RVA AT FORTY

Circular 2009-09
To:

All Parish Priests and Local Religious Superiors in the Diocese:

I have been given as of last 29 January 2009 a list of RVA Priests. As of today
there are sixteen (16) priests of RVA. All of them have Faculties in this Diocese in
accordance with our Diocesan Statutes.
They are all considered as Guest Priests with exception of Msgr. Pietro Nguyen
Van Tai who is one of our own Diocesan Priests. They thus fall within the competence
of Fr. Noel Azupardo, our Vicar for the Clergy, if they are Diocesan, or of our Vicar
for Religious, Fr. Melchor Balinggao, if they belong to a Religious Institute.
They are bound, as all priests are, by the Policies of celebrating Masses in
Metro Manila. In Manila, also in Novaliches, it is prohibited to say Mass in private
houses except for the Dead corpore praesente. You can help out in Masses in our
parishes, especially on Sundays, and on weekdays also, provided it does not interfere
with their duties at RVA.
Where else can the RVA Priests be of great help in your parishes? Although
hearing confessions of Religious staying within the jurisdiction of the Parish is one of
the duties of a Parish Priest, the RVA priests may be called in as Confessors to
Women Religious Congregations. As of today there are fifty three (53) Religious
Congregations of Women in this Diocese. Although these go to their respective
parishes for their daily Masses, they would be in need of regular confessors at least
once or a maximum of twice a month and for Masses in their Convent to renew the
sacred species in the Tabernacle every two weeks. The RVA Priests can perhaps help
the Diocesan Priests who are mostly alone in their parishes in this regard.
We thank RVA for making Novaliches as its home for the last forty years. We
greet RVA for its recently concluded Ruby Jubilee Celebrations! Let us support RVA
for its service of being the bringers of Good News to the Local Churches of Asia.
Given in the Chancery in Fairview, Quezon City, this 14th day of May in the
Year of Our Lord, 2008.
Most Rev. Antonio R. Tobias, DD
Bishop
Attested by:
Rev. Fr. Jerome U. Rosalinda
Chancellor