October 4, 2022 marked a milestone in Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan’s Campus of the Future Project as it conducted the blessing of the new farm laboratory site of the College of Agriculture in El Gaucho, Upper Puerto, Cagayan de Oro City.
Held on the feast day of St Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals, merchants and ecology, the occasion started with a Eucharistic Celebration led by the University President, Fr Mars P Tan, SJ. Concelebrating with him were his Jesuit brothers, Fr Ismael Jose Chan-Gonzaga, SJ, Fr Frank Dennis B Savadera, SJ, and Fr Arman B Samonte, SJ.
Then, Fr Ismael Jose Chan-Gonzaga, SJ led the blessing of the New Manresa Farm premises. This was followed by the planting of giant bamboos in designated areas of the farm.
The occasion was graced by about 150 individuals, composed of university administrators, College of Agriculture faculty and staff, Aggie student leaders, El Gaucho community leaders, officials from Barangay Puerto and Barangay Bugo, and representatives from XU College of Agriculture Parents and Faculty Association and from Xavier Science Foundation.
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The City Mayor of Cagayan de Oro, Hon. Rolando A Uy, also visited the farm site and was warmly welcomed by the University President and various heads of offices. The university partnered with the city government in developing the 5-ha lot donated to the city for the El Gaucho community.
During the short program that followed the blessing and bamboo planting, representatives from the University administration, Barangay Puerto, Barangay Bugo, Xavier Science Foundation and the El Gaucho community expressed full support for the establishment of the New Manresa Farm.
The Oct 4, 2022 ceremony also marks the start of the construction work in New Manresa. It is targeted that the farm will be fully operationalized within the next two years and will begin serving not only the students of Xavier Ateneo but also the surrounding communities, the city of Cagayan de Oro, Northern Mindanao and the rest of the country.
The Jesuit priests and regents who led the concelebration of the Holy Mass and Blessing of the New Manresa Farm premises
University officials (Dr Juliet Dalagan, VP for Higher Education (leftmost photo), and Ms Gina Guioguio, Director, Budget and Asset Management (rightmost photo)) and Aggie student leaders (Ria Briones and Tara Torres, center photo) were among those who dirtied their hands and planted giant bamboos in New Manresa
University officials together with the College of Agriculture faculty, staff and students, El Gaucho Community leaders, Xavier Science Foundation personnel, Barangay Puerto and Barangay Bugo officials, and XUCA Parents and Faculty Association officers after the 4 October 2022 Eucharistic Celebration and Blessing of the New Manresa Farm in El Gaucho, Upper Puerto, Cagayan de Oro City
Left photo: Cagayan de Oro City Mayor, Hon. Rolando Uy, with some members of the University and representatives from Barangay Puerto, Barangay Bugo and the El Gaucho community. Right photo: Xavier Ateneo community organizers with the El Gaucho community leaders and Xavier Science Foundation personnel. 