Foundation

The Founding of the Landayan Parish

Plans of making Sto. Sepulcro into a separate parish church commenced during the latter part of the 1960s, upon the initiative of Fr. Saturnino Cay.This project was realized on September 29, 1969 when Sto. Sepulcro was formally declared as a full-fledged parish geographically composed of three Barangays- Landayan,San Roque, and Cuyab.

Church-based organizations started to be formed, the first being the  Adoracion Nocturna Filipina Landayan Chapter founded on February 14,1970.  Then came the Legion of Mary (Senior and Junior Praesidium), Holy Name Society (HNS), Catholic Women’s League (CWL),  Tarcicians (  July 15, 1973 ), Apostleship of Prayer, and the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD). A semi-religious group called Samahang Senakulista ng Landayan was founded in 1975.

The major renovation of the church started in the early 1980s when parish leaders, concerned Landayan residents,and benefactor-devotees outside of the parish joined hands to start constructing a bigger and more modern church to accommodate the growing number of pilgrims.Donations in cash and kind poured in, while others volunteered to do actual construction work.This church modernization project was sustained through the 1980s and beyond, even with the succession of parish priests and church leaders.

Simultaneous with the continuing church improvement, eight sub-parishes were created within the parish, namely, San Roque SP, Cuyab SP, PitiMini SP, Elvinda VII SP, Cataquiz V SP, Olivarez Subdivision SP, Sibulo Subdivision 2 SP, and St. Francis III SP. These necessitated the services of assistant parish priests to undertake religious activities in all these sub-parishes.