FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE HISTORY OF ST. THOMAS AQUINAS PARISH
1. HOW DID MANGALDAN GET ITS NAME?
There are three versions which generations of Mangaldanes held as to how the town got its name. Three of them are a little legendary hence quite unreliable. The fourth version is held by Fr. Raymundo Saurez, OP and in his 103-year old manuscript entitled "Apuntes Curiosos Sobre Los Pueblos de Pangasinan", it is stated that the etymology of the town's appelation is derived from the root word "ALAR" or, as other Pangasinenses would pronounce it, "ALAD" which is interposed between the particles "MANG" and "AN". In the Pangasinan language, "ALAR" or "ALAD" signifies a palisade, a stockade, or simply, a fence made of bamboo of any similar materials. Hence, the name of the town if to be strictly pronounced properly should be "MANGALADAN". However, this word is syncopated by suppresing the penultimate "A" and what remains alone is "MANGALDAN".
Considering the fact that Mangaldan existed as a ranch in its beginning, the copious presence of bamboo fences in the place could have given rise to the town's appelation.
2. WHEN DID MANGALDAN BECOME A PARISH?
Mangaldan was accepted as a separate Vicariate on June 2, 1600 at the Sixth Provincial Chapter of the Dominican at the Santo Domingo Convent in Manila. It was called a "Vicariate" because it was administered by a "vicar" of the Dominican Order.
3. WHO WAS MOST RESPONSIBLE IN THE CONVERSION AND EVANGELIZATION OF MANGALDAN?
When Mangaldan was yet a small struggling village, it was administered by the Dominican missionaries assigned in Calasiao to which it was attached or annexed as a "visita". One of the most famous of these was FR. PEDRO DE SOTO, OP (died 1599) -- the first Dominican missionary to preach succesfully the Gospel among the early settlers of Mangaldan.
Of these inhabitants, the one who contributed to the spread of the Faith was the famous convert, DON PEDRO CASIPIT. His wife also contributed greatly in his conversion.
4. WHO WAS BLESSED JUAN MARTINEZ DE SANTO DOMINGO?
Blessed Juan Martinez de Santo Domingo was considered as the founder of the town of Mangaldan. He was assigned as a missionary upon his arrival from Spain in Bataan and later to Pangasinan where he allegedly founded the town of Mangaldan. He died a martyr's death in Japan on March 19, 1619.
5. WHEN WAS MANGALDAN AS A TOWN FOUNDED?
According to the research and study made by REV. FR. RAFAEL S. MAGNO,a native priest of Mangaldan, the foundation of Mangaldan as a town is attributed to Juan Martinez de Santo Domingo (+1619). However, the exact date of the town's foundation remains very uncertain. It can be deduced however from the testimonies of historical documents that its foundation came shortly after the Dominican Provincial Chapter of June 2, 1600 accepted the Dominican House in Mangaldan.
Fr. Magno claims that it could not be on or, much less, earlier than this date for the simple reason that Fr. Juan Martinez de Santo Domingo arrived in the Philippines only on April 31, 1602. And yet, it could not be later than 1605 because Fr. Mariano Rodriguez, who wrote a history of Manaoag, claims that when the Dominicans accepted the mission of Santa Monica from the Augustinians on this year, the great town of Mangaldan was already founded.
6. WHO WAS THE FIRST PARISH PRIEST OF MANGALDAN?
The first pastor of Mangaldan was FR. PEDRO DE LEDESMA, who arrived from Mexico to the Philippines on March 23, 1596. He died at the Santo Domingo convent in Manila in 1625.
The first assistant to the pastor was FR. TOMAS CASTELLAR. He died in Manaoag in 1607.
7. WHO WAS THE FIRST DIOCESAN FILIPINO PRIEST WHO BECAME A PARISH PRIEST OF MANGALDAN?
FR, BENIGNO JIMENEZ, a Filipino secular priest, was first assigned as an assistant to FR. MIGUEL LLAMBI, the last Dominican missionary to be appointed to Mangaldan. Fr. Llambi was the parish priest of Mangaldan until the years of the revoultioin when he left with the Dominican Fathers for Hongkong. Fr. Jimenez evetually became the parish priest of the town.