St. Jerome Aemiliani

St. Jerome Emiliani

Feastday: February 8

1481 - 1537

Jerome Emiliani lay chained in the dark dirty dungeon. Only a short time before he had been a military commander forVenice in charge of a fortress. He didn't care much about Godbecause he didn't need him -- he had his own strength and the strength of his soldiers and weapons. When Venice's enemies, the League of Cambrai, captured the fortress, he was dragged off and imprisoned. There in the dungeon, Jerome decided to get rid of the chains that bound him. He let go of his worldly attachments and embraced God.

When he finally was able to escape, he hung his metal chains in the nearby church of Treviso -- in gratitude not only for being freed from physical prison but from his spiritual dungeon as well.

After a short time as mayor of Treviso he returned his home in Venice where he studied for the priesthood. The war may have been over but it was followed by the famine and plague war's devastation often brought. Thousands suffered in his beloved city. Jerome devoted himself to service again -- this time, not to the military but the poor and suffering around him. He felt a special call to help the orphans who had no one to care for them. All the loved ones who would have protected them and comforted them had been taken by sickness or starvation. He would become their parent, their family.

Using his own money, he rented a house for the orphans, fed them, clothed them, and educated them. Part of his education was to give them the first known catechetical teaching by question and answer. But his constant devotion to the suffering put him in danger too and he fell ill from the plague himself. When he recovered, he had the ideal excuse to back away, but instead his illness seemed to take the last links of the chain from his soul. Once again he interpreted his suffering to be a sign of how little the ambitions of the world mattered.

He committed his whole life and all he owned to helping others. He founded orphanages in other cities, a hospital, and a shelter for prostitutes. This grew into a congregation of priests and brothers that was named after the place where they had a house: the Clerks Regular of Somascha. Although they spenttime educating other young people, their primary work was always Jerome's first love -- helping orphans.

His final chains fell away when he again fell ill while taking care of the sick. He died in 1537 at the age of 56.

He is the patron saint of abandoned children and orphans.

 In His Footsteps:

Become a foster parent. Millions of children need the love and care of a foster family. Contact your localFamily Services agency or Catholic Charities to find out how you can help.

Prayer:

Saint Jerome Emiliani, watch over all children who are abandoned or unloved. Give us the courage to show them God's love through our care. Help us to lose the chains that keep us from living the life Godintended for us. Amen

St. Jerome Aemiliani 

Aemilianum College

AEMILIANUM COLLEGE  : 

           If there’s an educational institution that is rising up today in the Province of Sorsogon, then it’s no other than the AEMILIANUM COLLEGE,INCORPORATED. Located at Piot, Sorsogon City, Aemilianum College gain the respect of the Sorsoganons through its good quality of education and its contributions to the progress of the City as well.

With its complete curriculum from Pre-School, Elementary, High School, College (Degree Courses) and the College of Law (Post Graduates), thus make Aemilianum a respected educational institution. To add more credentials to this School, three of the first batch of graduates on the College of Law passed the Bar Exams on a “take one” scheme.

The existence of its local Television Station (and a Radio Station) makes another difference in the Media History of the Province. The AEMILIANUM BROADCASTING NETWORK or the AITV5 is the local television established by this College six years ago. Now, AITV5 is soaring high in the service of the People of Sorsogon.

Local news throughout the City and its neighboring Municipalities are being aired daily at the said local television network. Aside from this, various talk shows, documentary and religious programs are being shown for the benefits of the people of Sorsogon. Indeed this kind of services through Media Network became a big help in the progress of Sorsogon.

THE SCHOOL PHILOSOPHY

The Aemilianum College, a Roman Catholic school runs by the Somascan Fathers, takes it reason of existence from a man. St Jerome Emiliani, who greatly contributed to the improvement of humanity. In a society marked by social classes, he, a noble and rich man, devoted himself to the poor, thus proclaiming the dignity and value of every human being.

The A.C.I. is a cradle where the students can achieve a broad, general and liberal quality education, aimed at developing their character, personal discipline, civic conscience and vocational efficiency.

BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH

The birth of the school can be traced back to the time when the Diocesan Chancellor, Secretary of Caceres, Msgr. Florencio Yllana was appointed as new Parish Priest of Sorsogon. Deeply inspired by Msgr. Pedro Santos, Msgr. Yllana decided to found a Catholic School for boys as counterpart of the Colegio de la Milagrosa, which exclusively for High School Girls.

That was in 1944, right after the liberation. In 1947 a young Priest from Tiwi, Albay, and Rev. Father Eladio T. Palces was assigned as assistant priest of Sorsogon. It was then that Msgr. Yllana turned over to his new Assistant the directorship of the School. The boys were then housed at the residence of Msgr. Manuel Salvador

In 1951, the Colegio de la Milagrosa High School for boys transferred to the Parish Rectory. The new Director then changed the name of the school from Colegio de la Milagrosa (for boys) to Lyceum of Sorsogon.

When Msgr. Palces was assigned in Irosin, Sorsogon, he turned over the Administration to the Divine Word Fathers who came at the invitation of Bishop Arnulfo Arcilla in 1959. It was the SVD Fathers who changed the name of Lyceum of Sorsogon to Divine Word High School of Sorsogon in 1963.

In the 1976, under the suggestion of Msgr. Arcilla, the Divine Word High School returned to the Diocese and took the name of Sts. Peter & Paul Technical Institute.

In 1985, the School was handed down to the Somascan Fathers by Bishop Jesus Y. Varela. The Somascan Fathers changed its name once more and called it AEMILIANUM INSTITUTE and now AEMILIANUM COLLEGE, INC. This name is taken from the Family name of their founder St. Jerome Emiliani.

Former name: Aemilianum Institute

Year established: 1985

Address: Rizal Street, Barangay Piot, Sorsogon City

Telephone: (056) 211-2330

Telefax: (56) 211-1297

E-mail: aemilianum@yahoo.com

Web: www.sorsogontourism.com/aemilianum.htm

Aemilianum Building

Bacon Beach

Caricaran, Bacon District, Sorsogon City

Libanon Beach

San Juan, Bacon District, Sorsogon City

PAGOL BEACH

Buenavista, Bacon District, Sorsogon City

 PAGURIRAN ISLAND

Sawanga Bacon District, Sorsogon City

Patron Saint

The Immaculate Conception of Mary is a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church, according to which the Blessed Virgin Mary was conceived without any stain (in Latin, macula or labes, the second of these two synonymous words being the one used in the formal definition) of original sin.^[2][3] It is one of the four dogmata in Roman Catholic Mariology. It is completely distinct from the Virginity of Mary and the virgin birth of Jesus, though it is a popular mistake to confuse them. Mary is sometimes called the Immaculata (the Immaculate One), particularly in artistic contexts.^[4]

The proclaimed Roman Catholic dogma states "that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin".^[2] Being always free from original sin, she was from the start filled with the sanctifying grace that would normally come with baptism after birth. Although widely-held since at least Late Antiquity, the doctrine was not formally proclaimed until Pope Pius IX did so in 1854 in Ineffabilis Deus.

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception is celebrated in Bacon every 21^st of May.