About Us

An Incredible Story

Nearly three decades ago, seven Roman Catholic Filipino women living in Manila began spreading Marian Devotion among families and children. These working women, as a group, spent their weekends conducting talks on the Rosary, leading rosary prayer sessions, and discussing the Brown Scapular. All was done in a lay outreach ministry to teach Filipino children about Mary, the Mother of Jesus.

In 1996 Corazon J. Salazar from Bulacan, one of these seven friends who owned her own Ready to Wear clothing store in Baclaran, Paranaque, was on her way to work. She regularly passed along the long strip of Mabini Avenue in Manila, known as the Red Light District. Foreign nationals with Filipino girls were a common sight, with many being so young. Day after day, she witnessed the same scenario and was deeply touched with pity for the young girls and women engaged in prostitution and sex trafficking. She developed a strong desire to help them out of this cycle of misery and reform their lives for the better. She confided her strong compassion for these lost victims to her six friends, and came to believe without any doubt that the Holy Spirit was prompting her to act. With all of them inhabiting an unmatched love for the Blessed Mother, they felt it was their calling to help save these girls and women and rescue them from their futile position and bring them back to Jesus. Her companions were Lucia Baul, a teacher, Myrna Baul, her younger sister, Gliceria Cruz who worked in a laboratory in Manila, Pauline Mendoza, an office clerk, Josefa Baquiran and Jeodalyn Alontaga, friends of Pauline

All seven agreed to leave their homes and careers and live together in the common cause of lifting these women and children up and out of prostitution. They didn't know how they would do it, but they started a community among themselves in Manila with the utmost faith in Divine Providence. Corazon, strong-willed and courageous, sold her business and gave all the proceeds to this new community of seven she was about to found. They took Mary Queen of Heaven as their Patroness, the woman clothed with the sun, the moon at her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head (Rev. 12:1. 6)

More sisters were added from various parts of Cebu and Pampanga. Enduring the community's struggles and possessing perseverance with the help of God's grace, the community grew. Through those early years, the hardships and mission molded them as though for a battle. They bore trials and rigid training in their religious formation and began to develop food preparation skills. This decision was in anticipation of feeding a multitude of needy people as well as a means of sustaining their livelihood. On August 4, 2000, His Eminence Ricardo J. Cardinal Vidal, Archbishop of Cebu, established Mary Queen of Heaven Missionaries as a Catholic Association of the Faithful in the Archdiocese of Cebu. On August 22, 2003, and the occasion of the Feast of the Queenship of Mary, Cardinal Vidal canonically elevated Mary Queen of Heaven Missionaries to a Public Association of the Faithful in the Archdiocese of Cebu, recognizing Sr. Ma. Corazon J. Salazar as foundress and the six original sisters as co-founders, as well as Msgr. Frederick B. Kriekenbeek who had helped them over the formative years.

Now officially recognized as the Catholic Institute Mary Queen of Heaven Missionaries, the Sisters, with the help of lay mission partners, conducted a comprehensive national survey on the extent and reach of prostitution and sex trafficking in the Philippines. Findings revealed recruiters continually roamed the villages of the poorest of the poor, where young girls fell prey to these traffickers who promised their parents "good jobs in the city". Along with their sons, many families work as tenant farmers and live in dilapidated huts with no means to even provide daily sustenance for their children. As as a result of the tabulated study combined with their years of experience, the Sisters realized and surmised that extreme poverty was the root cause of prolific prostitution in the Philippines. So, they developed a Two-Phase Plan and began addressing the immediate needs of the myriad of girls who were desperate for a way out of their unspeakable situation.

PHASE I: The Home of Love Rehabilitation & Livelihood Skills Training Center

MQHM established the The Home of Love Rehabilitation & Livelihood Skills Training Center in Bagasawe, Tuburan, Cebu. On July 10, 2005, twenty residents consisting of single minors and single mothers with children entered with nothing but the courage of their convictions to begin a new life. The objective of The Home of Love was to facilitate the transition on the road to their rehabilitation by physically providing an environment that was conducive to reformation until they were able to stand on their own. "Love with Discipline" was their motto. Surrounded by mountains that symbolized God's love and protection while overlooking the blue and tranquil sea, The Home of Love was born in which the Blessed Mother abided through the Sisters' loving care. Carefully designed goals and programs are part of the curriculum and include:

-Immediate and temporary shelter

-Basic health care, food, and nutrition

-Maternity and medical assistance

-Professional, psychological therapy and counseling

-Recreational activities

Spiritual formation

-Educational assistance

-Livelihood & skills training: baling, sewing, cooking, catering, candle making, scapular and rosary making

-Childcare for young mothers with children

________________________________________________________________________

Firmly believing that poverty in the rural mountain areas of the Philippines is the root cause of children lured into sex trafficking and prostitution, the organization implemented the second phase of the plan. For parents of the rural poor, providing basic school supplies is nearly impossible, so many children stay away from school. As a result, their possibilities of a decent life are minimal. Due to this rampant poverty, boys work the tenant farms, and the girls have no alternatives but to help at home. Before introducing their education assistance plan, a sense of trust had to be built, so the Sisters journeyed into the mountains, conducting house to house visits, beginning with remote villages. To engage the villagers, they began holding monthly feeding events. Eventually clothes and supplies were handed out and the Sisters would schedule Masses and confession services on certain months, inviting all to come and participate. Due to the remoteness of villages and shortages of the clergy, priests were seldom seen so these were welcomed gatherings.

It has now been 25 years and we have opened the My Bonita Home for Girls in Talamban, Cebu, PI. for abused children and the Regina Coeli Home of Love Women’s Shelter in Los Angeles, California.

_______________________________________________________________________

PHASE II: The Regina Coeli Educational Assistance Program

April 8, Easter Sunday 2007, saw the formal launch of The Regina Coeli Education Assistance Program. The Sisters' program had begun with helping families in the remote villages, and after piecing together a network of lay teachers and volunteers who became known as Mission Partners, they were able to convince parents and children of the long-term value of education. MQHM registered 550 families for their new program designed to educate the poor and help thwart the proliferation of sex trafficking.

So, The Regina Coeli Education Assistance Program came to be. Providing school supplies, uniforms, backpacks, raincoats, allowance, and transportation for elementary and high school students, enrollment into the program grew exponentially. Complete high school scholarships are awarded to deserving students who show continued dedication and promise. Spiritual formation sessions are held for families in their rural homes to instill a love for God and His Divine Mercy. The goal of The Regina Coeli Education Program is to uplift the dignity of human lives by encouraging education and offering spiritual guidance and hope.