It all began with a letter. On June 21, 1958, Father Peter Mulorroney, C.Ss.R., Vice Provincial of the Redemptorists in Visayas and Mindanao, received a message from Father James T. Lillis, a Columban parish priest in Iligan City. With the blessing of Monsignor Cronin, the Bishop of Iligan, Father Lillis shared how the city was quickly growing and would only continue to expand with new industries on the horizon. He believed the Redemptorists had a role to play in this new chapter of Iligan’s life.
The call was answered. Fathers John Lucey, Paddy Breen, and Hugh Lagan, all C.Ss.R., journeyed from Cebu to Iligan. They were welcomed by the Bishop and the Columban Fathers, and soon after, the seed of a new mission was planted.
First residence of the Redemptorists, 1959.
The foundation of this mission came through the generosity of Philip and Nita Shekker, who donated a piece of land in the Maria Cristina Subdivision in Tibanga. At that time, it was nothing but a wide expanse of cogon grass. The Shekkers could only point vaguely to where the land was, surrounded by tall wild grass swaying in the wind.
With nowhere else to stay, the first Redemptorists lived in a modest house across from the Shekker family. The nearby RVM Sisters, who ran a small kindergarten, kindly opened part of their school for the missionaries to use as a chapel. It was here, in this simple space, that the Redemptorists first gathered the people of Iligan for prayer and worship. Just a week later, Fathers Breen and Lagan were already leading missions and retreats.
The church in 1981.
Father John Lucey would later recall those humble beginnings: “We had been given 300 pesos on leaving Cebu, and with that and a lot of faith, in the help of God and good friends, we started out twenty-five years ago.”
Faith indeed moved mountains. In just one year and eight months, a monastery rose where only cogon grass had grown before. The Shekker family built a house nearby, soon followed by Celso and Terry Hermoso. In 1962, Father James Power arrived as the new superior. He convinced Mayor Cabili to open a road that made the Redemptorist Church more accessible, and from then on, the mission flourished.
The old altar, 1962.
More Redemptorists came, and the mission reached farther and farther—spreading across Northern Mindanao to places like Surigao and Zamboanga. The Iligan Church became a home not just for Sunday worship but also for countless ministries: caring for the sick, visiting the city jail, guiding church groups such as the Knights of Columbus, the Legion of Mary, Charismatic communities, choirs, lay ministers, and retreatants. From Iligan, missions reached dioceses and prelatures all across Mindanao, from the eastern Pacific coast to the far western shores.
The story did not end there. In 2017, when the Marawi crisis broke out, the Iligan Redemptorists opened their doors once again. The monastery became the extension office of Duyog Marawi, gathering priests and lay missionaries from around the country. Together, they created a social action center that responded to both the urgent needs of the crisis and the long-term rebuilding of lives and communities.
What began with a letter and a field of cogon grass has grown into a mission deeply rooted in faith, generosity, and the resilience of the people of Iligan. The Redemptorists’ story here is more than just the history of buildings and ministries—it is the story of God’s providence at work through ordinary people, shaping a community of faith that continues to serve and bring hope to Mindanao.
Source: from the articles written by Fr. John Lucey, C.Ss.R., Fr. Paddy Martin, C.Ss.R., and Fr. Ramon Fruto, in “The Redemptorists Silver Jubilee in Iligan 1954-1984.”