Manila, Philippines
It was November 1960. Cardinal Rufino Santos of Manila, the first Filipino Cardinal, paid our Sisters in our Blessed Sacrament Convent in Baguio a courtesy call. As he was being led through the cloister to the room where he would meet the entire community, he passed by the courtyard in which an imposing statue of St. Joseph stands. His Eminence stopped and suggested that there before St. Joseph the Sisters should consider opening an adoration chapel and convent in the archdiocese of Manila, preferably in the city itself or its environs. No wonder, then, that when this dream became a reality in 1965, it was named St. Joseph’s Adoration Chapel and Convent.
In June 1962 a very appealing piece of property was selected in Quezon City, a residential suburb of Manila. The Cardinal joyfully blessed the building site and laid the cornerstone in May 1964. After that, the construction progressed rapidly. On the feast of St. Joseph, March 19, 1965, the first Mass was celebrated in a temporary chapel, and a small community of Sisters moved into the new convent building. Even before the convent was finished, young women had already been applying for entrance with eagerness to leave all in order to follow Christ in the cloistered contemplative life. One year later, the spacious chapel was completed and dedicated.
St. Joseph’s Adoration Chapel has become a significant center of eucharistic devotion for the capital of the Philippines. Members of the vibrant League of Adorers take turns in joining the Sisters in adoration. An annual Eucharistic Congress and the monthly Holy Hour draw large crowds, so that the already roomy chapel is filled to overflowing and part of the crowd takes part with the help of outside loudspeakers. God has abundantly blessed the trustful courage with which the superiors of our Congregation overcame their first doubts as to the feasibility of founding in Manila. All praise and honor to Him!
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