A Life Well Lived

Fr. Rogelio B. Alarcon

Fr. Rogelio B. Alarcon is a priest who has established three Angelicum Schools in the 1970’s.

The concept of a school catering to the individual needs of each learner was on the mind of Fr. Rogelio B. Alarcon, O.P. when he was a student of Colegio de San Juan de Letran in Manila. 

In 1972, he (then the first Prior Provincial of the Dominican Province of the Philippines) was able to convince some educators and the Provincial Council to establish a non-graded school. It was to be called Angelicum after one of the Dominican houses of studies in Rome and in honor of the Dominican Angelic Doctor of the Church St. Thomas Aquinas, the Universal Patron Saint of Catholic schools.

The year 2014 is year Fr. Alarcon will be celebrating his 77^th birthday. He is currently a retired priest of Santo Domingo Church.

In his 49 years in priesthood he claims that until now he is absolutely satisfied that all he has set to do for God and for his neighbors are being accomplished.

Fr. Rogelio B. Alarcon’s existence is a life that can be marveled upon.

The first Angelicum School he established (now Angelicum College) was founded in Quezon City in 1972. The second was established in Teheran, Iran in 1974 and was later closed when war broke out. In 1978, Angelicum School Iloilo was opened with 70-plus students and four teaching staff.

Angelicum School Iloilo, which occupies the Lizares Mansion compound, has an area of 16,500 square meters along McArthur Drive, Tabuc Suba, Jaro, Iloilo City. The mansion, which is a mixture of American and Spanish architecture, is still one of the most elegant structures in Iloilo.

He encouraged the idea of The Non- Graded System of Education.

The Non-Graded System of Education is based on the philosophy that learners are different from one another and the belief that all children are capable of learning the same quality of knowledge.

The Non-Graded System of Education sees a subject area as a continuous whole with a complete set of skills to be learned without the usual time frame.

The learner's progress in a given subject area level is determined by his personal capacity to learn coupled by the efforts he exerts as conditioned by his moods, degree of responsibilities and maturity.

Father Alarcon also encouraged the Open Classroom System of Education.

The Open Classroom System of Education is based on a principle that the process of learning transpires wherever the learner is. In the classroom, the teacher sets the mood for learning, but the process is not confined to it. Learning could happen in the next room, in the playground, in the library or under the trees.

The whole world is the classroom.

Even after every success Father Alarcon has been through, he still remains humble and faithful to God’s judgment.

When he was asked if he thinks he’s doing well as a priest, he replied, “I don’t know. It’s up to God, really. I’m just doing the best that I can.”

Fr. Rogelio Alarcon is a person who not only should be admired but also imitated. He is an inspiration to everyone and also a person who’s life contains a very important lesson.

Follow God and nothing will ever be impossible.