As one of the Jesuit priests assigned in Davao, Fr. Raimundo Peruga knew the travails he had to endure given the vastness of the territory surrounding the gulf. In March 1914, while staying at Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur, he lived at the house of William Gohn, an American planter who briefly took over the province as governor. His first visit to the place was in October 1912.
Fr. Peruga had only kind words for the man. During his first visit, he initially opted to live in the rickety convent but had to desist given the leaks from the rain. Hungry and suffering from the heat, he took shelter in a miserable hut but observed the owner was not generous, not even offering a glass of water. He, however, asked him about the biggest rancher in the locality and was pointed to Gohn. Recalling the incident, he wrote:
‘I went straight to his house, notwithstanding that he was not a Catholic. I told him who I was, and what was the purpose of my trip, begging him to receive me in his house for a few days… He told me that he, as a farmer, had to go several times a day to direct and encourage his workers; but that, even if he was absent due to his obligations, he put his entire house at my disposal… and with complete freedom, to enter his house at all hours. I thanked him for his favor, accepting it with special gratitude… we got along and understood each other, and I gained more affection and love for him day by day, and he put more trust in me. And so, the several times that I have visited the neighborhood of Santa Cruz, I have always stayed at [his] house.’
In his recent stay, Fr. Peruga was determined to reach Melilla, which he had not still visited; it was where an evangelical pastor had made religious inroads. He observed that while in Santa Cruz no one approached him for baptism or inquire anything about religion; he construed this as a bad sign. He decided, instead, to go up the hilly Melilla village and evangelize.
Some residents had doubts that given his age, already 74 years old, the priest would be able to negotiate the steep paths. But he was unfazed in pursuing his purpose amid difficulties and at whatever cost. Gohn, a town councilor, offered him a horse he could use for his trek. To ensure that he’d get the attention of the village head, he asked Gohn to write a letter of recommendation. Armed with this and accompanied by a sacristan and a guide, the priest, carrying only a travel trousseau with a portable altar inside it, hiked to the mountain hamlet.
Fr. Peruga’s small party reached the village at 10:00 AM. Without delay, he sought out the chieftain, greeted him, and showed Gohn’s letter, remembering: ‘He read the letter, in which he was instructed to protect me. Surely that letter tasted like a burnt horn; but, no matter how much it weighed on him, out of concern for its author, he had no choice but to dispatch a sheriff or cop to the fields, warning the people that the Catholic missionary was waiting for them in town.’
The priest observed ‘a great servile fear’ the residents had toward their Protestant chief but he was open to telling them that the government respected Catholic beliefs, and that as converts they must adhere to the teachings of the Church in order not to incur the ire of God. He also taught them on the necessary truths on the unity of a most perfect God, the Trinity of persons.
Due to lack of material time, he had to postpone the baptisms and marriages in the morning of March 17, 1914, because it was already night when he finished his lectures. The next day, he said the Mass, administered the baptisms, and officiated marriages. Thereafter, he retraced his footsteps to town, hopeful to take the next boat ride for Davao.
His Santa Cruz visits, which brought him to Coronon, Astorga, the town center of Santa Cruz, and Melilla, netted him 16 catechetical lectures, 33 confessions, 55 infants baptized, 41 adults christened, and 18 weddings solemnized.
