Book celebrates Bataan history, Tomas Pinpin, and Church heritage

Photo by Jilson Tiu

THE LAVISH coffee-table book, “Peninsula of Faith and Valor: Bataan Through the Centuries,” documents the glorious heritage of the historic province west of Manila, noted for being one of the first to embrace Christianity, aside from producing the first Filipino author and printer and displaying courage and patriotism especially during the Dutch invasion in the 17th century and the Japanese invasion in the 20th century.

Published by Tomas Pinpin Publications and edited by Robbie Reyes, “Peninsula of Faith and Valor: Bataan Through the Centuries” will be officially launched at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Museum of Arts and Sciences on Dec. 16 at 4 p.m.

Expected to grace the launching are Balanga, Bataan, Bishop Ruperto Santos and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas (the immediate past bishop of Bataan), and Cebu Auxiliary Bishop Julito Cortez, chair of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines’ Permanent Committee for the Cultural Heritage of the Church.

The new book is published on the occasion of the fourth centenary of the first book authored and printed by a Filipino—“Librong Pag-aaralan Nang Manga Tagalog Nang Uicang Castilla,” by Tomas Pinpin, a Bataeño.

The book is also published in connection with the 400th anniversary of UST, which is founded by the Dominicans, the original missionaries of Bataan. Pinpin hailed from Abucay, the oldest Dominican mission in Bataan. He was also a student of the Dominican friar Fr. Francisco Blancas de San Jose, the famous Tagalista and typographer.

The book is also published in connection with the 35th anniversary of Diocese of Bataan.

The book consists of historical essays by leading scholars and experts, such as Fr. Fidel Villarroel, OP (“Tomas Pinpin of Abucay, The Prince of Filipino Printers” and “San Miguel de Aozaraza, Apostle of Bataan and Martyr, 1598-1637”); Fr. Samson Silloriquez, OAR (“The Augustinian Recollect Mission in Bataan, 1598-1637”), and Fr. Rolando V. de la Rosa, OP (“How the Natives of Bataan Received the Preaching of the Dominican Missionaries: Lessons for Modern-Day Preachers”).

Other essays: “The Role of the Dominicans in the Evangelization of Bataan (1587-1898),” by Fr. Lucio Gutierrez, OP; “The Devotion to Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of Orani: A Yearning of the Heart” by Geraldine Roman; “The Tragedy in Abucay of 1647,” by Florentino Hornedo; “A Hesitant Revolution (1896-1901)” and “Defeat and Glory: The Battle of Bataan (1942),” by Jose Victor Z. Torres; and “The Dominican Prisoners of Bataan during the Revolution, 1898-1900: Persecution, Survival and Affirmation,” by María Eloísa G. Parco de Castro.

The book is edited by Reyes, Regalado Trota Jose of the UST Archives, Eric Zerrudo of the UST Center for Conservation of Cultural Properties in the Tropics, and Inquirer editor Lito Zulueta.

Photo editor and design consultant is Nady Nacario.

Philippine Daily Inquirer

Date First Posted 22:05:00 12/13/2010