(From the Citation for Archbishop Leonardo Z. Legazpi, O.P.,
D.D., Archdiocese of Caceres
Doctor
of Humanities, honoris causa, 60th
Commencement Exercises
of
Colleges and Graduate School, Ateneo de Naga University)
Written by Rodolfo SB. Virtus Jr.
Who in fact is the priest, if not a man converted and
renewed by the Spirit, who lives from a personal relationship with Christ,
constantly making the Gospel criteria his own? Who is the priest, if not a man
of unity, aware of his own limits and at the same time, of the extraordinary
greatness of the vocation he has received, that of helping to extend the
Kingdom of God to the ends of the earth?”[1]
-
Pope Benedict XVI
His vocation began, as in most stories of
birth of priestly or religious vocations, from a sense of confusion and
dissatisfaction with his life. After his high school graduation at St. Mary’s Academy
in Meycauayan, Bulacan, the young Leonardo Legaspi - or Kading - did not have a definite idea of what he was going to be.
At first, he planned to enter the Philippine Military Academy. He next considered
being a sportsman as he got offered to play at a commercial basketball league.
However, he ended up studying Civil Engineering at the University of the
Philippines when he knew he was not a math and drawing person. Half-hearted in
his decision, he earned disastrous marks in his major subjects, and then he
felt homesick and got literally sick. His discouraging situation prompted his
father to transfer him to the pre-Law of the University of Santo Tomas where he
performed better, but not much.[2]
Kading’s first experience of his calling
came upon him during the summer of his sophomore year in UST when he played
basketball at a seminary facility. He vividly
recounted that he was struck by the awe-inspiring silence and peace that embraced
him at the seminary. When asked by his father how his game was, he expressed
instead his feelings of entering a seminary life. He was never extraordinarily
religious in his youth, so his family and even his uncle who was a monsignor did not believe at first that
he had the priestly vocation. But with the help of another relative, some
Dominicans welcomed him under their formation. At 17, he found his way to the
corridors of St. Albert Priory in Hong Kong of the Dominicans to study Bachelor
of Arts and Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy. The teenage Leonardo, unaware of
his grander role in the future, thought that he was called to teach.[3]
The
Making of a Priest-Educator
Upon completing his studies in Hong
Kong, he returned to the Philippines and was ordained a Dominican priest in
1960. He continued his studies at the Faculty of Sacred Theology at UST,
finishing degrees of Licentiate in Sacred Theology (1961) and Doctorate in
Sacred Theology Magna Cum Laude (1962).
In 1971, he was a grantee of the Asia Foundation and Alfred Sloan Foundation to
a scholarship in the Institute of Educational Management at the Harvard
Graduate School of Business Administration in the United States. In 1975, he
finished Doctor of Philosophy at UST.
As a priest deeply involved in the
teaching ministry, the young Fr. Leonardo helped facilitate the Filipinization
of UST education when he was appointed as its Central Seminary’s first Filipino
Rector, and later the Pontifical and Royal University’s first Filipino Rector Magnificus (1971-1977). Within the Order
of Preachers, he was the first Filipino Vicar of the Philippine Dominican
Vicariate. In both societies, he manifested his gifts of prudent and
vision-driven leadership and management which earned him the respect and
admiration of his fellow educators, priests and theologians. Fittingly, he
received prestigious accolades like the Ten Outstanding Young Men award for
education, Gran Cruz del Alfonso X El Sabio of the Spanish Government, Rizal Pro
Patria Award and the International Association of University Presidents Award,
to name a few.
He was drawn nearer to his destiny in 1977
when Pope John Paul II appointed him as titular bishop of Elefantaria in
Mauritania and auxiliary bishop of Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin of Manila. Still
mindful of his passion in the teaching ministry, Cardinal Sin allowed him to
remain rector of UST. But with a heavy heart, he had to relinquish his post to
his vice rector because holding the two positions at the same time was not
compatible with the rules of the Dominican Order.
A
Gift Richly Given to Bikol
Seven years later, there was a prospect
unfolding for Msgr. Legaspi at Caceres: the old Archbishop Teopisto Alberto just
announced his retirement. He was nominated to take his place. His friends and
parishioners who knew his effective leadership rightly described this event as
“Manila’s loss, Bikol’s gain.”[4]
Indeed, on January 17, 1984, the Bikolano faithful received him as gift upon
his installation as the 33rd Bishop and third Archbishop of Caceres.
On his way to Naga, he was greeted by jubilant crowds along the streets of
Daet, Villazar, Sipocot, Mambulo, Tambo, San Fernando and Milaor. As he
received they keys of the province from Governor Felix Fuentebella, he
described the Bikolanos with these words:
On my way to Naga from Daet this afternoon,
the beauty of Mt. Isarog caught my attention. “What placidity! What serenity!”
I told myself. And I could not help thinking of that other mountain of the
Bicol Region, the fiery Mt. Mayon. How fittingly, I thought, these two mountains
portray the two sides of the Bicolano character, vigorous and fiery yet sober
and peace loving.[5]
Initially, the Archbishop’s confinement
in the academe for 14 years posed some challenges for him. Except for the
occasional Masses in a parish, he practically had no experience of parish life.
To overcome this, he utilized his management experience and looked at Caceres
in that light. While the many bishops before him had administered the
Archdiocese as a parish priest, he viewed it from the perspective of a
university. He introduced planning, organization and assessment of resources.
Nourishing
Seminary and Priestly Formation in Caceres
At the onset of his episcopacy, the
Archbishop recognized the local Church’s lack of understanding about its prophetic
role vis-à-vis the reality of the world.
To respond to this, he knew that he had to start right at the seminary where priestly
formation begins. Quite logically, among his first accomplishments was the
introduction of major development in the formation program, faculty development
and direction of the seminaries. Specifically, the three stages in seminary
formation (preparatory, minor and major seminaries) have been delineated and
endowed with their particular facilities.
Although a macro-manager who trusts seminary
formators, he still personally looks over the development and concerns of the seminarians.
He would know each one of them, have breakfast with them, assist in their
financial concerns, and help formators guide them in their journey to
priesthood.
He has also given equal attention to the
continuing formation of priests. As he stressed in The Diocesan Priestly Life and Ministry Formation Manual, the
formation of a priest does not end in his ordination, but needs to be
continuously nurtured in his priestly life and ministry. To the Caceres priests, he resembles the
typical Filipino father who impresses strict discipline on them and places call
of duty above any personal matter. But he can also be very understanding and
sensitive to their needs. He once described his relationship with the priests:
“The priests are
my sons and friends. In virtue of sacred ordination we have in common, we are
bound together in the intimacy of brotherhood which should be spontaneously and
cheerfully demonstrated in mutual help, spiritual and material alike, pastoral
and personal. That is why one of my chief anxieties is the welfare of my
priests, and I believe that my first responsibility is to look after, care for
the priests.[6]
The creation of programs like the Caceres
Clergy Security System, for the priests’ insurance benefits; ‘Kapwa ko, Parroco’ (My Fellow Pastor), a
fund-building campaign for priests; Gaudium
Sacerdotale (Joy in the Priesthood) Fund, a program for priests’ renewal; and
Pro-Seminario Collection, provision
of subsidies to poor parishes; and Madrigal Foundation scholarship grants
manifest his care for the priests.
Revitalizing
Catechism
Being a former Catholic educator, the
Archbishop has made catechesis his first priority. In fact, one of his first decrees
as Archbishop was the establishment of the Caceres Catechetical Ministry.
Consequently, the ministry opened in 1987 the Caceres Catechetical Center which
trains catechists who would assist the parishes and provide religious
instruction in public schools. Today, this ministry claims to have formed some
1,300 volunteer catechists, and extends beyond Caceres as model and inspiration.
To expand the reach of catechism, the
archdiocese utilized the media through the creation of the Caceres Commission
on Communications (CCCom). By serving as the liaison between the Archdiocese
and media practitioners, the teachings of the Church are promoted through the
local media. And to further encourage the media to promote Christian
spirituality, the CCCom has even organized six St. Peter Baptist Catholic Mass
Media Awards to recognize media organizations and practitioners who live up to
the motto, Christian Values Make Good
Media.
The Archbishop has also provided
monumental leadership in shaping catechism in the nation. When he was chairman
of the Episcopal Commission on Catechesis and Catholic Education (ECCCE) from
1977 to 1978 and 1994 to 2003, new catechetical tools were designed like the National Catechetical Directory of the
Philippines and the Manual for Family
Catechesis, and remarkably the
Catechesis of the Catholic Church, which is the first national catechism
document published by Vatican after the Universal Catechism. It was also
through his leadership that ECCCE established the National Catechetical Week and
forged close collaboration with the Catholic Educational Association of the
Philippines (CEAP). These achievements have made the country a subject of
admiration and imitation even in other parts of the Catholic world, bestowing him
the reputation as the “Architect of Philippine Catechesis in Our Time.”[7]
Making
Pastoral Care Accessible to All
In his book Light to all (2004), Archbishop Legaspi underscored his duty as the
one most entrusted with the responsibility to keep the local church under his
care in the grace of God’s visitation, so that in its midst, the visit made
‘once-and-for-all’ in Jesus Christ becomes present anew from age to age.”[8]
Evidently, he brought about significant initiatives and changes which have resulted
in the greater access of the faithful to pastoral services and have empowered
both the clergy and the laity in Caceres and in the country.
From 1987 till 1991, he served as
president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines. In his term,
he convened the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines (PCP II), which Pope
John Paul II described as one of the most significant events in the ecclesial
life of the Catholic Church in the country.[9]
Some of the Church’s continuing pastoral priorities emerged from PCP II’s acts
and decrees: the preferential attention to the poor and the engaged role of
laity in carrying out the Church’s mission in social transformation.
At Caceres, the growth of the Church has
been on continuous rise. The number of parishes dramatically increased by more
than 100 percent, from 38 in 1984 to 75 parishes today. Where the government
cannot provide even the basic services, Caceres has a priest to take care of
the people, especially the poor. The map of Caceres dramatically expanded in
1989 when, through a petition of the Archbishop, Rome approved the Prelature of
Libmanan as a new ecclesiastical jurisdiction. And a decade later, Libmanan was
recognized by Pope Benedict XVI as a new diocese, which now has 27 parishes.
To be closer to homes, the Archbishop created
the Family Ministry in the Archdiocese of Caceres, a major pastoral strategy
towards the promotion of marriage and family as a domestic church and the locus
of new evangelization. This ministry has made counselling services available
for married couples and families, leading the family towards social
participation and apostolate. In one of his pastoral letters, he made clear the
importance of this ministry, declaring that:
“...
the family is where the Gospel is first heard and witnessed to by the members.
The family has to be a true school of evangelization, where every member first
learns to participate in the evangelizing mission of the Church”[10]
With parishes now closer to homes, the
lay faithful have been inspired to participate in the ministries and assume
responsibilities. One concrete articulation of the laity’s participation was
the establishment of the Caceres Social Action Foundation (CASAFI). Through
CASAFI, the laity and other church-based groups engaged in social apostolates have
been coordinated to sharpen focus and impact on Bikol development. This is
consistent with the archbishop’s social action vision, articulating that:
“... the challenge of our church is to make
it truly the ‘home for the poor.’ The Church shepherds her flock not only by
nourishing their souls with the Eucharist but by creating an environment that
ensures human development.”[11]
Young people also found opportunities
for self-expression within the church’s organizational structure. With the
creation of the Caceres Youth and Campus Ministry, the archdiocese has seen the
energies of the youth in various youth encounters, vigils and camps. To widen
the reach of this program, he strategically established continuing
relationships with schools such as the Ateneo de Naga University and the
Universidad de Sta. Isabel, but also the non-sectarian ones. The University of
Nueva Caceres and Naga College Foundation can confirm how he has generously
helped in shaping their respective campus ministries and provided them priests for
their students’ sacramental and spiritual needs.
The Archbishop’s pastoral achievements
have provided a highly encouraging environment for religious and apostolate
communities. In fact, Caceres witnessed the increase in the number of religious
communities from seven in 1984 to now 28 religious congregations, pious
associations and secular institutes for men and women. The archdiocese is home
now to more than 300 religious persons. This growth has also been complimented
by the rise in the number of apostolates: for the sick and the dying, the
elderly and the disabled, the abused and the abandoned and other disadvantaged
sectors; and the apostolates in counselling and retreat ministry, pre-school
and non-formal education, livelihood programs and even native tribal promotion.
Protecting
the Peñafrancia Devotion
Before he even came to Caceres, Archbishop
Legaspi had been conscious of the filial relationship between the Ina and the Bikolano. He aptly described
the Bikolano people as “inheritors of a past where being a people is interwoven
with being Church. And at the heart of this convergence of culture and faith is
Mary ... Ina is Bikol; Bikol is Ina.”[12]
Nonetheless, he was also aware of the mounting
challenges of secularization and commercialization to this Marian devotion.
This awareness helped him appreciate more clearly his special role in Bikol: to
protect the Marian devotion and, through her, bring the people closer to the
Church and to God. And through her, animate the Church’s flock towards
empowerment and change.
To fulfil his special role, his first
step was to set up structures to safeguard the image of Ina by renovating the Basilica
where she dwells and the Shrine where she stays during the Peñafrancia novena.
He designated personnel such as the rectors of the said churches who are responsible
for helping promote the devotion. He also directed the making of the image’s replica
which has been used in the annual traslacion
and Fluvial Parade so that the original image would be preserved.
At the eve of the Tercentenary Celebration
of the devotion, the Archbishop introduced essential changes in the fiesta like
the establishment of religious zones for devotees and pilgrims, and formation
sessions for the voyadores to ensure
peaceful and orderly processions and more meaningful novena. Most importantly,
he moved to redefine the devotion and free the novena from the many secularized
and commercialized fiesta activities like pageants and street parties. The Ateneo
de Naga University and other schools under the Bicol Association of Catholic
Schools heeded to his call for discernment on the actual values involved in the
fiesta activities, and overwhelmingly supported his cause. His move may have brought
him and the entire archdiocese into tension with the local government, but he
knew that it was the right and moral thing to do to protect the Peñafrancia
devotion.
Today, as he continues to work for a
more meaningful Marian devotion, the Archbishop expresses his hopes for more
socially engaged devotees: This must be
our hope, to have faith that goes beyond the traslacion and the fluvial
procession. And this means a conversion for mission, that is, an active
responsibility for the past failings of society...and total renewal of the
Church towards a better future for all.[13]
The
Archbishop’s Legacy Lives
This 2010, Archbishop Legaspi reaches the
25th year of his episcopacy. Remarkably, he also celebrates his 75th birthday, which
would normally mark his retirement as foreseen by church law. Sooner or later,
the Pope may have to assign a new caretaker of Ina and the Archdiocese. But as he leaves the episcopacy, the
Bikolano will be forever grateful to him for selflessly and faithfully shepherding
the Bikolano faithful, and for protecting our shared story of devotion to Ina
and faith in God.
Therefore, as a fitting tribute in
recognition of his promotion of the Devotion to Our Lady of Peñafrancia,
purifying it of aberrations in its external manifestations; for drawing the
Church closer to the Filipino and the Bikolano people, especially the poor,
through catechesis, pastoral care and good governance; and for his defense of the
Catholic Church and Christian values against the threats of secularism and
materialism, the Ateneo de Naga University is most privileged to confer upon His
Grace, Archbishop Leonardo Z. Legaspi, O.P., the degree of Doctor of
Humanities, honoris causa, in this
City of Naga, this twenty-seventh day of
March, in the two thousand and tenth year of our Lord.
[1] One Who Prays Is Not Afraid;
One Who Prays Is Not Alone, by Pope Benedict XVI, www.cbcponline.net.
[2] Responses of Msgr. Leonardo
Z. Legazpi during The University of Santo Tomas Varsitarian Interview, 2009.
[3] The Caceres Experience: A
Bishop’s Story, Ina nin Bikol Foundation, p. 2.
[4] Tribute to the Architect of
Philippine Catechesis in Our Time, by Msgr. Gerardo O. Santos,
http://eccceonline.org.
[5] Leonardo Z. Legazpi: A
Shepherd Among Us, by Rex Andrew C. Alarcon, p. xv.
[6] The Caceres Experience: A
Bishop’s Story, Ina nin Bikol Foundation, p.20.
[7] Tribute to the Architect of
Philippine Catechesis in Our Time, by Msgr. Gerardo O. Santos,
http://eccceonline.org.
[8] Light to All, by Leonardo
Z. Legazpi, 2004.
[9] http://www.cbcponline.net.
[10] Pastoral Letter, by Msgr.
Leonardo Z. Legazpi, January 2004.
[11] The Caceres Experience: A
Bishop’s Story, Ina nin Bikol Foundation, p.31.
[12] Ina and the Bikol People: A
Journey of Faith, Ina nin Bikol Foundation, 2004, p. 5.
[13] Ibid, p. 196-197.
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