other spouse in all activities within PPC concern.

Dani Deloso, cmf

Pip & Wilma Cua

The Parish Pastoral Council under the leadership of Chaircouple Pip and Wilma started the first serious effort to develop the church basement and upgrade existing facilities.

For this purpose, the PPC under their leadership launched a series of fund raising campaigns, all of which proved to be successful. By the end of their term, the following church basement projects were completed among others:

·refurbishing and expansion of the Parish Office

Parish Office

·upgrading of the Jerusalem Formation Room and its facilities

·demolition of the stinking toilets

·construction of the Nazareth and Jordan function rooms

Free Medical Clinic/Jordan Room

·construction of two mortuaries, namely the Resurrection and Ascension chapels

Ascencion Chapel

·construction of the PPC Conference Room now the Basic Ecclesial Community (BEC) Center

·tile paving of the Patio Mariana and

·construction of sanitary comfort rooms for men and women.

1997: Bro. Cris and Marica Datu were appointed PPC Chaircouple vice Bro. Pip and Wilma Cua .

1998: Fr. Juan Manuel `Bong' Suñaz, cmf makes a come back as IHM parish priest.

On May 31, Fr. Bong Suñaz inaugurated the present Adoration Chapel, built according to the specifications of the Arzobispado.

Fr. Bong also initiated the development of a portion of the church's front patio as a `Hardin ng Kabataan with a concrete statue of the Immaculate Heart playing with a child. The project was completed and inaugurated by the end of the year.

1999: Bro. Bong and Ruby Fernando took over as PPC Chaircouple.

2000: Fr. Desiderio Martin, cmf returns as parish priest to finish what he had started.

Facing the challenge of the New Millennium

2001: Bro. Emmanuel and Sis. Elizabeth Enciso assume leadership as the IHMP-PPC Millennium Chaircouple.

For the last two years, the efforts of the PPC were focused on upgrading Church facilities in step with the need to provide the parishioners modern amenities to enable them to fully participate in all liturgical, formation and social activities in the parish.

Manny & Beth Enciso, PPC Chaircouple

Chaircouple Manny and Beth Enciso in their column "PPC's Ecstacy & Agony" in the May 2003 issue of the IHMP Newsletter cited some of the significant projects that saw realization as:

* the completion of the swanky Bulwagang Claret

* the completion of the marble finishing of the altar

* the marble finishing of the presbytery providing it a `new look'

* the installation of a new sound system

* the re-engineering of the Church building electrical system and

* the installation of the newly designed stained glass windows from Italy

"These are a few of the dreams of the parishioners for the last 33 years that found fulfillment recently," Chaircouple Manny and Beth said.

From 2001 todate, P3,870,000 had been raised by the PPC for the above projects which cost P4,740,000.00.

But more than these visible and tangible accomplishments, Manny and Beth consider as a major success, the enthusiastic support which the PPC received from the parishioners.

"Some parishioners have volunteered to undertake the cost of improvements and repairs, while many have rendered their services for free or at highly discounted rates.

"Some celebrated their birthdays exhorting their guests to give cash donations to parish projects in lieu of gifts.

"Such show of solidarity is overwhelming and speaks so highly of the character of the people who live in the community," Beth and Manny enthuse.

2003: February 14 this year was literally a red letter day for the parish, what with parishioners going to the IHMP church in various shades of red for the inauguration of the much vaunted posh and upscale Bulwagang Claret !

The inauguration and blessing of the Bulwagang Claret was simple but fitting. Doing the honors was Claretian Provincial Superior Fr. Rene Manubag, cmf with Congresswoman Nanette Daza as special guest.

The members of the PPC led hundreds of lay leaders and parishioners attired in red (for it was Valentine's Day) who attended the inauguration.

The inauguration of Bulwagang Claret marked the completion of work on all church facilities.

"Wala ka nang hahanapin pang iba" as a local ad for beer would tout.

"We have set the stage to take advantage of the opportunities that the present time offers as well as the means to develop the parishes' capability and the cope-ability to meet the challenge of the new millennium," Pres. Manny Enciso says enthusiastically.