 |
Padre Pio devotees bent on raising chapel funds
|
Devotees
of the miraculous Padre Pio are set to build a P2.5 million green chapel in
barangay Lago in Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur to serve as a source of enlightenment
for everyone and not just for Catholics.
Padre
Pio, who has become popular worldwide for his many miracles, got the gift of
stigmata while kneeling in front of as crucifix in 1918.
“This
is not only a chapel but is set to become a religious landmark in Davao del
Sur,” devotee and Padre Pio Movement in Davao member Edgar Canda said during
ISpeak last Thursday at City Hall.
Canda’s
family, who hails from Davao del Sur, has donated 2,000 square meters of land
where the chapel will be built. An elevated portion of the land will be
allocated for the Padre Pio Chapel while the lower level will be for the Bagobo
Museum, he said.
“By
building the Padre Pio Chapel here we want to promote culture and faith as
one,” Canda said. But what sets the Chapel apart, he added, is that it will be
based on green architecture as designed by Architect Daniel Plenos.
He
said the Sta. Cruz Chapel, which will hold its groundbreaking on July 22 this
year, will be patterned after the San Giovanni Rotondo Shrine of Padre Pio in
Italy.
“Since
the Chapel will be built in a hilly location that overlooks Davao del Sur, the
architecture will blend in with the environment and not destroy it,” he
said. The location is a virgin forest,
he said, so it is a priority to maintain the beauty of the terrain.
