| Holy Spirit School of Tagbilaran | |
|---|---|
| Motto | Veritas en Caritate (Truth in Love) |
| Established | 1926 |
| Type | Private, Roman Catholic, Co-educational, Secondary |
| Affiliation | CEAP |
| Affiliations | PAASCU, CEAP |
| Principal | Virgilia Fudolig |
| Founder | Monsignor Gelacio T. Ramirez |
| Grades | K1 to 4th year H.S. |
| Location | J. Borja St., Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines |
| Accreditation | PAASCU Level III |
| Campus | 1 |
| Colors | Navy blue and white |
| Yearbook | "The Voice" |
| Newspaper | "The Voice" |
| Hymn | HSS Hymn |
The Holy Spirit School of Tagbilaran (HSS), most commonly known simply as Holy Spirit or madre, is a private, Catholic, secondary, co-educational institution in Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines. It is run by the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit, also known as the SSpS congregation or Holy Spirit Sisters. It has preparatory, elementary and high school departments. The high school department was originally exclusive for girls, but has been changed to co-ed since 2001.
The Holy Spirit School of Tagbilaran is one link of the clan of educational institutions owned and operated by the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit (S.Sp.S.) all over the world. It was founded in 1926 by the late Msgr. Gelacio Ramirez, a diocesan priest. It started as a dormitory to shelter girls who were studying at the Bohol National High School.
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Monsignor Gelacio T. Ramirez (1881–1948), the philanthropic former Vicar General of the Diocese of Tagbilaran, was instrumental in the establishment of the first Catholic girl's school in Bohol in 1926. The school, named St. Joseph's Academy (now Holy Spirit School), started as a dormitory to shelter girls who were studying at the Bohol National High School.
On October 16, 1926, on the feast of Nuestra Señora del Pilar, the first three S.Sp.S. Sisters Sr. Laeticia, Sr.Blasia and Josaphata arrived in Tagbilaran City. This was in answer to the request made by Father Gelacio Ramirez for the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit to work in his parish in Tagbilaran City, Bohol.
Realizing the missionary zeal of the three pioneer Sisters, Father Ramirez helped them open a Kindergarten with nineteen (19) enrollees on November 1. This was the humble beginning of the elementary and high school which soon followed. The school was called St. Joseph's Academy in honor of the Patron Saint of Tagbilaran. With a total of forty-nine (49) pupils, the schoolyear began in 1927-1928. The following schoolyear 1928-1929 brought in more than two hundred (200) pupils from kindergarten to Grade Seven and First Year high school. The enrollment consistently increased every year until the outbreak of the war when the enrollment was up to five hundred sixty six (566). Classes were temporarily suspended during the war years. They were resumed on June 4, 1945.
Post World War II saw a big stride in the development of St. Joseph's Academy. A permit to offer a two-year course leading to the title of Elementary Teacher's Certificate (E.T.C) was obtained from the Bureau of Private Schools. Consequently, the name was changed from St. Joseph's Academy to St. Joseph's Junior College. There were 354 pioneer students, indicating that the enrollment was very good.
The early fifties witnessed the beginning of college courses in Music Education and Liberal Arts. Accordingly, the facade of the school got a new look with the sign board "St. Joseph's College" and later "College of the Holy Spirit".
With the increase in the yearly enrollment, the old building (Blessed Arnold Janssen Building) could no longer accommodate all those who desired to study at the College of the Holy Spirit. So plans necessitated the putting up of another building which is now called Blessed Maria Helena Building. Behind the task of putting this huge building and its facilities which the pupils/students presently enjoy was Sister Doloresmaria, S.Sp.S., the Superior/Directress of the school with her community of Sisters who worked together with the students and parents, borrowed and begged from relatives, friends and benefactors and dared to risk. The building was inaugurated by the Most Rev. Manuel Mascariñas on December 5, 1965.
In 1974, the college department was phased out. Thus, the next school year, the name of the school was changed to Holy Spirit School of Tagbilaran. The school celebrated its Golden Jubilee in October, 1976.
The Holy Spirit School, in the quest to offer quality education, continually updated all its curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular offerings. The institutional re-direction brought about the use of innovative strategies, improvement of facilities and changes in some school policies. These were all affirmed during the school's preliminary PAASCU (Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities) Self Survey in 1985, its Formal Survey in 1988, and its re-survey for two terms in 1991 and 1996. HSS takes the pride of being the first and only PAASCU accredited school in the Province of Bohol for the past two decades.
In 1998, responding to the needs of the school community, the SSpS congregation ventured into a magnanimous endeavor, that is, to realize the HSS expansion project. Members of the HSS family such as: the Alumni/Alumnae, the Federated Parents Teachers Association, and other benefactors supported this undertaking. Thus, a third building named Mother Josepha building was constructed and now stands along Remolador Street.
On July 26, 2006, the Holy Spirit School Alumni Association had a Grand Alumni Homecoming in time for the Bohol Sandugo Festival activities and the Tigum Bol-anon Tibuok Kalibutan or TBTK.[1]
The Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit (SSpS), the Sister Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration or SSpSPA (popularly known as "Pink Sisters"), also headed by a Filipina, Sister Cecilia Hocbo, and the Society of the Divine Word or SVD were founded by Saint Arnold Janssen.
Saint Arnold Janssen (November 5, 1837 – January 15, 1909) was a Roman Catholic priest born in Goch, Germany, near the Dutch border. He was ordained a priest in 1861. Janssen purchased land in Steyl, Holland (Netherlands) to begin his seminary, dedicated in 1875 as "St. Michael the Archangel Mission House". Within a few years, many seminarians, priests and brothers were preparing for missionary service there, and the first two missionaries, Joseph Freinademetz and John Anzer, were sent to China. Janssen also founded two congregations of religious Sisters: The Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters (members known as "Sister Servants of the Holy Spirit") on December 8, 1889, and the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration ("Sister Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration") on September 8, 1896.[3]
He and Joseph Freinademetz were canonized on October 5, 2003 by Pope John Paul II, as was Daniele Comboni, an important missionary in Africa. Janssen was canonized after the healing of a Filipino teenager living in Baguio City who fell down on a bike and was not expected to recover from a head wound. According to her relatives and the Church, she was healed miraculously following prayers to Janssen.