Filippino lay woman builds chapels for the most remote communities
In the diocese of Dipolog, in the south of the country, Chrisma Bangaoil and a group of volunteers have already built 12 small churches in the most isolated mountain areas. ‘We are not just building buildings; we are building faith in these outlying areas’.
Manila (AsiaNews) - For a couple of years now, a laywoman from a diocese in the southern Philippines has been leading the construction of new chapels at low cost and the renovation of old ones with the collaboration of the local clergy and the faithful.
‘So far we have built 12 new chapels, not counting those we have renovated,’ Chrisma Bangaoil, catechist and volunteer at the parish of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in the diocese of Dipolog, in the province of North Zamboanga, told AsiaNews. In addition to being a mother and a lay missionary, she works as an assistant at the University of Santo Tomas (UST), run by the Dominicans, in Manila, in the Philippines.
The latest chapel under construction is in the parish of St Joseph the Worker, in Sindangan, in the diocese of Dipolog. It is the chapel of St John Mary Vianney, in Sitio Suminugod. ‘We visited this place for the first time in December 2024,’ he says. ’The community had wanted a chapel for many years. It will be the furthest away in the parish: it takes almost three hours to get there.’
Chrisma Bangaoil's team includes a group of priests, young people and lay volunteers from the local area. When asked what challenges she and her team face, she mentions funding, but adds, ‘it usually comes when we need it. I either get projects or extra jobs that give me resources to fund the project, or a friend will suddenly write to me and say they want to help us. It's very rare that I ask a friend or relative for help,‘ she adds.
‘Another challenge is transporting the materials to build the chapel. The chapel we are building now is three hours away by car on a rough, difficult and dangerous road. It's very high up in the mountains,’ explains Chrisma Bangaoil.
All the chapels that she and her team have built in the Diocese of Dipolog are in different parishes. ‘It's hard work building chapels for the people and for God,’ she says. ‘We are not just building chapels; we are building the faith of communities living in remote mountains, some of which are inaccessible or lack proper roads for communication and transport.’ In addition to building, she says, ‘we need to catechise the community. I may stay there for a while during the school holidays. People have very limited knowledge of the faith. They want to learn. I know it will take time.’
Chrisma Bangaoil is grateful to the local bishop, clergy and faithful who support and collaborate in the construction of the chapels and the faith of the faithful.
Generally, the parish builds chapels for Catholics who live in the most remote areas and have difficulty travelling to the main church for mass and to receive the sacraments due to inaccessible roads and limited means of transport.
The chapels therefore act as mission stations for the Christian community that needs spiritual nourishment and to build communities with hope, charity and service.
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