Brief History of St. John Baptist Parish-Lagonglong, Mis. Or.

Early Beginnings: The evangelization of Lagonglong is seemingly inter-related with the rest of the towns of Misamis Oriental particularly those of Balingasag, Jasaan and Cagayan de Oro. Christianity came to Cagayan through Tandag in 1622 when Pedro de Arce, Bishop of Diocese of Cebu sent eight Recollect priests to the latter, after the pacification of a rebellion in Caraga by Juan de Vega.[i] Tandag became a permanent Spanish settlement. Two of the eight Recollects missionaries in Tandag, Fr. Juan de San Nicolas and Nicolas de la Madre de Dios journeyed to Agusan and reached Butuan. They knew from there that there was a thriving native settlement called Himologon some ten kilometers upriver from the present Cagayan de Oro. They sailed to Camiguin and implored the assistance of Dona Magdalena Baaya, a Christian convert who was the grandmother of Datu Salangsang, ruler of Himologan. Through the assistance of Baaya, the two priests were permitted by Datu Salangsang to stay in Hi...