The Sacred Heart Ladies Association is a group of ladies who is committed to help the Sacred Heart Parish through its civic and outreach programs.
The group supports any activities, projects and programs of the parish or other religious organizations including the Sacred Heart Youth Circle outside the province.
For the year 2018, the group has served over a thousand individuals, adult and children in Cebu City through its different programs and activities. Not to mention financial assistance to different schools.
Among its major activities for 2018 are the First Communion for Zapatera Elementary School, mass wedding, feeding and Christmas gift-giving, scholarships and hospital visitation.
Over 250 students from Zapatera Elementary School received their first holy communion at the Sacred Heart Parish. The Sacred Heart Ladies assisted during the ceremony and provided snacks for the children after. The first holy communion is done twice a year.
Also, twice a year the Sacred Heart Parish grants free wedding rites to parishioners and couples from other areas who wished to sanctify their union.
On December 15, a total of 24 couples received the sacrament of Matrimony celebrated by Fr. Vidal Gorniz and Fr. Felipe Bacalso. The Sacred Heart Ladies assisted in the ceremony and gave out wedding cakes to each couple to sweeten the celebration.
On December 12, the Sacred Heart Ladies Association headed by president Cristina Lo and committee chairperson Irene Tanco organized a Christmas gift-giving activity for 250 preschoolers of the Zapatera Elementary School. The event was held at Zapatera Elementary School and started off with a simple meal followed by the distribution of gifts for the children, which consisted of a backpack, slippers, hygiene kit, foodstuffs and other goodies.
The gifts were sponsored by the members and parishioners. The children, beneficiaries of the Ladies’ long-running feeding program, went home with a smile on their face and a full heart.
To add more meaning to the Christmas celebration, the Ladies also visited the sick at the Ward of Chong Hua Hospital. The Ladies, led by Emily Yu and Leslie Cokaliong, together with hospital staff, other organizations and volunteers, serenaded the patients and handed out gift packs and cash which made some patients cry with joy.
The hospital visitation, headed by Committee chairperson Cherry Lua, is a weekly program at Chong Hua where patients are visited, prayed over and given communion.
The Ladies will continue to work together this 2019 for the good of the community. More services and programs are in store for those who are in need.