DAVAO CITY, August 2 (PIA)- The old parish records found in the 137-year old San Salvador Church in Caraga, Davao Oriental will be digitized with the recent official signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ateneo de Davao University and the Diocese of Mati.

The Ateneo de Davao will be undertaking the digitization of the records led by university archivist Pam Castrillo.

“We have organized a team whose members are trained to do careful digital scanning and processing of paper records. We are fortunate to belong to an age in which great strides have been made in imaging technology. Thus, our scanning protocol is virtually contactless and definitely non-invasive to ensure the integrity of the Parish records,” Castrillo said of the digitization project.

According to Fr. Jay B. Ramos, DCM, Director, Diocesan Commission on Church and Cultural Heritage said the digitization project covers 16 volumes of Church records involving close to 2,500 oversized pages inscribed by missionaries of the 19th century.

The pages contain information about baptisms, confirmations, marriages solemnized in the San Salvador Church as well as death registration. There are also books of financial accounts.

“When I was a newly ordained priest in 2012 and was assigned as the Parochial Vicar of San Salvador del Mundo Parish in Caraga, Davao Oriental, I saw century-old documents at the brink of decay and destruction,” Fr. Ramos said of the state of the materials at the church.

The records of the church were then kept in the enclosed cabinet near the room of the parish priest for safe-keeping.

“The volumes also are a rich source of what Fr. Madz Tumbali SJ calls "demographic and ancestral history of places once under the Caraga Mission." There is also fascinating information that logically explains the parochial fiesta celebration of old parishes in the Diocese of Mati,” Fr. Ramos said.

“Digitizing these documents will give us a guarantee that we can still have access to the very rich records of the Church. Whenever we have people interested to delve deeper into the rich history of the Local Church of Mati then can use these digital materials which safe-keep every page of the entries of the century-old parish books,” Bishop Abel C. Apigo, of the Diocese of Mati said in his message during the signing of the MOU.

“For Ateneo de Davao University, this is possible not only because of its general desire to be of service to the dioceses of our region, but also because it is fortunate to have as its archivist, Dr. Pamela Castrillo, who has a personal passion for appreciating and preserving artifacts of historical value,” Ateneo de Davao University President Fr. Joel Tabora said of ADDU’s participation to the project.

The San Salvador del Mundo (Christ Holy Saviour of the World) Church was built by the Jesuits in 1877 and completed in 1884, in the town of Caraga, Davao Oriental, it is considered as the oldest church in Mindanao.  (PIA/RG Alama)