The shrine began in 1947 as a makeshift
chapel in Nichols Air Base (now
Villamor Air Base) constructed by José Alberto, the first
military chaplain assigned to the
Philippine Air Force. Originally dedicated to
Michael the Archangel, it was expanded several times to meet the spiritual needs of the increasing numbers of Philippine Air Force servicemen. After undergoing major renovations in the 1980s, it was consecrated on December 16, 1983, and dedicated to Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus by
Archbishop Bruno Torpigliani, then-
Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines. The shrine was spared destruction during
privatization of some parts of Villamor Air Base under
President Joseph Estrada, in a memorandum signed on April 10, 2000, and by the deed of
usufruct granted to the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines by the
Bases Conversion and Development Authority on November 9, 2000, during the chairmanship of Rogelio L. Singson. After the visit of the pilgrim
relics of Thérèse in 2000, the shrine again underwent a major reconstruction initiated by the reigning Ordinary, Archbishop Ramon C. Arguelles, to promote the saint's spirituality and to encourage devotion to the "Millennium Saint" amongst servicemen. From March 8, 2005, this project continued towards its completion under a new ordinary, Leopoldo S. Tumulak. consecrating the altar of the Shrine On January 6, 2007, Cardinal
Gaudencio Rosales,
Archbishop of Manila, approved the request of Bishop Tumulak to hold liturgical services for the Military Ordinariate in the shrine, which was collocated within the territory of the
Archdiocese of Manila. The newly refurbished shrine was consecrated and rededicated to Saint Thérèse on May 17, 2007. The presider at the consecration service was Cardinal
Ricardo Vidal,
Archbishop of Cebu, while among the other co-celebrating bishops was
Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines President, Archbishop
Ángel Lagdameo. Also on that day-the 82nd anniversary of the
canonisation of Thérèse de Lisieux–the church was declared a diocesan shrine of the Ordinariate by Bishop Tumulak. Present at the service were
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who unveiled the historical marker; high officials of the
Department of National Defense; and the top brass of the
Armed Forces,
Police and other uniformed services under the canonical jurisdiction of the Military Ordinariate. ==Gallery==