Dingras (Ilocos Norte) residents pay homage to St. Joseph

By Leilanie G. Adriano

Staff reporter

DINGRAS, Ilocos Norte—With a thankful heart, local residents here gathered in front of the heritage church of Saint Joseph, the town’s patron saint to celebrate his day of feast on March 19.

St. Joseph Church, known as one of the biggest in the country with a length of 90 feet and a width of 20 feet underwent a major facelift through a fundraising initiative initiated by Dingras’ local residents and other balikbayans [Ilocano immigrants] now based in Hawaii and mainland United States of America.

Seeing the transformation of the church, Dingras Mayor Erdio Valenzuela said the municipality is blessed to have its people helping transform the community into a peaceful and more progressive municipality in Ilocos Norte’s second district.

The feast day of St. Joseph, the husband of the Virgin Mary, every 19^th day of March coincides with the town’s weeklong Ani [Harvest] festival, which is now on its 14^th year.

Mr. Valenzuela and the officers and members of the Dingreños Association of Hawaii graced the re-opening of the church on the early morning of March 19 as one of the ten pilgrimage sites in the province.

With this year’s theme, “Sirib ken anus—gameng dagiti umili iti agtultuloy nga idudur-as ti Dingras [Knowledge and hard work, treasures of Dingras for continued progress]”, the Ani festival 2015 showcased a selection of agro-industrial and commercial trade, attended by balikbayans, guests and other visitors.

A grand parade featuring various stakeholders in Dingras was also staged and followed by the coronation of Miss Dingras 2015. 

Founded in 1598, this second class municipality is one of the oldest towns in Ilocos Norte formed by Spanish authorities. Although it is not the largest town in the province, Dingras, covering a land area of 17,962 hectares, has been acclaimed as the “rice granary” of Ilocos Norte mainly because it has been blessed with fertile fields, vast plains and abundant water supply.