# San Roque Church (Cavite City)

The Diocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Solitude of Porta Vaga, commonly known as San Roque Parish Church, is a Latin Rite Roman Catholic church in Cavite City on Luzon island, the Philippines. It is under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Imus. The church enshrines Our Lady of Solitude of Porta Vaga, an icon that appeared after an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

## History

Sitting at the southern part of the colonial walled city of Cavite, conquering Spaniards in 1571 found the place a forested swamp. Its location was very strategic for trade as it was surrounded by water, a likely reason why many Chinese frequented the place. In 1573, when the invading Chinese pirate Limahong was repulsed by the Spaniards, he retreated to the northern part of San Roque, today the Philippine military base of Sangley Point. In 1614, the province of Cavite was placed under a politico-military government, and San Roque was made an independent pueblo.
Sometime in 1700, a badly damaged ship stopped for repairs at a certain place in Cavite called Sapa-sapaan. Aboard the ship was an image of Saint Roch which the crew venerated as their patron, as the custom was to have saints on board a ship during a voyage to serve as protectors. Before work began, the ship’s captain ordered that the image of Saint Roch be placed in the nipa hut that served as the town’s chapel, dedicated to Saint Margaret. After the ship had been repaired, the captain asked the workers to re-enshrine the image on the ship, but the crew could not move the statue. They told the captain of this, and they decided to leave the image in the chapel. The story spread around and since then, Saint Roch was made patron and namesake of the town.

## List of Parish priests

| Year | Priest |
| 1774-? | Fr. Vicente Monleon y Peralta [Parish Priest] Fr. Joseph Mendoza and Fr. Vanta [Assts.] |
| 1808 - 1812 | Fr. Andres Juan del Rosario [Parish Priest] Fr. Dioniso Ramos, Fr. Alejandro Urana, Fr. Francisco Miranda [Assts.] |
| 1826-? | Fr. Eulalio Ramirez [Parish Priest] Fr. Mariano de San Agustin [ Asst.] |
| 1827 -1832 | Fr. Lazaro Salustiano [ Parish Priest] Fr. Mariano de San Agustin, Fr. Baltazar de los Reyes Fr. Ciriaco Roque, Fr. Remigio Baltazar [ Assts.] |
| 1850- ? | Fr. Mamerto Mariano [ Parish Priest ] Fr. Florentino Tiongco, Fr. Remigio Cornelio [Assts] |
| 1860 -1866 | Fr. Gavino de los Reyes [ Parish Priest ] Fr. Juan Buenaventura [ Parish Priest ] Fr. Atancio Marchan [ Capellan de Arsenal ] |
| 1886 - 1894 | Fr. Antino Gonzales [Parish Priest] Fr. Celedonio Mateo, Fr. Cecilio Damian Fr. Vicente Ramirez [ Assts] |
| 1900 | Fr. Gines Ribes S.J |
| 1905 | Fr. Federico Evangelista |
| 1907 | Fr. Blas Reyes |
| 1910 | Fr. Godoredo Aledenhuijo |
| 1912 | Fr. Paul Huwabe |
| 1915 | Fr. Manuel Gatmaytan |
| 1920 | Fr. Simplicio Fernandez |
| 1925 | Fr. Ruberto de Blas [ Recoletos ] |
| 1935 - 1972 | Msgr. Pedro Lerena, D.P [ Parish Priest ] [Recoletos] Fr. Conrado Gosioco [ Asst] Fr. Artemio Casas, Fr. Greg Ma. Villaseran [Ministers] Fr. German Chicota, Fr. Paulino Lerena [Interim] |
| 1972-1988 | Msgr. Baraquiel Mojica, D.P [ Parish Priest ] |
| 1988 - 1999 | Msgr. Hernando Godoy, D.P [ Parish Priest ] |
| 1999 - 2009 | Fr. Avelino Sapida [ Parish Priest ] |
| 2009 - 2013 | Fr. Cezar R. Reyes Jr. [ Parish Priest ] |
| 2013–2021 | Fr. Dominador B. Medina [Parish Priest] Rev. Fr. Dyonissio Vargas Palingping |
| 2021 - Present | Fr. Michael Cron [Parish Priest] |