St. Michael the Archangel Parish – Mahaplag

The town of Mahaplag is situated in valley between mountain ranges which have tributary rivers where the main outlet to Abuyog is a very narrow enhancement of solid rocks and a hundred meters high on both banks.

The town was named after Mahaplag river on account of their dependency on it. The word is an acronym of two dialect words namely: “Mahaplag” meaning destruction or failure and “Kaplag” meaning success. The people believe that failure or success of their livelihood depended on this river. If the weather was bad, the rushing flood water would wash away every plant resulting to no harvest at all bringing to the people misery. But when the water would recede. It would bring them fertile soil giving them a good harvest and thus bring happiness and contentment to the people.

The early Christian beginning of the place is uncertain. But most probably the people received Christianity through its neighbouring towns like Abuyog and Baybay. The former being its mother town, had been the sole caretaker of the faithful in the locality.

It was created into a parish in 1957 in honor of St. Michael Archangel subsequently upon its creation as an independent town from Abuyog.

With the Archdiocesan vision in view, the parish is establishing and promoting the basic Ecclesial community in all barangays of the town. In these B.E.C the people meet regularly under their leader who is an unordained minister, to express their faith in common worship to study their faith and discern from faith on their life problems, and to respond also in faith to these problems as a community and in the community.

As of date, there are 56 small communities spread out all over the parish is Each one is autonomous, but linked vitally to each other and with the universal church under the supervision of the parish priest. The enormous task of the parish priest having minister to is some 20,000 people is greatly facilitated through the formation of BEC’s. the key idea is participation and involvement of lay people in the affair of the church.

Another program in the parish is the Family life Apostolate, a marriage enrichment program which is now in the process of being integrated in the BEC.

There is also the newly established credit union which is targeted to become later on the financing aim of the small ecclesial community.