St. Michael the Archangel Parish – Javier

The effort to teach the Christian faith in the locality of Javier dates back as early as the later part of the nineteenth century. Barrio Bugho, as it was formerly called, had been under Abuyog Parish for quite a long time. A priest from the latter would come to visit the place to celebrate mass and to administer the sacraments.

When Javier became an independent in 1964, the town had been turned into a parish in honor of St. Michael the Archangel with Rev. Fr. Bonifacio Salvaña as the first parish priest. It was Fr. Salvaña who initiated the construction of the church on the lot donated by the Javier family with the manual help of the parishioners. However, due to lack of funds the construction was stopped. The parish priest that followed, which was Rev. Fr. Alfredo Rosales (1974 – 1980) who faced the same problem, discontinued the construction and improved the old chapel instead located at what is now called the Javier Market Square. With the effort of Rev. Fr. Albert Opiniano, the new rectory was constructed.

On 1989, during the incumbency of Rev. Fr. Eligio Mativo (1989 – 1993) as the new parish priest, the church construction resumed. With the financial aid coming from the generous donors of the locals and abroad especially from Germany Funding Agency, the work was more or less completed over a short period of time. The blessing ceremony of the new Parish Church was done on the Vespers of the Fiesta, May 27, 1991, by the beloved Archbishop Pedro R. Dean, D.D.

On October 1991, another project was under taken by the parish under the initiative of the parish priest, the PTA of the Angelicum Learning Center and the Parish Pastoral Council. A new school building was built in the parish. The building was finished on February 1992 and became operational before the end of school year 1991-1992. The project served as a preparatory stage in the education of young boys and girls.

During the time of Rev. Fr. Rafael Pepito (1993-1998), the Adoremus Chapel was constructed and a Bell Fry which was donated by the Marian Workers and some generous parishioners was turned over.

Further, when Rev. Fr. Carlito Loreto was the parish priest (1998-2002) part of the ceiling was constructed with the help of the parishioners and later on finished the whole construction of the church.