The Parish of St. Vincent Ferrer was created on April 4, 1939, two years before Nueva Valencia became an independent municipality. Prior to its creation, parishioners of the locality had to walk not less that twenty one kilometers to Jordan where the church was located at that time, in order to attend church services.
The first parish priest was Rev. Francisco Horlador. The church was made of bamboo and other light materials for its walls. Its roof was galvanized iron. The belfry was of local materials. Fr.Horlador was credited for the organization of the Children of Mary.
The sisters Susana and Leona Gestosani serve as one of the pioneer members of the parish choir. Susana was fifteen at that time and Leona was ten years old when the first Holy Week celebration was held in the parish. The Gestosani sisters served the parish for so many years.
On April 19, 1941, Rev. Fr. Horlador was reassigned and Rev. Fr. Ismael Castano took over as the parish priest until July 24, 1947. The church used to be the refuge of the local folks during the Japanese occupation.
On July 25, 1947, Rev. Fr. Valente Alegro became the next parish priest. It was during his time that church was transferred to its present site. The lot was donated by Perfecto Tianga. The church was made of semi-permanent materials through the sponsorship of Benjamin Geonanga. Fr. Alegro served the parish until April 21, 1954.
Rev. Fr. Cesareo Jalea served the parish from 1954 to 1958. He was followed by Rev. Fr. Teodoro Gallardo from 1958-1969.
Fr. Gallardo organized the first parish council and the set of officers were: Atty. Alfredo Delumpa (President), Nicolas Suelo (Vice President), Leonor Gestosani (Secretary), Amalia Geonanga (Treasurer), Conchita Templanza (Asst. Treasurer), Francisco Gatuteo (Auditor), Jose Gotera (Business Manager), and Gregorio Garmay (PRO).
Fr. Gallardo also organized the altar boys and one of them became a priest - the Rev. Fr. Glorioso Gepolongca who later became a parish priest of Anilao, Iloilo.
The following parish priests succeeded Fr. Gallardo: Rev. Fr. Agapito Sumbong (1969-1970), Rev. Fr. Francisco Celda (1973-1977), Rev. Fr. Tobias los Bañes (1977-1987), Msgr. Patricio Salarda (1987-2000), Rev. Fr. Ricardo Vendabal (2000-2002 ) , Rev. Fr. Maloney Gotera (2002-2011) and Rev. Fr. Noe Lozada (2011-Present).
Fr. Los Bañes was the one who initiated the construction of the semi-permanent convent. Fr. Salarda was credited for the many improvements of the parish. The church has been renovated and expanded to accomodate the growing number of faithfuls. He also organized several organizations such as the Catholic Renewal Charismatic, Guardians de Honor de Maria, Couples for Christ, Singles and Handmaid of Christ. He also assisted in the establishement of the Holy Rosary Academy, a school run by the Dominican Sisters.
Fr. Gotera continued the renovation of the parish church to its present (2014) physical attributes. With his leadership, the St. Vincent Ferrer Learning Center, Incorporated was established on 2010 . The Mary's Hall was erected on his time that serves as parish function hall.
The parish has been actively sending seminarians and produced a number of priests in the past years. Fr. Lozada continued the program that started since the time of Fr. Gotera the 5-Peso Second Offering for the financial support of the seminarians.Under Fr. Lozada, the parish is starting to build funds for the permanent facilities for the St. Vincent Ferrer Learning Center, Incorporated.
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Updated: July 2014
