LOCAL TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERS

1573 Juan de Salcedo arrives in Bikol.

• Juan de Salcedo is the nephew of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi.
• Naga comes from the word "Narra" – abundant specie of tree found in Naga City.
• Naga was the chosen City to have a village as it have a river(now, the Bicol River). Before it easier to
travel in water than land. (BCL>MNL, 2 months arrival when land | 3-4 weeks arrival depending on the
weather)
Why CACERES?
— Named after the City of Caceres,Spain, birthplace of Governor General Francisco de Sande.

The FIRST 4 Spanish Ciudades

• Cuidad de Cebu – Santissimo Nombre de Jesus
• Ciudad de Manila – El Insigne y Siempre Leal Ciudad de Manila
• Ciudad de Nueva Segovia – Villa Fernandina
• Ciudad de Nueva Cáceres – Villa de Caceres

The establishment of Naga as a Spanish City transformed the riverine village into one of Spain's colonial
fortresses in 16th Century Southeast Asia.

1578 First Franciscan missionaries arrive in Bikol

The 2 Franciscan missionaries:
1. Pablo De Jesus
2. Bartolome Diaz

1595 Pope Clement VIII establishes the Diocese of Caceres

Because of its status as a Ciudad, and the growing number of faithful, Kabikolan was raised to a Diocese
and Nueva Caceres the Seat (Capital)of the Diocese.

"He was great as a Bishop, but greater as a Man."

– Dr. Domingo Abella

FRANCISCO GAINZA 1818-1879

LINGUIST | VISIONARY | REFORMER | EDUCATOR | LEADER

GAÍNZA THE PERSONA

Francisco Caracciolo Urreta Vizaya de Gairza y Escobes, U.P.
• Born on June 3, 1818 Calahorra, province of Logroño, Spain.
• Joined the Dominican Order in 1833 and arrived in the Philipines in 1846.
• From a professorial chair in the University of Santo Tomas, he went on to various assignments in and
outside the country.
• Joined the Dominican Missions in China and returned to teach Philosophy in UST
• Became Chaplain to Chinese Catholics in Manila and became Prior of Sto. Domingo
• In 1848, with Col. Mariano Oscariz, was sent to an expedition to pacify the lgorots of Nueva Vizcaya, to
which he wrote his ethnography Memorias Sobre Nueva Vizcaya.

1863 FRANCISCO GÁINZA is Appointed Bishop of Nueva Caceres

GÁINZA THE LINGUIST
No sooner had he assumed office that he undertook the study of the Bikol Dialect to enable him to
understand and be understood by his people.
• Vocabulary of the Bicol Language 1863
• In his first Penafrancia Fiesta as bishop, he delivered his sermon in Bikol
• His incumbency was dubbed the "Mabulawan na Panahon kan Literaturang Bikolnon"
• Language was his instrument for transformational change.
• Evangelical Judgment 1892

GÁINZA THE VISIONARY

As an executive, he was the incarnation of action. His administrative grasp is beyond those before him.
• He made a total of four visitations of his entire territory, reaching towns and rancherias not seen by any
Bishop. He rallied the establishment of a nearby town, now named in his honor.
• His infrastructure agenda included the renovation of the Cathedral, Shrine of Our Lady, the expansion of
the Seminary, establishment of the Leprosario de San Lazaro and the paving of the Via Cainza.
• A man of enterprise, in 1875 he organized and successfully held in Nueva Caceres the first agricultural
and industrial exposition ever in the Bicol Region.

GAÍNZA THE REFORMER

Although of pure Spanish blood, he did not look with inferiority to the natives and fought for their rights
and dignity.
• As Delegate of the Pope, a position he held while bishop of Caceres, he spoke out openly with the
archbishop of Manila and the bishop of Cebu in refusing to defrock Fathers Burgos, Gomez and Zamor as
requested by the Spanish government.
• Thus, championing the rights and dignities of the GomBurZa as priests and human beings.
• His defense of the natives did not end with the martyred priests but extended to uplifting the rights of
all Filipino priests
• With his friend Fr. Pedro Pelaez, they rallied for the secularization of parishes, and founded in 1861 El
Católico Flipino, the first Catholic newspaper in the Philippines.

GAÍNZA THE EDUCATOR

A discipline of knowledge, he brought the light of education to the City and to the Region, a lasting
memory of his tenure.
• With the equally abled Fr. Santonja, he revitalized the Seminary to be the best ecclesiastical and civil
educational institution outside of Manila, thus creating an academic powerhouse in Southern Luzon.
• Statutes of the Conciliar Seminary 1863
• In 1868, by Royal Decree, he established the first normal school for girls in the Philipines and in Asia,
and invited the Daughters of Charity to administer this educational institution. COLEGIO DE SANTA ISABEL
DE NUEVA CECERES
• Handbook of the Colegio de Santa Isabel 1877
• In a society that was racist and sexist, he endowed women with their natural right to education and
pursuit of knowledge.
• New Latin Grammar for the Filipino Youth 1846
GAÍNZA THE LEADER
Despite his many herculean achievements, he was first and foremost Bishop a father to his people and a
brother in Christ.
• He was responsible for the Regionalization of the Penafrancia devotion and publication of the first
historical account, thus introducing it to the country & abroad.
• History of the Penafrancia Devotion 1867
• To bring Christian values closer to Bikolanos, he ordered the translation of the Pasyong Tagalog to the
dialect which is popularly known today as the Pasion Bikol.
• Pasion Bikol 1868

"An untiring, hardworking man, full of patriotism and religiousness, his name will be regarded with respect
in the Philippines."
Dr. T.H Pardo de Tavera