Vice Consul Adrian Audrey L. Baccay and Cultural Officer Ethel Mae R. Castillo of the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco joined the Filipino American Catholic Community in the Diocese of Oakland in the culmination of the 500th anniversary of the introduction of Christianity in the Philippines on 30 April 2022 at San Ramon Marriott Hotel in San Ramon, California.
On the sides of the event, Vice Consul Baccay met with Oakland Bishop Michael Barber, SJ to express his appreciation for the celebration. Bishop Barber then cited the active Filipino American clergy and Catholic community in his diocese.
The celebration gathered more than 500 Filipinos, Filipino Americans and members of the clergy in the Diocese of Oakland, which covers the San Francisco Bay Area counties of Alameda and Contra Costa. In recognition of the 1521 arrival of Catholicism in Cebu, the celebration showcased the Santo Niño de Cebu and the Sinulog dance.
In April 1521, the seeds of Christianity were first planted on the Philippine islands with the baptism of Rajah Humabon and Harah Amihan of Cebu, who adopted the Christian names of Don Carlos and Doña Juana. With the victory of Datu Lapulapu over Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan at the Battle of Mactan, the evangelization of the Philippines would begin only in the year 1565, following the arrival in Cebu of Spanish conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi. (San Francisco PCG photos)