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The SVD and Capellanía Filipina – Tahanan Madrid
Menci Molina
There was a need, a yearning, a voicing out in prayer…
There were ears that listened, hands that reached out, hearts that felt all are God´s children.
And always, there was the Lord!
Actually, ca. 1982, a group that included Fr. Alfonso Mateo and Fr. Pedro Sarmiento, Claretians, and a handful of lay people and religious sisters, had already been getting together with Filipinos in small groups that would meet during their Sunday day-off. A few other similar groups also had begun to sprout in the Spanish capital prompted by a desire to celebrate Mass in English. The groups would search for English-speaking clergy, either Filipino priests assigned to Madrid or Spanish priests who had been assigned to the Philippines, willing to celebrate Mass in a nearby church. Needless to say, this also entailed identifying a venue in a church or convent and obtaining the requisite permissions.
Concurrently and in view of the ever-increasing number of migrants of various nationalities, the Archdiocese of Madrid was drawing up a Pastoral Plan for Migrants. Newly appointed Delegado de Migraciones, Fr. Antonio Martínez, strove to meet with all these groups. In the case of the Filipinos, the Archdiocese gathered the various groups that had been meeting separately and offered to find a venue for their Sunday Mass and gatherings. To this end, it invited religious congregations and orders to collaborate with the effort by providing a chaplain and/or a place to meet.
The SVD, under the leadership of Fr. Lorenzo Goyeneche, its Provincial in Spain, responded to the call by generously offering to assign one or two of its confreres to Madrid to serve as chaplains of the Filipino migrant community. The smooth transition with these yet-to-arrive newly assigned Filipino chaplains was ensured by Fr. Pedro Sarmiento, Claretian, who was designated by the Archdiocese to coordinate this along with a group of laypersons (José Ma. Valero, Pilar Ferrer, and Menci Molina) and religious sisters (Jacinta Salazar and Esther Lopez).
The first SVDs assigned to serve as chaplains in Madrid were Fr. Romeo Castro and Fr. Felipe Flores. They came with no preconceived plans, ready to work in a strange country with a different language, opting to be one with their kababayan in their journey as a community.
This journey was often a literal one, as the availability of a place to meet both for the Mass and the gatherings depended on the ability of the Diocese to convince a parish or a convent to provide a venue. Thus, the priests experienced the novelty, challenge, and hardship of making their way in a new land with the members of the migrant community, sharing their joys and travails. Before long, they would rediscover the spirit of community that is so integral to Filipinos, regardless of their place of residence. This enabled them to offer advice and support based on a shared life experience. Most importantly, the SVD chaplains celebrated Sunday Mass in English and administered the sacraments to the community, primarily baptism, marriage, and penance. This was at the root of their mission, the core of their reply to the cry for help.
For forty years, these chaplains have been the face, the arm, and the heart of the SVD for the Filipino migrant community in Madrid. Attuned to its needs, they have grown with the community as it developed into the Chaplaincy we know today. Additionally, throughout this process, the community has had the reassurance of knowing that the SVD was and is behind every chaplain, supporting him. Their vision and generosity have ensured the spiritual accompaniment and formation of the community, that is, the Capellanía Filipina, which we fondly call Tahanan.
To date, the SVD chaplain continues to journey with the community. New ventures and new challenges that require planning and action from the Chaplaincy constitute a responsibility the chaplain shares with the lay members who have been there from the start, and who can provide firsthand knowledge of the changing profile of the Filipinos in Madrid, as well as the sociopolitical vicissitudes of the city. Here are some examples, to name a few: House visitations, which led to encounters with rapidly growing families as the Spanish government’s“reagrupación familiar” (family reunification program) came into effect.
- Information and at times assistance in the acquisition of Residence Permits. This would include voicing out concerns and needs and, in conjunction with the Archdiocese, providing practical assistance during the processes of “regularización”.
- Awareness of the history and development of the Philippines, which meant taking into account the various cultures that comprise the Filipino identity. This led to the formation of several Filipino groups based on regional affinity and the like, and it involved bringing them together, guided by the chaplaincy’s concept of “a community of communities”.
- Providing relief in cases of natural calamity, both in the Philippines and in Spain, without neglecting the giving of individual assistance to needy members of the community.
- Flexibility in adjusting Mass schedules, following pandemic protocols, to better respond to the needs of the community; increasing the number of Sunday Masses thereafter adequate to the steady growth in Sunday attendance.
- Strengthening the actions of the Chaplaincy so that it could be of better service, not only through the celebration of Sunday Masses and other sacraments, but also through the fulfilment of other community activities, such as Spanish classes and spiritual formation.
- The creation of WESTY (Worship–Education–Service–Temporalities–Youth) to facilitate a greater involvement among the laity members who have been active from the very beginning.
In evaluating these and other activities, one should take into account that since 2011 the Capellanía Filipinas has been served by only one chaplain.
The Filipino migrant community in Madrid grows in numbers and in generations; as the world changes, so does the Chaplaincy. Throughout this marvellous journey, the Chaplain has played a key role in leading, accompanying, and fostering its growth, while meeting the challenge of entwining Filipino traits with Spanish idiosyncrasies, holding both in balance, always in the context of spiritual growth in the faith.
The initiative and resolve of a group of lay people determined to live their faith in a strange land found its echo in the generosity and vision of a congregation willing to serve. Their complementary and committed labour of love and service resulted in the creation of an enduring kind of bond, one that would lead to a flourishing community of faith.
