Wednesday, May 07, 2008 The heavenly carpenter By Arch’t. Karl A.E.F. Cabilao, UAP
MANDAUE City’s beloved patron, St. Joseph, was a diligent carpenter and a dedicated family man, being the foster father to Jesus.
All these admirable qualities are imbued in every nook and cranny of the recently completed rectory building of the National Shrine of St. Joseph in Barangay Centro, Mandaue City.
After almost three years of construction, the rectory will be formally inaugurated during the saint’s much-anticipated feast day on May 8.
It was no easy task for its parishioners embarking on such a big but imperative project.
After being elevated as a national shrine some years ago, the church needed more space for its activities. The old convent at the side of the church was already dilapidated and could not anymore cater to the increasing number of functions in the shrine.
So in 2005, a committee was formed to take charge of the huge task of raising funds for the design and construction of the three-story edifice.
The building, which greets the morning sun on the east, embraces more spaces for the administrative and social functions of the shrine.
The conference room, offices and mess hall are on the ground floor. A huge lobby welcomes visitors with natural lighting funneled through a skylight directly above.
At the second floor, privacy pervades. A hallway with a mini-library greets the visitor upon ascending the staircase from the ground floor. Being tagged as the main attraction on this level are the priests’ quarters and recreation room, and the dining hall with a pantry. It leads the eye to the adjacent corridor and the beautiful prayer room.
The roof deck has the servants’ quarters and the utility areas. It also serves as an alternate venue for outdoor functions.
The open spaces in front of the building will be developed with the clearing out of the decrepit convent. The space, then, may be used for social functions, too.
The construction of the rectory plodded through a long span of time, sometimes hounded by budget problems. But St. Joseph proved to be the heavenly foreman that guided the people to keep their faith strong and the construction going.
Expected soon is the construction of the small extension on first level office spaces and the parking spaces.
Truly, the building represents the patron saint’s diligence as well as every sweat and energy that was poured out by the workers during the construction.
Best of all, it mirrors the powerful devotion of the faithful and generous Mandauehanons, and their friends just like what St. Joseph demonstrated as the patriarch of the Holy Family.
