Anything Under the Sun
Knights of Columbus of Molo
(This writer would like to share with our readers his recent speech at the Church of Molo during a Mass celebrating the National Week of the Laity)
The Knights of Columbus is the biggest church-mandated organization in the whole world. Its around three million members are spread over America, Europe and the Philippines.
Its VISION is: One God under one world. Its MISSION is: Serve God and fellowmen. In other words: maki-Dios and maki-tao.
Hence, the projects of Knights of Columbus, Molo Council are geared towards this noble mission. In its 46 years of existence, the council had many projects with two of them being outstanding.
First -- the erection of the Eucharistic Adoration chapel inaugurated by Archbishop Angel N. Lagdameo in 2002. This project maki-Dios in that it gave House of Jesus present both in Body and Spirit in the Holy Eucharist for the adoration of the faithful everyday. It is also maki-tao for it gives the faithful the opportunity to adore Jesus and to have one-on-one conversation about their problems.
Second – the declaration of Molo church as a historical landmark in 1992 by the National Historical Institute. This is evidenced by a plaque-marker beside the church's main door.
This declaration announces that the church is a beautiful and a holy one.
Beautiful – because it is one of the famous Gothic churches in the Philippines characterized by pointed spires and arches in the altars, pulpits and canopies of the saints and confessionals.
It is also one of the corral churches in Iloilo. Incidentally, these corrals were taken more than a hundred years ago from the waters of Guimaras where Solar I of the Guimaras oil spill sank.
This one reason why the Molo Council responded promptly to aid the victims of the oil spill by giving packages of food to the parish of Nueva Valencia whose patron saint, like Molo, is also Santa Ana.
Molo church is also holy. It was dedicated to Santa Ana in 1977 by Archbishop Alberto Piamonte. This is evidenced by the twelve crosses pasted around the church walls. This was thru the efforts of the parish pastoral council many of whose officers were the Knights of Columbus of Molo.
Before the war, the church was a center of pilgrimage during its district fiesta on July 26 with the pilgrims spilling from the church over to the plaza during the Mass.
Lastly, we believe that these two projects are already more than enough to justify the existence of our council for the last 46 years aside from having produced the only Knight of Columbus of the Philippines from West Visayas in the person of this humble writer.