The Cor Jesu College community gathered on this rainy Monday morning to hold a momentous ceremonial Ground Breaking celebration to kick-off the construction of a 6-storey High School Building at the Misereor Grounds of this campus.
Despite the rains, the event is well-attended by representative classes from the Grade 11 Senior High School, members of the faculty and administration, a number from the Brothers of the Sacred Heart community, officers of the PTEA led by President Alfredo Esgana, and members of the Cor Jesu College Alumni Association, Inc., together with guests.
Dr. Kirt Anthony Diaz, Institutional Affairs Director and BED Principal, started by delivering the rationale behind the project, carefully explaining the need for this facility which will eventually offer over 60 classrooms, 11 laboratories, library, art, music and prayer amenities to accommodate students from the Junior and Senior High Schools by the school year 2018-2019.
For his welcome remarks, CJC President, Br. Ellakim P. Sosmeña, S.C. reminded the audience of the symbolic blessings the rainy weather has brought upon the occasion, and the significance of this new building in the fulfillment of the school’s mission towards the youth . Following the para-liturgical celebration, a simple rite of blessings proceeded with the audience taking turn in placing their written wishes in an earthen jar for posterity. These messages will be laid as a cornerstone during the construction of the building.
Br. Mark Hilton, S.C., the US Provincial Superior of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, emphasized the role of Cor Jesu College in the formation of the youth of this country. For her part, Dr. Dee Silva, the Schools Division Superintendent of Digos City stressed the strong partnership between the government and private sector in addressing the right to education of the children of our nation.
Closing the event, the Philippine Delegate Superior, Br. Noelvic Deloria, S.C. waxed nostalgia by recalling the early days of Cor Jesu College, then Holy Cross College of Digos, and how the campus has grown over the years. He concluded with a request for the contractor, R.G. Salanatin, to build it fast, and build it to last!
Perhaps the most encompassing prayer offered during the ceremony came from Mr. John Paul Benedict Aves from the Grade 11 HUMMS, and Vice President of the Senior Student Council:
“Together with the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, the school administration, the Cor Jesian student body and the entire CJC community, we thank you, Lord God, for this wonderful day that you have given us. Thank you for the opportunity that we have gathered here today to celebrate the groundbreaking of this new edifice, the proposed 6-storey high school building, which so symbolizes your love for us in the form of better chances to be educated.
In behalf of the student body, thank you to the school administrators and the Brothers of the Sacred Heart for imparting this gift to us, students. We also thank the representatives of the government, the alumni, the PTEA and of course, our teachers and staff for being part in the fulfillment of this plan. Most especially, we thank our loving parents and guardians, and those of former students, and other private donors, for financially making this project possible.
Lord God, we pray that You will bless all workers who will lay the foundations of this very building and who will fortify it in months to come. We pray that no harm and no accident will come during the construction of this edifice. We pray that everything will go according to the wishes of the planning body and the school administrators. We pray that you will bless this building for it to stand for many years to come and survive the harmful forces of weather and disaster. We pray that it will be proactively used to assist teachers, staff and administrators in better serving and educating the youth. We pray that the halls, rooms and amenities of the building will become perfect avenues for academic, spiritual and holistic development and help us become better students and children of God.
We pray that this building will be an instrument for us, students, to promote the pillars of excellence, community and apostleship, and live the core value of compassion. Lastly, we hope and pray that through Your blessing of this building and Your guidance, all who will have a chance to utilize it will become fully transformed Christian persons who will journey as one family united in Your Heart. Amen.“
