Institutionalizing School-based Catechesis: The Batan Experience

The Christian communities in the Parish of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception in Batan, Aklan are experiencing a sort of aggiornamento in practicing their faith through renewed catechesis. This sort of revitalized witnessing to the Word evolved out of the introduction of monthly masses in the chapels and schools all throughout the jurisdictional bounds of the parish. Today, all public schools within the Batan parish, both elementary and secondary, have appropriated 90-minute catechetical instructions given voluntarily by the teachers themselves for their pupils or students.

The transformation though did not come that easy. Sometime in August 2007, the Batan parish welcomed Msgr. Pedro C. Frac as its parish priest. The Bishop of Kalibo also appointed as the monsignor’s associates a couple of priests (right now, Fr. Charles V. Isagan and Fr. Antonio C. Supranes). Together, these dedicated servants of God, reached out to their people through consistently holding masses in the sitios of the 17 barangays under the Parish of Batan. They introduced the Pledge System (pre-tithing--some Dioceses though considered pledge and tithing as one) as an alternative to the Arancel practice which had taken a semblance of commericalism in the way pastors dispense sacraments and sacramental to the faithful. The centralized Parish Pastoral Council was reorganized in such a manner that cluster communities in the sitios and barangay chapels were empowered and given a voice in the PPC. School-based Christian communities slowly emerged as the priests faithfully officiated monthly Eucharistic celebrations in school campuses.

The teachers, noting the positive effect of the sustained Eucharistic celebrations in their schools, took upon themselves the role of dispensing catechesis to their pupils and students. Seeing their zeal and initiative, the parish decided to sit with them and organize them in the process. The parish was happy to invest in them by providing them the necessary trainings and resources. Semestral recollections were scheduled and prominent and effective resource persons from the region were invited to provide the teachers the much needed catechetical orientation.

The response of the lay faithful especially in the barangays to these initiatives was simply overwhelming. One is reminded of Jesus’ pronouncement: “The harvest is great but the laborers are few…”(Lk. 10:2; Mat. 9:37-38). Attendance to the masses in the chapel swelled and the laity actively participated in church activities (each chapel organized their own choir, Finance and Education committees and during the offertory almost all of the hearers queue to offer something). Reception of the sacraments (confession, communion, etc.) dramatically increased. Financial and material support to the catechetical seminars of teachers and other volunteers came in handy. All of the sudden, the indifferent Catholics flocked to the chapels and broke bread with "conservatives". Now, the so called unchurched displayed zeal in community organizing and are taking lead roles. Msgr. Frac thus is recommending that the Christian communities in Sitio Himbis and its neighboring sitios and barangays shall be made into the 23^rd parish in the Diocese of Kalibo.

Ad majorem dei gloriam.