11/09/2026
Former Director and DCHS founder, Fr. Anthony Paulus Oomen, officiates a Mass before the old altar of Dao Parish Church.
The old altar features a bas-relief of The Last Supper. It dates to the Spanish and American eras, along with the retablo. This is the only part of the church that miraculously survived when the whole church was burned during the Liberation of Dao in World War II.
This altar was demolished sometime around 1998โ2001. Parts of its debris, the small balustrades, were still stored in the old sacristy until very recently, when the sacristy itself was also demolished and replaced.
Photo colorized using AI
Original photo from the family of Fr Oomen, 2021