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José Roel Lungay

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José Roel Lungay
José Roel Lungay Jr. (born March 11, 1960 in
Manila, Rizal, Philippines), also known as Father
Roel, or more widely as Fro, is a Filipino priest
from Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines. He was
ordained to the priesthood on December 7, 1984 at
the Immaculate Conception Parish, Catigbian,
Bohol, Philippines and is currently the pastor of St.
Genevieve Church in Slidell, Louisiana, USA. Fr.
Roel has also made a mark in the field of music as a
songwriter, arranger and record producer.

Contents
José Roel Lungay

1 Biography Background information

1.1 Early life Birth name José Roel Lungay

1.2 Career
Born March 11, 1960

1.3 Priestly life
Origin Tagbilaran City, Bohol,

2 Discography
Philippines

2.1 List of Songs

2.2 Albums
Occupation(s) Roman Catholic priest, singer,

2.3 Singles
songwriter arranger

2.4 Music samples Years active 1998–present

3 See also Label(s) Fro's Music, Mary's Helpers

4 References Records

5 External links Members
*Paring Bol-anon Archdiocese of New Orleans
Knights of Columbus
Biography
Early life

Father José Roel Lungay, fondly called Father Roel or Fro, was born to José Racho Lungay of Balilihan,
Bohol and Amelia Fernandez Galicia of San Jose, Mindoro Occidental. His father, a product of FEATI
University in Manila, was a long-time public servant having served as Area Equipment Engineer of
Region 7 of the Department of Public Highways (DPH) until his retirement, while his mother, a St. Paul
College alum, was a devoted homemaker tending all 10 of her children. Father Roel, born in Manila,
was raised in Tagbilaran City, Bohol. He attended Kindergarten (1964-1966) in Marulas, Bulacan and
Sampaloc, Manila. For his elementary education, his Grades 1 and 2 (1966 - 1968) were at Catigbian
Elementary School Annex, Catigbian, Bohol. His Grades 3 to 6 (1968 - 1972) were at Cogon
Elementary School, Tagbilaran City, graduating from elementary at Cogon Elementary School. He
attended the Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Tagbilaran City for both his secondary school
(1972 - 1976) and college (1976 - 1980) where he earned a Bachelors Degree in Arts major in Classical

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Philosophy, minor in [[English]. He also took up a few subjects in architecture at the University of
Bohol before deciding to go back to the seminary. For his post-graduate studies, he proceeded to the
Saint Augustine Major Seminary (SASMA) and the Divine Word Seminary in Tagaytay City where he
earned his degree in theology.

While on his third year in theology at the Divine Word Seminary in Tagaytay City, he was ordained a
deacon on February 28, 1983 at the St. Joseph Cathedral, Tagbilaran City. He was ordained to the
priesthood, on December 8, 1984, at the Immaculate Conception Church in Catigbian, Bohol by then
bishop of Tagbilaran, Most Rev. Onesimo Gordoncillo, D.D., currently the Archbishop of Capiz.

Career

After spending a year of sabbatical from the seminary in 1980 and working with the urban poor at San
Jose Resettlement Area in Carmona, Cavite, Father Roel entered the St. Augustine Major Seminary
(SASMA) in 1981. There, he started writing liturgical settings of the Mass both in English and in
Tagalog. He was one of the first composers to write a musical setting for the new Tagalog Missal
Bagong Misal, which was approved in 1982 but initially faced a considerable amount of opposition in its
early years, especially in the Manila area. However, his new setting continued to be taught and sung at
SASMA and in some Dioceses where SASMA seminarians came from. In 1983, the Archdiocesan
Commission on Liturgical Music (ACLM), Archdiocese of Manila [1] published some of his songs in its
third hymnal publication, Hosanna III, approved by then Archbishop of Manila, Jaime Cardinal Sin. Fr.
Roel was also voted by the seminarians as music director of SASMA in 1982 during which he initiated
the publication of the seminary's hymnal, SASMASSONGS (MISASMA). In 1984, along with Fr. William
Abas who was the lyricist, he wrote the music and arrangement to Handog-Paglilingkod (Service
Offering)[2] which became the official theme song of SASMA that very year. In 1995, he won first place
in the NFCMWA Christian Music Songwriting Contest in Jacksonville, FL with the song Dear Jesus.
He got an honorable mention, in the Trailblazer Category of the 1995 Airplay International Country
Songwriting Contest, Nashville, Tennessee with his song, Sailboat.

Between the years 1981 to 1985, while still a student at the Divine Word Seminary in Tagaytay City,
Philippines, Fr. Roel became involved with works among the urban poor. As a seminarian he always
chose for his apostolates an opportunity to be with the poor and so-called oppressed people. He worked
in places like Ternate; Bagong Bayan, Dasmarinas (a Resettlement area); Malagasang, Imus; Andrea,
Bacoor and Rosario, Cavite. He also took part in organizing, between 1984 - 1986, the first People
Power in the Southern Tagalog and Central Luzon Regions.

Father Roel was ordained priests on December 7, 1984 at the Immaculate Conception Church in
Catigbian, Bohol. He became the first priest ordained in Catigbian. In 1985, after finishing his
theological studies at the Divine Word Seminary, he received his first pastoral assignment when his
bishop, now Archbishop of Capiz, Most. Rev. Onesino Gordoncillo, D.D., sent him to the Diocese of
Cabanatuan which was in need of priestly help. He was assigned as assistant priest of St. Nicholas de
Tolentino Cathedral in Cabanatuan City for one full year.

Back when the Diocese of Tagbilaran was being split into two ecclesiastical Dioceses in 1986, Father
Roel came home to Bohol for reassignment. Since the Bishop of Tagbilaran at that time was already
being named the Archbishop-elect of the Archdiocese of Capiz, he deferred assigning Father Roel to a
new station and told him instead to wait for the next bishop to arrive. The Diocese finally split that year
and two new bishops were named for both the old Diocese of Tagbilaran and the new Diocese of

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Talibon: Most Rev. Felix Zafra, D.D. for Tagbilaran and Most Rev. Cristian Noel, D.D. for Talibon. It
was during this waiting period that Fr. Roel opted instead to visit his family in San Francisco for which
he was granted pemission by then Diocesan Administrator, Msgr Pelagio Dompor, J.C.D. with the
approval of the Priests Consultors.

Priestly life

Father Roel arrived in the United States on December 18, 1986 by way of Japan. He spent his first
Christmas in America with his mother's family and Paring Bol-anons in San Francisco, California. Day
after Christmas 1986, he headed for Denver, Colorado then to New Orleans, Louisiana were he finally
made a new home.

Father Roel spent his first 6 months in Louisiana as a guest priest at St. Lawrence Church in Kramer or
Bayou Boeuf to locals. It was there where he immersed himself to a new culture, the French Cajun. It
was during his stay in this area where he finally got a taste first-hand of what Southern hospitality is
about , foods he previously only heard in a song or a travel book, such as Jambalaya, creole gumbo,
crawfish boil, alligator sauce piquante, turtle soup, soft-shell crabs, and places such as Thibodaux and
New Orleans.

In June of 1987 Father Roel received his first official canonical assignment from then Archbishop of
New Orleans, Most Rev. Philip Hannan, D.D., as Associate Pastor of St. Philip Neri Church in Metairie.
He served there from 1987 to 1990. During the tenure of Archbishop Francis B. Schulte, he was
assigned at St. Rita Church, Harahan, LA from 1990-1994 then at St. Ann Church and National Shrine
in Metairie from 1994 to 1998 and finally at Our Lady of Prompt Succor Church in Chalmette from
1998 to 2001. After incardinating from the Diocese of Tagbilaran in 2000, he officially joined the
Archdiocese of New Orleans in 2001 when they made him first time pastor of St. Genevieve Church,
Slidell in eastern St. Tammany.

Discography
While serving as a priest in New Orleans, Louisiana, Father Roel has produced four compilations of
original songs written by him, Mass of St. Rita (1994), Dear Jesus (1994), Music Revisited, Vol. 1
(1995) and one he did with other Paring Bol-anons or PBs like Frs. TQ Solis, Jr. Elpidio Biliran, Jr. and
Arnold Zamora, One Heart, One Mind (1996).

List of Songs

Main:List of songs penned by J. Roel Lungay

Albums

Mass of St. Rita (1993) - a compilation of original Mass settings and

selected Psalms

Dear Jesus (1994) - a compilation of 16 original songs and spoken
prayers

Music Revisited, Volume 1 (1995) - a compilation of original works

One Heart, One Mind (1996) - a compilation of original Paring Bol-anon musical compositions

Music Revisited, Volume 2 (1997) - a compilation of original works

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Christian Art Songs (3 Volumes) (1997) - a compilation of Salesian

poetry set to music by J. Roel Lungay

Album information
One Heart, One Mind (A Paring Bol-anon Album)

Released: 1996 (United States) by Fro's Music | PB Music Int'l

Chart positions:

RIAA certification:

P.I. Sales:

Worldwide sales:

Singles:

I Feel Alive Again (TQ Solis, Jr-Elpidio Biliran, Jr)

What Is Love? (TQ Solis, Jr)

Are You The One? (John Benker-TQ Solis, Jr.)

Dear Jesus (J. Roel Lungay)

Be My Santa Claus (Arnold Zamora)

An Act Of Contrition (Elizabeth Thelemann-J. Roel Lungay)

To The Altar (TQ Solis, Jr)

One Heart, One Mind (TQ Solis, Jr)

Side B - Minus One of all tracks

Singles

Contests and Awards

Handog-Paglilingkod, choral piece written with Fr. William Abas, Theme Song of the Year,
1984 SASMA, Tagaytay City, Philippines

Dear Jesus, 1st Place, 1995 NFCWA Christian Music Songwriting Contest, Jacksonville,
Florida, USA

Sailboat, recipient, Country Song Trailblazer Award, 1995 Airplay International
Songwriting Contest, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

Music samples

Fro's Music Originals

Dear Jesus Album

One Heart, One Mind Album

Handog-Paglilingkod (v2)

See also

Paring Bol-anon

Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary

Divine Word Seminary

Diocese of Tagbilaran

Archdiocese of New Orleans

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References
‹The template References-small has been proposed for deletion here.›

1. ^ Hosanna, III (1983), the official publication of the Archdiocesan Commission on Liturgical Music
(ACLM), Archdiocese of Manila, Philippines
2. ^ Original live version of Handog-Paglilingkod performed by SASMA Seminarians

External links

Archdiocese of New Orleans

St. Genevieve Church

Fr. J. Roel Lungay

Fro's Christian Art Songs

Fro's Christian Music

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Roel_Lungay"

Categories: Roman Catholic priests | Bohol | People from Bohol | 1960 births | Living people | Philippine
priests | Filipino religious leaders | Filipino musicians | Filipino people stubs | Asian musician stubs

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