LXXXVIII. Please Help Saint Veronica's Sunday School

An invitation to help the boys and girls of

SAINT VERONICA’S SUNDAY SCHOOL
#110 Barangay Santo Niño, Malolos, Bulacan
A Non-Profit Charitable Foundation (registration in process)

From just thirteen children in July 2008, this pioneering Sunday School in the old cathedral town (now city) of Malolos now numbers well over 50 regular attendees, all public elementary school pupils from very poor families in and around the city.

Each Sunday afternoon, a small team of volunteer adult catechists provides these boys and girls basic Roman Catholic religious instruction not usually available in their public school -- standard daily prayers, prayers before and after meals, the Rosary, regular attendance at Mass (at the scheduled 7 pm Sunday Mass in the Chapel in neighboring Barangay Santo Rosario, near where most of the pupils live), and preparation to receive the sacraments of Confession, Communion, and Confirmation.

There are no fees of any sort, and no formal enrolment process – kids simply show up at the School after hearing about it from their classmates, friends, or playmates. The religious instruction takes place in a small converted “prayer room” (a disused kamalig [rice granary]) in the yard of the School’s founder and main catechist-volunteer.

Organized participation in religious processions at the Cathedral has also been part of this Sunday School’s program for its pupils.  While walking in scheduled church processions over the past year or so, the children get to put into practice their lessons in praying the Rosary, which they are able to do with diligence and discipline that are perhaps uncommon for their age.

In their most recent processional participation this past Sunday, September 6^th (to commemorate the Feast of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary on September 8^th), the Sunday School’s pupils even brought out shoulder-borne processional floats with small Marian images mounted on them.

Having accomplished their devotional responsibilities for the evening, the children partake of a simple meal in the yard in front of their “prayer room.”

Because these children are so poor, it is obviously insufficient for the School to address only their spiritual needs without attending to their more pressing temporal ones.  To help address incipient malnutrition (or simply to partly fill the empty stomachs of poor young children), a hot meal or snack (usually a thick soup or noodles) is shared with them right after the regular Sunday afternoon catechism and before they proceed to evening Sunday Mass.

This past June, the School received a donation of basic school supplies that it was able to give to its pupils in time for the opening of the new school year.  From time to time, it also receives small cash donations from friends and neighbors that it is able to distribute to the children to augment their meager Monday to Friday school allowance.

Because of its increasing “enrolment,” the School is in need of additional support to continue to provide for its pupils’ material needs.  Would you care to help these children?

To arrange to make an appropriate donation to the children of the School, of any amount, in cash or in kind, please contact Mrs. Gloria Regala at #110, Barangay Santo Niño, Malolos, Bulacan, or via voice or SMS to (within the Philippines) 0926 709 3879 or (from outside the Philippines) +63 926 709 3879.

Thank you very much in advance.

Originally published on 8 September 2009.  All text and photos copyright ©2009 by Leo D Cloma. The moral right of Leo D Cloma to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted.

Original comments:

adlailara wrote on Sep 9, '09 I will help, Kuya Leo.

rally65 wrote on Sep 9, '09 adlailara said I will help, Kuya Leo. Thank you very much, Kuya Adlai!

arcastro57 wrote on Sep 9, '09 Consider it done...

adlailara wrote on Sep 9, '09, edited on Sep 9, '09 You're welcome. I would like to invite you to the Marian Exhibit to be held at SM Sucat. Take care and God bless....

rally65 wrote on Sep 9, '09 arcastro57 said Consider it done... Thanks very much, (Kuya also) Alex.

LXXV. How Malolos Finally Got a Last Supper, Part Four: By the Grace of God, Remarkably ….

(Continued from Parts One, Two, and Three.)

When we last saw the Institution of the Eucharist tableau (on March 15^th, 2008, the evening before Palm Sunday), it was parked in Mrs. Regala’s driveway, and looked like this:

Since I had to go to work (no vacations for this working boy), the next time I got to see it was right after the 6 pm Holy Wednesday (March 19^th, 2008) Mass at the Cathedral, when it had been relocated by Mrs.  Regala’s carroza crew to the Patio (a.k.a. Plaza or esplanade) right in front of the Cathedral, side-by-side with the other participating tableaux and images. And it looked like this.

In a quick exercise of “Spot the Differences,” it turns out that Dardo de la Cruz, the Vecin Workshop’s regular carroza decorator, had taken the initiative, when no one was looking and without even telling me, to add long green vine-like growths to each floral fixture, greatly enhancing the ensemble’s overall appearance with a "Hanging Gardens of Babylon" look.

I must say, if all artists, artisans, and craftsmen were as proactive and high-initiative as Dardo (and his colleagues at the Vecin Workshop), then we harassed Holy Week processional tableau proponents could sleep better before and during Holy Week.

I then walk around the carroza and check out specific aspects of the group.  At an angle at the rear side right, here’s how Christ and John appear to a devotee on the ground.

The benefits of having larger-than-life glass eyes for life-sized images that are to sit or stand high up on the carroza are clearly evident here – Christ and John appear alert and wide-awake despite the darkness of the night sky (and thanks to liberal spotlighting).

Peter (side to the camera) and Christ appear this way on the other side.

Our crafty friend Judas, now with his red velvet bag (stuffed with newspaper – I’d rather keep the thirty pieces of silver in my own pocket) in hand (it was misplaced the previous Saturday, so it was just put in place subsequently) cannot be missed.

A right side view not only reveals the favorable staging effect of having a three-tiered floor, but also gives assurance that the Apostles are spaced comfortably and appropriately.

And a front-quarter view provides evidence that the orbs seem to drawn avidly to this tableau (or is it just to Judas?).

This newbie karo is number fourteen in the Holy Wednesday line-up, as evidenced by both the program (unfortunately difficult to clearly reproduce due to the design and small typeface)

as well as by the thoughtfully-provided pink sheet that they affixed to the front of the carroza.

The listing in the program lists the owner as a certain “Leonardo N. Cloma.”  In fact, he’s our Dad, and had been dead for the past couple of decades.  In reality, we commissioned this processional tableau in his memory, and the listing in the program should have indicated “Bilang Ala-ala kay Leonardo N. Cloma (4 Hulyo 1934 – 15 Abril 1986)”, but it seems that space constraints in the printed program forced an edit.

Which is why a few people must have been wondering where the owner Mr. Leonardo N. Cloma was.  Normally, I might have been tempted to respond, “He’s sorry that he can’t be with us right now, as he’s been under six feet of soil for the past twenty-two years.”  But it being Holy Week, I had to patiently explain, in a bit of a roundabout way, that he was simply the dedicatee of the tableau, and no, my name is not “Leonardo” too.

We did, however, indicate the proper “in memoriam” credit to our Dad in the stampita that we produced, which not only had English and Tagalog prayers for meditating on this Fifth Mystery of Light (or First Station of the New Way of the Cross) but also a photo of the three figures at the head of the table (edited and enhanced from one of the hundreds of photos that I had taken when the images were dressed by Ramon Gutierrez a few weeks before -- see Part Three) for the cover.

Copies of this stampita were handed out to devotees all around as the procession made its way through the streets of Malolos Bayan.

As the procession got underway, occasional pauses allowed the devotee to take in various views of this massive tableau.

and in the process also allowed one to observe that kids

and slightly older adherents

engaged in discourse, presumably about this new, never-seen-before, processional scene.

Perhaps some of them were wondering how many truck batteries were needed to light up this yacht, since no discernible noise could be heard emitted by its trusty Elemax 2000 Super-Silent and Super-Compact generator, cradled in the depths of the chassis between the front and rear axles.

Holy Wednesday not being a holiday, crowds were noticeably thinner and the processional gangs rather sparse on this everning, which therefore allowed this first processional outing to serve as a comfortable trial run for all the participating tableaux especially for first-timers, including this Institution of the Eucharist.

The fewer number of devotees in the procession also meant that it completed its course in just about an hour and a half, allowing the gang some time to pose for a souvenir photo

before the rather cumbersome task of returning this to its garage

by entering Mrs. Regala’s driveway in reverse – apparently the only feasible way to maneuver this gargantuan vehicle without causing too much damage to itself or others.

After a full seven minutes of pushing and pulling and huffing and puffing, it was finally ensconced within.

And thus ended a gloriously problem-free, even uneventful first processional excursion for this life-sized tableau of the Institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper of Our Lord.

- - - - - - -

A couple of late afternoons later, on March 21^st, 2008, it was time for the Good Friday processions.  The sky was still light when the processional line-up assembled in the Malolos Cathedral Patio, including the smart-looking-even-in-daylight Institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper of Our Lord tableau.

The procession started a few moments after 6 pm, and traversed the same route as the previous one two nights before.  This meant that the two bamboo poles kept on hand to ensure that Christ’s potencias (the tallest point of the tableau) did not snag on any low-hanging wires or branches were not in very active use.

Except perhaps during that rather awkward passage through the Malolos Public Market, where there were a number of droopy overhead wires and cables, and where anyway the fruit and vegetable vendors on the night shift and their customers seemed oblivious to the religious proceedings that were going on right in front of them.

With substantially more people joining this evening’s procession than the previous one (and also, unfortunately, battalions more just watching on the sidelines, especially at major bends and intersections), the activity took longer to complete.  (This also meant that we were able to give away more copies of our custom-made stampita to both procession-walkers and spectators than two nights ago.)

We thus returned to the Cathedral Patio nearly two and a half hours since we departed, or about an hour longer than previously.

All the carrozas and their adherents were lined up to receive the blessing (with holy water -- more like a dousing, really) in the Patio, preceded by a short commentary on the scene or image being depicted.  And of course yet another attribution of ownership by the broadcast commentator to the unfortunately indisposed Leonardo N. Cloma.

A few moments later, we coursed our way through the main Malolos rotunda around the Cathedral Patio,

then took a right at Santo Niño Street

towards Mrs. Regala’s driveway (a.k.a. this tableau's home base) at the far end.

But not before the requisite group photo of the Good Friday Gang of the Institution of the Eucharist,

this time including more of my family members, who had rushed to the vicinity of the Cathedral after barely completing a simultaneous procession (with our family’s Saint Martha) in the neighboring town.

And thus passed the first two processions and the first Holy Week of this formidable (if I may say so myself) tableau.  Salamat sa Diyos!  What I would give to ensure that all Holy Week processions were this uneventful and problem free.

Next: Mop-Up Operations and Subsequent Events.


Originally published on 17 March 2009.  All text and photos copyright ©2009 by Leo D Cloma. The moral right of Leo D Cloma to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted.

LXXIV. How Malolos Finally Got a Last Supper, Part Three: Fitting Thirteen on a Carroza.

(Continued from Part One and Part Two.)

On Monday, February 18^th, 2008, the tiny Vecin Workshop became even more cramped, as the group of thirteen took their places.

Mr. Vecin and his team tried their best, given the obvious space limitations, to simulate how the tableau would be staged on the carroza.

To facilitate identification, the characters’ names were written on strips of masking tape and affixed to each one’s chest.

Just about the only predetermined positions were those of the figure of Christ, obviously at the “kabisera,” and that of John on his left

and Peter on his right.

Everyone else was seated (or stood) more or less where the original designs from the previous year said that they would.

Judas Iscariot was at the far end left, posed as if in flight, as the drawings specified.

Thus far, it seems that the test-staging was completed successfully.  In the next few days, the figures were transported to Malolos, Bulacan, and the following Saturday February 23^rd, final adjustments to joints, arm positions, and stool anchoring were undertaken by Mr. Vecin and his crew.

The Vecin Workshop’s in-house garment maker, Mr. Ramon Gutierrez, was also on hand to dress each figure, here starting with the Christ.

Let’s try a papal-style (a.k.a. Superman style) draping for Christ’s cape, shall we?

Peter seems to squirm uncomfortably as he gets dressed next.

Perhaps he’s not used to being garbed in such posh threads.

John waits patiently for his turn at the haberdashers’.

His patience is rewarded, as he gets dressed in fabrics that would be the envy of other young peasant men of two thousand years ago.

The Christ just awaits installation of the third of its tres potencias

before this small group of three gets to pose for their first set of publicity shots.

and a final solo shot of the Boss.

While all that posing is going on, Ramon Gutierrez and company get on with dressing the other Apostles.

The seated ones are particularly tricky to dress, as you can’t just ask them to, well, stand.

Slowly, the group becomes complete.

Here’s Saint James the Greater at the extreme right, noticing that Judas just diagonally across appears to be fleeing.

Everyone gets a review (and a finger massage) from Mr. Vecin.

Judas Iscariot’s alternate head has successfully schemed his way onto the body, so that’s what we get to see here.

Messrs. Gutierrez and Vecin affix a black hood onto Judas’ head, enhancing his sinister image further.

Soon enough, Judas takes his place near the front of the tableau,

not at the very front as in the original design, but one place away from the end of the row.

Mr. Vecin does a quick pass-in review of the troop

while at the other end, Ramon fiddles with Christ’s garments

to try out a different way of draping the cloak.

In the end, he and Mr. Vecin decide to make adjustments to Christ’s garments, which means that we’ll have to remove everything and take them back to Ramon’s shop.

The more radical change, however, is that the Christ is adjudged to be a couple of inches too short.  Mr. Vecin quickly decides to make a new taller body by elongating the current torso.  Both head and body are therefore to return to Makati.

Hopefully, the inscriptions (the image's name, as well as the maker’s name and the date [of Good Friday] as previously seen) will survive the surgery.  Oh well.

The rest of the gang has in the meantime been compressed in place, awaiting their eventual mounting on the carroza.

Speaking of which, all these months that the images had been taking shape and form in the Vecin Workshop in Makati, some other of Mr. Vecin’s chain gang had been working on the carroza elsewhere.  By Saturday, March 1^st, it had been brought to Makati, where its hardwood body had started to go through final finishing.

The three-tiered floor plan, consistent with the original design, is clearly seen here.

The great bulk of this carroza body, clearly seen from the rear

necessitated the specification of double-thickness metal wheels all around.

But the intricately carved panels partly mitigated this bulk via the inclusion of fine details such as stylized representations of the Eucharist

and bunches of grapes.

In exactly a week, on Saturday March 8^th, 2008, the metal frame to give form to the cloth skirt had been attached,

the perimeter single lights and corner lampposts had been installed

the body was already dark stained

and was then undergoing finishing touches

including a final spray of varnish.

By the following Saturday, March 15^th, 2008 (the day before Palm Sunday), this formidable carroza had been delivered to Malolos – appropriately enough, just a block away from the Cathedral in the driveway of Mrs. Regala, who had originally suggested that we bring out this tableau in procession in Malolos more than a year previously.

Here, Mr. Vecin and crew maneuver the carroza into position in preparation for the long day of setting up that lay ahead.

Separately, the Christ body had been successfully elongated too

which seemed to match the existing head just fine, and indeed even better

as well as the newly-adjusted garments, also altered for the increased height of the figure.

Then it was back to the carroza, starting with the placement of the three-part dining table, to match the three-tiered floor.

Then the Apostles had to be positioned around the table, starting with Peter

and then John directly across him.

With just these two anchoring figures, many of the subsequent positioning issues were resolved in a big way.

We could even start fitting the table cloth.

While the work continued on top of the carroza,

the rest of the gang – including humans – waited seated in the driveway.

One by one, each Apostle is mounted on the carroza.

Eventually, everyone is up there,

including a few stray humans.

And as with the immediately previous test staging, but unlike the original design, another Apostle now sits at the head of the row, in front of the standing Judas Iscariot.

At around 4 pm, I take a breather from the hot summer afternoon, make my way home to take a shower, then attend the 6 pm anticipated Palm Sunday Mass at the Cathedral.  Afterwards, I return to Mrs. Regala’s driveway a block away, and see that the tableau had been completely set up.

The white tablecloth had been artfully draped in front.

Mr. Dardo de la Cruz, the Vecin Workshop’s in-house carroza decorator, admires his floral decoration scheme.

Mr. Vecin poses for posterity in front of his latest masterpiece.

And the entire Gang of The Institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper assembles for the record.

In just a few days, the tableau would be trotted out in procession for the first time.  That’s coming up next.

(To be continued.)


Originally published on 8 March 2009.  All text and photos (except as otherwise attributed) copyright ©2009 by Leo D Cloma. The moral right of Leo D Cloma to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted.