Mapandan Church

The organization of Mapandan (once a part of Mangaldan) into a town was made through the initiative of the old men from the place with the support of Fr. Benigno Jimenez then parish priest of Mangaldan, and of Don Hilario Aquino, a barrio captain.

Originally, the town was located in the hilly region in the south where “pandan”-a plant the leaves of which are stripped and women wove into mats – grew in abundance. Thus, the town was named Mapandan. Later the town was transferred to Torres, a barrio named after the famous priest of Mangaldan, Fr. Jose Torres, O.P. Finally, in 1902, the town site was transferred to its present location

The first church was built about the time Mapandan was founded as a parish in 1905 with Fr. Juan Ballesteros as the first parish priest. Since then, around twenty-three priests served Mapandan parish. Among them is most Rev. Emilio Cinense, former Bishop of San Fernando, (Pampanga) who served from September, 1934 to April 25, 1936.

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