The mix-up in the identity of the patron saint of Dalaguete should be corrected, its parish priest Father Prudencio Elbao told me on Saturday.

The church is officially the parish of San Guillermo de Acquitania. But priests I interviewed for my Rappler story said the identity of this San Guillermo is a conflation of three Guillermos or Williams. The actual patron saint of Dalaguete, they said, should be San Guillermo de Maleval, the saint associated with the Augustinians, which erected the parish in 1711.

I wrote a story about the mix-up for Rappler:

Wrong Guillermo: Cebu town mixed up patron saint for centuries

Augustinian Father Ric Anthony Reyes tells Rappler that the identity of San Guillermo is a mix-up of three different Williams or Guillermos

www.rappler.com

“I correct gyud because we want the truth,” said Father Elbao. If the Archdiocese can issue a decree clarifying the identity of Dalaguete’s San Guillermo, this can then be widely disseminated to the town’s parishioners, he said.

A correction is needed to stop the wrong information from being passed on to the next generation, said Monsignor Juan Jose Dosado Jr., episcopal vicar of the Archdiocese of Cebu District III where Dalaguete belongs

“It is our responsibility to correct the error,” Monsignor Dosado said.

Max Limpag

Max is a journalist and blogger based in Cebu. He has written and edited for such publications as The Freeman, The Independent Post, Today, Sun.Star Cebu, Cebu Daily News, Philstar Life, and Rappler.

He is also a mobile app and web developer and co-founded InnoPub Media with his wife Marlen.