You know that point where you’re about ready to give up? It could be that horrendous term paper, a 10-kilometer marathon, or a really big fight. It seems there are so many odds against you, and it would be so much easier to give up. I felt like that when I was trying to fix my birth certificate. Continue Reading…
Some of you know by now the trials and tribulations we suffered in December in our attempts to prepare our documents for the wedding. Some of you have no idea what we’ve been up to. Well, here’s the long blog post.
When we reserved the St. Francis of Assisi Chapel at Fernwood Gardens, we had to go to the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Project 6, since the chapel was under their care/authority (“Tyranny” would be more appropriate. But I get ahead of myself.) So we booked the chapel for our date, and the parish office gave us a list of requirements. It was a pretty long list, but it didn’t seem that bad when we first saw it. Hah, unbeknownst to us, we were about to embark on a journey that would take us to many City Halls and churches . (And I just wanted to use the word “unbeknownst”.)
Just so we’re all on the same page, boys and girls, here’s the list of requirements they asked of the bride and the groom: Continue Reading…
Our Lady of Mount Carmel finally said they are accepting our documents and we can proceed with the wedding!
We can finish the pending documents after the wedding so we are not in a stressful rush.
- Oneal
Mom found my confirmation certificate! Hooray!
One of the things that’s been bugging us are the church requirements for couples who want to marry. Specifically, we’ve been trying to remember where our confirmation certificates are! I knew I was received the rite of confirmation when we were in Saudi Arabia, but I couldn’t remember exactly when, and where my certificate was.
Our pursuit of Oneal’s confirmation certificate turned into an Intramuros field trip. His mom had said he and his cousins were all confirmed at Manila Cathedral in 1975, so Oneal and I figured our search should start there. This would also be our opportunity to finall explore Intramuros on foot, camera in hand, something we’d been wanting to do for years.
We first headed to Manila Hotel for brunch with Oneal’s mom. Then the driver took us to Manila Cathedral, where we were just in time for the noon Mass. It was Ash Wednesday too, so it was lovely timing. The church was full, and we were able to receive the ash on our foreheads. After the Mass, the office was closed until 2:00, so we decided to go exploring first. We walked around Intramuros and on to San Agustin Church, took pictures of everything, and even found some pretty maritime offices and the Kaisa Filipino-Chinese Community Heritage Museum. One of these days we’ll go back and explore the museums.
At 2:00, we were back in Manila Cathedral, and the office was open. Oneal inquired at the window, and was promptly told that all records for rties performed prior to 1976 were stored in San Agustin. Oops. So we had to trudge back in the afternoon heat and the dust of the city, back to the office at San Agustin.
You can imagine our relief when the girl at the office found the certificate. She was using a slow old computer, and to search their database she used a DOS program, filling in the blanks with the information Oneal provided on the form. It was a slow search, and we had to take a seat while waiting, but at least the records are computerized! The results told her not only that Oneal was confirmed in the Manila Cathedral in 1975, but also told her the ledger and line number where the original record could be found! We were really happy and relieved.
Unfortunately, the certificate would only be valid for 6 months, so if we got a copy then, it would be expired well before our wedding day. Nevertheless, it’s a relief to know exactly where the certificate is, and how to get it when we need it.
Next: my confirmation certificate! Seeing as how I can’t exactly go back to Saudi Arabia and I wasn’t confirmed in an actual church, I’m not sure how the Mount Carmel parish will react to my confirmation story. Still, Mom found my certificate and gave it to me today, so I can at least consult a priest and ask if that’s acceptable, or if I need to be confirmed again.
Wish me luck!
– rej
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