Saint Therese of the Child Jesus Parish Church
The Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus Parish, is located along Silangan Road inside the University of the Philippines Los Baños campus and is often referred to as the unofficial UPLB Chapel. It is one of the three Roman catholic churches in the municipality of Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines. The church is designated as the Diocesan Shrine of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Pablo on October 1, 2016.[1]
| St. Thérèse Church | |
|---|---|
| Diocesan Shrine and Parish of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus | |
 The Parish Church of Saint Thérèse | |
.svg.png.webp)  St. Thérèse Church Location within the Philippines | |
| 14°9′53″N 121°14′42″E | |
| Location | 10867 Victoria M. Ela Street (formerly Silangan Road), University of the Philippines Los Baños, College, Los Baños, Laguna |
| Country | Philippines |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| History | |
| Status | Diocesan Shrine and Parish church |
| Founded | 1958 |
| Dedication | Thérèse of the Child Jesus |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Architectural type | Church building |
| Administration | |
| Archdiocese | Manila |
| Diocese | San Pablo |
| Province | Manila |
| Clergy | |
| Archbishop | Sede vacante |
| Bishop(s) | Buenaventura M. Famadico |
| Priest(s) | Philip Atienza |
| Assistant priest(s) | Richie Fortus |
Church history
The devotion to St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus started in the mid-1920s due to students and professors of the university.[2] Upon petitioning church authorities to build a chapel outside the university's perimeter fence, a chapel was built in honor of St. Thérèse in 1927 with a seating capacity of 120 people. Since then, it became the unofficial university chapel. The parish was officially established under the Archdiocese of Lipa in 1958. It serves the spiritual needs of the former parishioners of the Immaculate Conception Parish living around the University of the Philippines College of Agriculture and College of Forestry. The first parish priest was Father John Hurley. Due to lack of priests, the parish was administered by priests from the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) for 33 years.[3] The present church with a seating capacity of 1,500 was built and blessed in 1971. In 2000, the secular priests took charge of the parish with Monsignor Bernardino Cortez and Father Gabriel Ma. Delfino as parish priest and assistant parish priest respectively. When Monsignor Cortez was appointed as Auxiliary Bishop of Manila, Monsignor James Contreras succeeded as parish priest. From 2008 to 2013, the church was administered by Father Jose Thor R. Villacarlos. Currently, the parish is under the pastoral care of Father Luis A. Tolentino.
In 2013, the relics of St. Thérèse visited the UPLB community as part of its world pilgrimage.[2] The parish church was elevated to a diocesan shrine on October 1, 2016.[1][4]
Facilities
Most of the church facilities and adjacent church structures was constructed under the Foundation of St. Thérèse Parish, Inc. (FSTPI) which caters the material needs of the church. It includes the parish rectory (including the rectory annex), Garden of Peace (ossuary), St. Thérèse Baptistry, Resurrection Chapel, and sacristy [3]
References
- "Los Baños' St. Therese church declared diocesan shrine". CBCP News. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
- "Pilgrim Relics: St. Therese visits 'Godless' UPLB". January 27, 2013. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
- Torrevillas, Domini (October 16, 2008). "Conflict at St. Therese Church". Retrieved August 26, 2014.
- Hermoso, Christina (4 October 2016). "St. Therese Parish at UPLB declared Diocesan Shrine". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved October 1, 2020.