It was July 1, 2005 when we moved to Tustin from Anaheim. Our first Sunday mass at St. Cecilia was coincidentally the first mass of Fr. Al Baca as the new Pastor. One of our Filipino traditions is to invite a priest to bless a new dwelling and this we did.
Fr. Al graciously responded to our request and blessed our home. It was on this occasion that Fr. Al encouraged us to help organize a Filipino Community.
It was a challenge since we were new to the place and did not know anyone. However, God works in mysterious ways. One Sunday at the 9:00 AM mass, the lector looked like a Filipino. After the mass, I ran after him and finally caught up with him as he was about to enter his car. This gentleman turned out to be Del Facundo. I introduced myself and told him that Fr. Al was encouraging us to organize a Filipino Community and I would like to seek his help since we were new parishioners.
I gave him my phone number and Del told me he would be calling somebody to get in touch with me. After a few days I received a call from Emmie Neri and I also told her of our intentions. Emmie was the strongest link. She was able to mobilize her friends and in the meantime, I posted an announcement in the parish bulletin. In a short period of time, we were able to gather a significant number of Filipino parishioners, held an election and thus the Filipino Community of St. Cecilia was born.
Tony and Bel Lagman
