Bl. Peter To Rot: Martyr of Marriage

Peter To Rot was born in 1912 in a village named Rakunai in what is today Papua New Guinea. The region had for some time been visited by Christian missionaries, but Peter’s father, Angelo To Puia, who was chief of the village, and his mother, Maria la Tumul, were baptized as adults and were among the first Catholics in the country.

Peter was one of six children and from an early age he was very interested in his faith. Because of this, he was trained to be a catechist, a teacher of religion. So when Peter was 18 he became a student at St. Paul’s Mission School. He was a very good student and became a catechist within three years, the youngest of all the catechists in Papua New Guinea. He worked with the people of Rakunai and was known to be an excellent teacher. Peter always carried a Bible with him and knew much of it by heart. In 1936 he married Paula la Varpit, a Catholic from a nearby village. They had three children, but only his daughter, Rufina, survived past childhood.

World War II changed the lives of the people of Papua New Guinea forever. The Japanese forces occupied the island nation, and all missionaries were imprisoned. This left Peter as the only spiritual leader of all Catholics in the area. He provided prayer services, instruction, the Eucharist and Baptism for people and helped the poor. He built a church for Catholics from tree branches — the only material available. When people were afraid, he reminded them that God was with them.

In 1942, the Japanese forbade all Christian worship and any type of religious gatherings, even those in homes. They wanted the local chieftains to cooperate with them and tried to push the tribes back to their pre-Christian forms of life, including such practices as having several wives. Peter’s older brother supported this. But Peter did not, and when he became loud in his protests and was known to hold Catholic prayer services in caves, he was seen as a problem for the Japanese. In 1945 he was arrested and sentenced to several months in prison.

But the Japanese leaders had no intention of allowing Peter to leave prison, because his catechetical work and the support people had for him was too dangerous to their cause. At one point he told his visiting wife and mother that a Japanese doctor had been called to give him medicine, even though he had not been sick, and he believed he would be killed. He told his family that he would die for the Church.

He was praying when men came for him. Witnesses say he was given a drink and an injection, and his mouth was covered. The next morning, Japanese authorities acted very surprised to find Peter To Rot dead. But marks on his body and other signs made it clear he had not died of natural causes.

He was given a chief’s funeral in the Catholic cemetery, but the funeral was held in silence because people feared the Japanese. From the day of his funeral, he was seen as a martyr for the Catholic faith.

On January 17, 1995, Pope John Paul II visited Papua New Guinea to celebrate the beatification of Peter To Rot.

Purificacion Pedro

Purificacion Pedro was a church social worker who died in a Bataan hospital in 1977 while under military detention.

Purificacion Pedro, known as Puri to her friends, took up a degree in social work at the University of the Philippines in 1969. She was among the topnotchers in the National Board Examination for Accreditation of Social Workers. For the next four years, she served as a devoted social worker of the Immaculate Conception Parish in Quezon City.

Purificacion (“Puri”) spent most of her professional years working as social worker at Immaculate Concepcion Parish in Cubao, Quezon City. She helped run a parish day nursery, a sewing group for urban poor women and several cooperatives. During the floods in 1972, Puri volunteered her services, bringing medicine and relief goods to many affected areas around Quezon City.

She left her parish job in 1974 and worked as a volunteer for the organizations supporting the anti-Chico Dam movement in Northern Luzon. In 1976, she had been accepted as a staff member of the Luzon Secretariat for Social Action (LUSSA).

But she died before she could start on the job. Days before, Puri had gone on a clandestine trip to Bataan to visit with friends who have joined the New People’s Army. Her timing was off , however, because a military operation was in progress at the area. She was captured in an armed encounter, with a bullet wound in her shoulder.

Puri’s family found her at the Bataan Provincial Hospital, recovering from her wound and under military guard. Her relatives took turns watching her because Puri asked them never to leave her alone with her military captors.

On her sixth day of confinement, however, constabulary intelligence men from Manila came and forced their way into her room. They drove out Puri’s watcher, saying they were interrogating Puri. Puri was left alone with them for one hour inside her hospital room. After they had left, Puri was found dead, strangled inside her hospital bathroom. She was 29 years old.

Hermana Fausta Labrador

 

Hermana Fausta Labrador (December 19, 1858 – December 13, 1942) is a Filipino Servant of God in pending cause for sainthood and is venerated in Roman Catholic Church. Her cause to be a servant of God is currently underway. She founded the Colegio del Sagrado Corazon de Jesus, a charity school for poor children that has evolved into what is now Sacred Heart College in Lucena City.

 Hermana Fausta Labrador was born on December 19, 1858 in Tayabas, Quezon, to Nemesia Zarzadias. On December 22, 1858 she was baptized in St. Archangel church, Tayabas. On December 2, 1866 her mother died at age 27. Father had a second marriage to Maria Poblete. She has half-sisters Fe and Felisa. She started schooling in 1869. In 1879 she studied in Colegio de Santa Rosa de Manila.

Fr. Granja visited them in the new house and counselled them to live in harmony. He gave Fausta "guidelines" regarding the house. Call all members of the new household, admonish them to live in the harmony. He imparted his paternal blessing with these words: "May the peace reign in this house." They all went to Church except the old Juan. From this day on the Rule of Life was: Hermana to get up at 3 AM everyday; her companions at 4 AM to pray together the Rosary and Trisagion. Afterwards companions remain to tidy the house. Hermana goes immediately to the church. Her companions follow her when the church bells ring for mass. Together they leave the church for breakfast. After which each to its respective chores while Hermana and Flaviana remain in the house. These consisted of: engage in sewing baptismal robes and burial clothes; make scapulars and artificial flowers to generate income to meet their daily needs; answer the call of the sick and help those in their last agony. May devotion in the church urging people to participate especially the young. Floral offering to the Blessed Virgin. Introduction of the Apostleship of Prayer all the town people were members.

Gobernadorcillo Don Demetrio Trinidad issued an ordinance to gather the old people of both sexes living near the shores who had not gone to Confession for a long time and sorting them: the men to the courthouse (tribunal), the women to the house of Hermana Fausta to be instructed daily to receive the Sacrament of Confession and Communion." He started and continued every year the following devotion: on Quinquagesima Sunday (Domingo de Carnaval) to Ash Wednesday we gather in recollection in preparation of the outrages inflicted to the Heart of Jesus during these three days.Gather the "dalagas" (young woman) for Catechism lesson by order of Fr. Granja. They lived in this house. Fr. Granja provided for their upkeeping, food and clothing. To help him, I go from house to house begging.

Daily Work of Hermana Fausta:

"Every night Hermana Tomasa, Cesarea and Escolastica come to this house followed by Fr. Granja who explains what we have taught our charges during the day. Many, although already well prepared, do not like to leave and they remain in this house."

The Veneration Process of Hermana Fausta is now in underway to sainthood, but hasn't opened her cause yet by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. She will be remembered as a hero in the City of Lucena.

Fr. Antonius Joseph “Joep” Offermanns

Antonius Joseph “Joep” Offermanns was born on October 17, 1935 in Geilenkrichen, Germany. His family moved to the Netherlands where his father worked as a shoemaker, sacristan and organist of the parish church in their village. At an early age, he learned to play the organ. After his elementary education, he entered the minor seminary of the Carmelites.

Upon entrance to the novitiate, he was given the name, Crispin, the patron saint of the shoemakers, which reminded him always on the work of his father. He did his profession on October 3, 1955. He was ordained priest on July 10, 1960. In preparation for his future work for the school in the Philippines as a missionary, he was sent to the United States to take up Master of Arts in English and Education.

He arrived in the Philippines on 1964 and was assigned in Mount Carmel College, Escalante, Negros Occidental. Later, he worked in Magdalen Hospital as a Director and after a long process of self-examination, he opted to work in the social action center in Iligan City.

He was elected the Commissary Provincial in 1985 and served in this position up to his death. He was greatly involved in Justice and Peace work and task forces and other mission partners of the Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines.

After suffering from lung cancer, he passed away at the age of 55 on August 15, 1991 in Heerlen, Netherlands, where he underwent cancer therapy for a short while. He was buried on August 20, 1991 in Landgraaf, Netherlands. On the occasion of his silver anniversary of ordination, he said:

“My message today is one of struggle. Always, I have been a man of struggle. My objective always is to do everything that should be done. So, I am a mixture of patience and impatience. Hence, I wish to renew my commitment as a prophet and not a diplomat for the true total freedom of our suffering people.
It is the task of the religious to witness and bring life, of equality justice and peace for all. Otherwise, we would be guilty of their deaths. We should be prophets and not diplomats… the consequences can demand a high price.”

Bro. Isagani Valle

Bro. Isagani Valle was born on December 28, 1959 in Mahayang, Zamboanga. Originally, his parents were from Ormoc City but the search for greener pastures led his parents to leave their beloved city. New opportunities led the family to move again to San Francisco, Agusan del Sur where the siblings of the family continued their education.

He took his High School education from Father Urios, High School of San Francisco, Agusan del Sur which was administered by the Carmelite Fathers and Brothers. Gani showed exceptional intelligence and friendly character to his classmates. They would describe him a very patient person, smiling and always ready to help those in need, especially his poor classmates. Inspired by the priests, his vocation to become a priest grew in Isagani. At one time, when the family returned to Ormoc City, Brother Gani decided to take the examination of priesthood in Palo Diocese which he easily passed.

the year 1972, he was a seminarian in the seminary in Palo. His classmates (Monsignor Bernardo Pantin and Fr. Manuel Ocaña) testified that he always topped their exams when they were seminarians in Palo. When his family moved back to Agusan, he left the Diocesan Seminary to join them. He became active in the Parish of the Sacred Heart administered by the Carmelites in San Francisco, Agusan del Sur. This service in the parish, ignited in him once again, the passion to become a religious.

Inspired by the service the Carmelites rendered to the community of Agusan, Isagani decided to join the Carmelite Order despite of the fact that he passed other scholarships for College studies. From the period of 1977 until 1981, he studied as a Carmelite seminarian in the Our Lady of Angels Seminary (OLAS) and St. Joseph’s College in Quezon City.

During his novitiate formation, he got involved in different student organizations which demanded change in the unjust structures of the Philippine government. He received his temporary profession to the Order in the year 1982. Gani is remembered by us through his advocacy with the poor and the marginalized. His words of passion for people so reflected in the following excerpts from one of his study-group reflections expressed his unwavering stance for justice:

“We still have to see a theology that proceeds from the people and goes back to the people; a theology which contains the lives and experiences of the masses; a theology that is dialogical. This needs real immersion in the lives, sufferings and struggles of the people. It is being written in the midst of the slums, in dialogue with the poor and their life-situation: It is that place where we, seminarians, have to listen and learn. It will, for sure, be different from a theology written in airconditioned rooms. We must work and struggle for this theology – liberative and developmental of the people, and transformative fo reality.”

He lived out these words. The Carmelites let their seminarians experience the poorest of the poor during their exposures that they may live out like Jesus Christ who once preached, "foxes have holes, birds have nests but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head." During one such exposure in Mindanao specifically on May 14, 1983, he was killed by the police while having his exposure/immersion in Buenavista, Agusan del Norte. He wanted to get a first-hand experience of what life was like for poor people living on the edge between military violence and liberation.

While attending a fiesta in Buenavista, he was seen strolling around with two companions farmers who were suspected to be members of the New People’s Army. Following a tip of an informer, the police force of Buenavista suddenly swooped upon them and mowed them down under a rain of bullets.

Their bullet-ridden bodies were displayed in front of the Municipal Hall of Buenavista and buried afterwards without a coffin in a common grave at a cemetery. His life inspired his religious friends. Sr. Asuncion Martinez, ICM to write a tribute for him:

Brother Gani!
With pride and deep reverence
We salute you,
Our youthful hero and martyr.

With longing you had desired to be a PRIEST.
A priest of God, with a heart of flesh –
To love, to serve, to pray, to sacrifice for our oppressed,
and exploited dehumanized BROTHERS.

Brother Gani,
In this crucial time of our people’s history,
You wanted to plunge yourself
into the stream of our struggle
to be ALL things to all.

Perhaps, you wanted to be the priest of the slums,
Among the homeless and jobless;
To be the labor-priest
standing by the striking workers,
Or the priest crawling and groping
In the black tunnels of collapsing mines.

You wanted to be a priest among
Our uprooted peasants, dumped and herded
Inside company plantations; harassed and
driven away from their smoking villages.

Or a priest
ministering to the Tingguians and Kalingas
at the foot of the Cordillera mountains.
Or somebody among the Manobos and T’bolis
of Mindanao, withering and starving in
their dried cracked gaping fields,
having nothing to harvest, nothing to eat
nothing to plant.

Surely Gani,
Your supreme desire
was to be a priest
among our brother revolutionaries,
stationed in the jungles and mountain passes,
fighting for JUSTICE-FREEDOM
for our COUNTRY and our PEOPLE.

Brother Gani,
As you saw the vastness and urgency of your mission,
You could no longer wait for your ordination day!
You boldly ventured into treacherous paths
and forbidden grounds to bind
the wounds of those who had fallen
by the wayside, to defend the scattered sheep
against the hungry wolves.
But above all you craved and hungered
for the glorious embrace
of your brothers in the struggle.

Brother Gani, this was your last and deepest dream.
Yet a dream that was suddenly blasted by the gun,
and by a traitor’s bullet
snatching you away from us and our people.

Brother, that day became your solemn ordination day.
You then became truly a priest,
Our prophet, our martyr –
Anointed with your own blood,
vested in priestly robes of bleeding scarlet.
As your temple, you had only the open skies
and as your altar the very soil
moistened by your blood.

No bishop to consecrate you
but only the loyal and daring poor
who tenderly and reverently lifted
your broken body
for the salvation and liberation of our people.

Brother Gani,
people thought you were alone
for your solemn mass –
no, you were not alone.
You passionately carried in your heart
Your downtrodden brothers
and all your faltering fellow religious

and church workers,
to celebrate with you,
in your first and last Mass,
your Mass of Resurrection.

Gani,
infuse into the very depths of our being
your indomitable courage!
Courage to dare to speak out the truth,
Courage to fight for justice
Courage to work relentlessly
for Freedom of our country!

Gani, they have killed you
but they can never silence you.
Your prophetic voice resounds
in every church, school and seminary

Oh! May it never stop!
Until the last priest and nun, brother,
pastor, deacon, seminarian, pastoral worker
has valiantly joined the struggle,
the march to freedom,
towards our final Resurrection
as a fully liberated people in a land
where there are no more tyrants
no more slaves,
“where there will be no more death,
no mourning nor crying no pain.” (Rev. 21:4)

Father Isagani,
we proudly salute you
our PRIEST, our PROPHET,
our HERO and MARTYR,
our very own BROTHER!

Brother Isagani's body has been transferred from San Francisco, Agusan del Sur to the Catholic cemetery of Ormoc, Leyte. He is buried beside his father and other relatives. On his tombstone is written the words, "IN OBSEQUIO IESU CHRISTI" for indeed he died IN ALLEGIANCE TO JESUS CHRIST whom he followed even unto his death.

Fr. Engelbert Van Vilsteren

Engelbert Van Vilsteren was born on April 9, 1935 at Wijhe-Boerhaar, The Netherlands. He joined the Carmelite Order on September 10, 1956 and was ordained to the priesthood on July 9, 1961. He arrived in the Philippines as missionary sometime on April 1964.

Hein was known to the people of San Francisco, Agusan del Sur as “Big Hand” due to his huge strong hands that could easily lift the bumper of cars when it got stuck on the muddy roads of Agusan.

Engelbert is a strong person yet has a soft heart for the poor and the children. He goes around his parish for friendly visits and to comfort the needy. He was deeply concern with the people, especially those suffering from sickness or injustice. He would forget himself when called upon. There would be his hearty laugh, his arm around your shoulder, his kind word, his comforting presence whenever there was trouble and you come to him.

Another striking thing to know about him was a statement issued from the Office of the provincial Board of the Province of Agusan del Sur after his death. Upon his death, the Provincial Board was moved by his witness that they issued Resolution #9 dated January 17 in the year 1973 stating that:

Whereas, Rev. Fr. Engelbert van Vilsteren, besides devoting himself in the propagation of his faith and in the service of his Church, has always gone out of his way to extend a helping hand to those in need;

Whereas, during the entire period of his stay in San Francisco, Agusan del Sur, he has done much in educating our young, in molding their character and preparing them to become responsible citizens and future leaders of our country;

Whereas, his love for his fellowmen was so much, that on various occasions he braved inclement weather to help those in distress; he threw aside self-precautions just so he could could save life, and in his dealing with the people around him, he has always been fair and just – living a true Christian life;

Whereas, in his desire to be of service to his fellowmen, on January 16, 1973, he drove the ambulance to fetch a body of one Restituto Dollete who was reported to be murdered in cold blood. And on their way at around 6:00 pm, they were ambushed, and he was one of the innocent victims.

On that tragic January 16, 1973 at around 6:00 pm Fr. Engelbert and three others were ambushed by cult members driven by their lords who wish to pursue the tyranny of the powerful against the poor. They died instantly of massive hemorrhage due to multiple massive hack wounds at head, neck and extremities and a bullet wound at the left lumbar region.

Fr. Jan Simon Westendorp

Simon was born on November 19, 1936 at Hengevelde, Municipality of Haaksbergen, The Netherlands. He entered the Carmelite Order on October 18, 1955 and made his profession on September 10, 1956. After being ordained priest on July 9, 1961 he left for the Philippines and arrived here August of 1964.

Simon’s first assignment in the Philippines was in New Escalante, Negros Occidental where he served as an assistant parish priest. Here, he was involved in the usual parish activities and apostolates but was also actively involved in the establishment of credit union cooperatives. Simon was also appointed Rector in the Carmelite Minor Seminary during these period.

In 1976 of his own free will, he was transferred to Agusan del Sur, where he became parish priest of a “frontier” underdeveloped town called San Francisco. Simon the Prior of the Carmelite community in Agusan del Sur while also serving on the Carmelite Commissary Council.

What kind of a man was Simon? What were his feelings, principles and values? He was quiet, but clear. Reflective, yet active. He, too, kept himself open to being taught by the people and by history. He keep searching for the “what” and “how” of being priest, being Church at his time in the Philippines.

When Simon was asked his feelings and expectations about the near future in the Philippine contet, he gave this response:

“Our feelings and expectations regarding the near future are closely linked with the people’s struggle for liberation. Regarding religious life, we see no future unless we religious can integrate ourselves in the struggle of laborers and farmers for liberation. It should become ever clearer that this is a question of faith. This should be basic to our spirituality.”

Since 1970 Simon had devoted himself to the causes of the barrio people who were in danger of becoming the victims of land expropriation in favor of the Guthrie Palm Oil Project. He made it clear what standpoint the parish had taken: opting for the small farmers. With some co-workers, Simon recorded the complaints of these people. A brother Carmelite said about him:

“He was a very modest person, and was not a talkative man; but when he had something to say it was a sensible thing to listen to him.”

When Simon started his work in Agusan del Sur, he went to live in a slum area of the badly neglected town of Prosperidad, about 14 kilometers north of San Francisco. His truggle for the right of the outcasts and his way of life deeply influenced the way he looked on things. One of the consequences for him was that he resolved to travel as the poor travel: by boat. On November 21, 1983, Fr. Simon was among the hundreds of victims who drowned when the merchant vessel Doña Cassandra sank in the Pacific Ocean between Butuan City and Cebu. From the passengers’ manifest, 12 were found dead, some 207 were missing of the 345 listed passengers. The ill-fated passenger vessel includes two priests one of which was a Carmelite priest in the person of Fr. Simon and seven religious sisters who were on their way to Cebu to attend a Religious Convention.

According to the testimonies of some survivors, they could have saved themselves but they opted to save others instead. Some survivors in the sinking of Doña Cassandra off from Surigao Strait gave witness that these church workers distributing life vests and calming passengers. Other witnesses recounted that the priests and sisters were trapped in cabin as they frantically tried to save the children.

Among those known religious to have perished with Simon were:

Sr. Nanette Berentsen, a nun of the Congreation of the Sisters of Julie Postel;
Sr. Consuelo Chuidian, RGS;
Sr. Concepcion Conti, RGS;
Sr. Virginia Gonzaga, RGS;
Sr. Catherine Loreto, RGS;
Sr. Josephine Medrano, FMA and
Sr. Amparo Gilbiena, MSM.

At the memorial service in his native place of Hengevelde, his brother who is also a Carmelite friar said:

“I hear members of the family say: If anything worries you, go to John (Simon); you can count on him. He is thoughtful and has wise things to say.”

Bro. Marco Laspuna

Brother Marco Laspuna, 31, from Botolan, Zambales, and Brother Suresh Barwa, 22, an Indian, both novices of the Missionaries of the Poor, were buried in Kingston, Jamaica, on 12 November 2005. The two had been shot dead in the home of the congregation in Kingston on the night of 27 October while washing dishes with their companions. A bullet killed Brother Suresh instantly and then wounded Brother Marco, who died four hours later.

The funeral Mass was celebrated in Holy Trinity Cathedral. This was followed by a procession through the nearby streets before a private burial in the presence of members of the congregation, Brother Marco's parents, Mauricio and Conrada, and his brother Douglas. Sadly, the family of Brother Suresh were unable to travel from India due to bureaucratic difficulties, though two priests from his parish were there.

Father Richard Ho Lung founded the Missionaries of the Poor in Kingston in 1981. They are a 'monastic order of Brothers dedicated to Joyful Service with Christ on the Cross to serve the poorest of the poor'. They now have more than 180 members, priests and brothers. Archbishop Leonardo Z. Legaspi OP of Caceres invited the community to Naga City in June 1992. In February 2004 the congregation opened a mission in Cebu City under Brother Rodel Tabanao and Brother Augusto Silot Jr, both Filipinos.

Spot where Missionary brothers 

Marco Laspuna and Suresh Barwa 

was shot dead in 2005

Photo credit: http://www.afflictedyard.com/missionariesofthepoor.htm

Brother Marco was associated with the Canons Regular of the Holy Cross in St Raphael Priory, Candelaria, Zambales, for some years and worked as a catechist. He then joined the Missionaries of the Poor and spent two years in Naga before leaving for his novitiate in Jamaica on 29 September 2003, the feast of Sts Michael, Gabriel and Raphael.

In a statement prepared for the death of the two brothers, Fr. Ho Lung made the following remarks:

"I grieve from the depths of my soul for these two innocent lambs, Suresh and Marco. I grieve as father for his children, and for all my spiritual sons who are with us in Jamaica saddened by the death of their brothers.

I grieve for the parents and families who so generously send their sons to give up their lives permanently in service of the poor, the homeless, the forgotten ones. I grieve for my island Jamaica , so lost and confused, so hardened and violent and wild with anger.

As a father of my brothers and the poor, and, I dare say, as father of my people in Jamaica , I beg that we pray in this nation for a halt to this violence.

We forgive the murderer. We pray for him. We pray that there is repentance in his heart. We will welcome him. We will help him. We will counsel him. He is still our brother. We don't know if he deliberately killed our Brothers or accidentally killed them. Whatever, we forgive him."

Missionaries of the Poor will continue to take in the homeless and destitute. We will continue to live in the ghettoes. Our young men are youthful and full of heroism. They love Jesus and have been singing a song over and over 'greater love no man has than to lay down his life for his friends'."

At a Mass in Kingston on 30 October Father Ambrose, a senior member of the congregation, said 'The gift that God has given us is greater than any other gift, the gift of martyrdom. It was not any of the high officials, but two young novices that God chose to bestow this gift upon, and I am also happy for that."

Sr. Dalisay Lazaga

Dalisay Lazaga was born in Sta. Rosa, Laguna in the Philippines, on March 17, 1940. At eight years of age she loses both parents. The eldest sister takes care of her. Consequently from her early childhood she knows the suffering of a motherless child. She grows up to be a good and virtuous girl and is loved by everybody.

At twenty years of age she obtains her degree and takes up the teaching profession with love and enthusiasm. In a short time she makes a name for herself as a teacher. She is an attractive girl and does not lack admirers, but she firmly refuses any proposal and opts for the consecrated life to which she has felt drawn since a tender age. Her choice does not please her family, who have cherished the idea of another kind of life for her. She wishes to follow the Charism of St. Magdalene of Canossa and on February 2nd 1966 she makes her first religious Profession in the Novitiate House of Oxley in Australia. On her home-coming she takes up again the demanding task of teaching and realizes an enviable, if short, earthly and spiritual career, carrying out her mission among the youth of the Canossian schools.

Then suddenly during November 1970, Sr. Dalisay’s health shows worrying symptoms; she has to undergo an exploratory operation.

The diagnosis is unmistakably fatal, giving her only three months of life; in fact she dies on January 30th 1971. She does not know the whole truth. With a great longing for life in her heart, she moves unaware towards death dreaming about the beauty of a life spent in bringing many souls to Christ. When she finds out the harsh reality, with an inspiring gentleness of spirit, she surrenders to God’s will, and, Our Lady dressed as a Queen, comes to welcome her.

For accounts of graces received; requests of brochures and prayer-cards; sending of donations, etc., please refer to:

Canossian sisters
1202 M. Gandhi
Paco Manila
(02) 404 0811

Postulazione Generale
Istituto Canossiano
Via della Stazione di Ottavia, 70
00135 Roma
Tel. 06-30.82.80.14/44  - Fax 06-30.82.29

Fr. Rhoel Gallardo

"He was a simple, unassuming Claretian missionary, but of extraordinary courage," described Fr. Carlos de Rivas, Provincial Superior of the Claretians in the Philippines. That ordinary man of extraordinary zeal, Fr. Rhoel D. Gallardo, was born to Dominador Gallardo and Mrs. Raquel Dayap Gallardo in Olongapo City on November 29, 1965. He made his first religious professions in Isabela, Basilan on May 1, 1989 and his perpetual profession at the Claret House, Quezon City on July 16, 1993. He was ordained to the priesthood at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, Quezon City on December 6, 1994.

Fr. Rhoel willingly accepted the assignment in the most difficult and most dangerous mission, which is Tumahubong. He was pastor to the persecuted Christian community of Tumahubong. He was a director of Claret School, the students of which are mostly Muslims. When Claret School of Tumahubong was attacked by the Abu Sayyaf on March 20,2000, Fr. Rhoel did not try to escape, instead he confronted the attackers and tried to defend the people. Thus he was abducted together with some teachers and students. During his captivity he did not waver in his faith and continued to minister to his fellow captives, according to the possibilities of the situation. He would ask his captors, every now and then, of the whereabouts of his companions who were taken away. In the evening he would lead his companions to pray the rosary. He refused to wear any Muslim garb. He refused to worship with his Muslim captors. For all these he was tortured and brutally killed on May 3, 2000.

For Bishop Romulo de la Cruz of Basilan, Fr. Rhoel died for the faith. For may people, he died for peace. For many priests and religious, he is a martyr. The blood of martyrs is the seed of the Christian faith. Thus the death of Fr. Rhoel is a gift to the Church this Great Jubilee Year.

“Even if they kill me” William Finnemann (+1942, Philippines)

William Finnemann was the first SVD auxiliary bishop of Manila and probably the first German to become a naturalized Filipino citizen. In 1936, Bishop Finnemann was appointed the first bishop of Mindoro.

In 1941, Japan invaded the Philippines. It was the start of World War II in the Pacific region. The war took Bishop Finnemann by surprise, but he continued attending to his ministry.

In spite of his German origin, he did not adulate Japan, who was Germany’s ally and victor in Asia. Neither did he render tribute, whether obligatory or diplomatic. The Bishop focused more on his works of charity during the war.

The Japanese were very much aware that Bishop Finnemann was an excellent orator and of his influence on the masses. They pressured him to ask the people to support Japan from the pulpit. But Bishop Finnemann vehemently refused, saying in all candidness, “I will preach to the Filipino people the way to respect and show reverence for people without resorting to crime and murder. I will preach them peace and order and admonish them against looting, fraud and stealing. Nothing else!”

Bishop Finnemann was advised by his confreres to leave for his safety, but he refused. He told them, “Never doubt it. I shall perform my duty as a Bishop, I shall fight for my parishioners and for Mindoro.” Then, in a faint and distressed voice, he added, “Even if they kill me.”

Bishop Finnemann meant his words. The war took its toll in Mindoro especially on women and children. Some Catholic schools and convents were being transformed into brothels for children. Women especially young girls were being abused, raped and turned into “comfort women." Bishop Finnemann strongly stood against these abuses and a number of times interceded and denounced the soldiers to free young girls who were forced to become sex slaves. Because of this, Bishop Finnemann became increasingly unpopular to the Japanese. They started harassing him when they learned that he was no longer a German citizen.

It came to a point when a distressed man ran to Bishop Finnemann. A married Japanese soldier fell for his daughter and wanted to have her at any cost. The daughter, a decent young lady educated in accordance with the Catholic principles, would not compromise. But the lady’s refusal will cost the life of the entire family. The Bishop gently advised the father that it would be wise for his daughter to flee to the mountains, to defy all physical dangers before facing moral challenges.

And so it happened. The Japanese soldier became furious and wanted to know the whereabouts of the girl. Soon, he learned that Bishop Finnemann was the one to blame for the disappearance of the girl. Because of the embarrassment his rejection caused and the ridicule he received from his comrades, he wanted to vent his fury on the Bishop.

One day, a Japanese commission led by the scorned suitor visited Bishop Finnemann, informing him of his desire to rent a house, a property of the Bishop, located beside the Church. Bishop Finnemann asked them why they wanted to rent the house. The Japanese told him that they intend to use the house as a venue for their lustful and vicious desires, they wanted to turn it into a brothel. This provoked the Bishop to anger. He angrily said, “This being the case, you cannot have the house. You may take it by force, but never with my consent. I will never compromise!”

The Bishop was arrested and taken to the torture chamber, where he was badly tortured and beaten. One of his tortures is to be exposed under the scorching sun. With a bleeding face and bruised limbs, he went back to his house without complaining about the tortures he suffered.

On the morning of October 6, 1942, Bishop Finnemann received a pleasant invitation from the Japanese government to leave for Manila. Bishop Finnemann was loaded on a military ship and was taken away. The Bishop was already aware of what will happen to him. Fr. Bernardo Pues followed Bishop Finnemann to the shore with a group of Christians. When he returned to his rectory, the bell which is supposed to announce the death of a member of the community mysteriously rang by itself.

News that Bishop Finnemann would be brought to Manila spread among the faithful in the city. It made such an impact that the Japanese created a news about the Bishop. They said that the Bishop, who was scared to answer for his actions before a simple investigation in Manila, decided to commit suicide by jumping off the ship. But this is a rejection of the courageous spirit of Bishop Finnemann.

Soon, it was announced that the bishop was already dead, without any information as to when, where and how. One account describes that he died, “Along the way in the waters between Verde Island and Batangas, the soldiers bound his hands and feet, tied his body on a huge rock and dropped him overboard into the depths of the sea.” With hands and feet tied and dragged down by a large rock, the bishop had no way of surviving.

The news of the Bishop’s death spread all over Manila, and no news spread as fast as Bishop Finnemann’s death during the war years, transmitted from one person to another. The tragic event was talked about all over the city with fear, sorrow, and admiration. Everyone was aware of what it meant to oppose Japan and their military forces.

Until today, the people of Mindoro honour Bishop Finneman’s martyrdom. Every year on October 26, they would sail out into the sea between Calapan and Batangas to offer prayers and flowers to their pastor who laid down his life upholding their dignity.

“Standing up to others for the social message of the Gospels” Carl Schmitz (+1988, Philippines)

Fr. Carl Schmitz, a Passionist priest from Chicago, was working in Japan when he felt called to work to the missions among the tribal Filipinos living in the mountains. The B’laans were abused people who had been displaced from the lowlands to the mountains where it was hard to find suitable land for their small gardens. Murder and burning of properties were rampant. Violence was constant.

Fr. Schmitz threw himself into this work with more vigor than ever. It was clear that Carl had never been happier nor more content. He considered everyone of the 80,000 B’laans his people. They were living in the mountains separated into hundreds of small communities, covering an area of thousands of square kilometers. He set out to visit every one of these scattered communities. In a short time, he was known and trusted by all because of his kindliness and his sincere concern for each one. Along with his spiritual message, he brought food when they were starving, medicines to combat the prevalence of sickness and disease; he built schools so that they could improve their economic and social condition. In his own personal life, he lived as the poorest, even using borrowed clothing. His Superiors had to order him to rest and to take care of his health. A new Christian culture was being born among the B’laans.

Father Schmitz lived the life of the B'laans in his center in the mountains. He taught them the faith. He felt the injustices they experienced in being driven from their homelands. He defended their rights to their lands and way of life. It is no wonder that there were those who wanted to see him silenced, removed, murdered.

Two serious issues faced the missionary. Paramilitary forces in the area often turned out to be bandits who used young Bila'ans as their agents in illegal logging and rustling water buffalo. When Fr.Carl discovered that going on, he would head up the mountains, find his people, persuade them to go to the coast with him and seek amnesty. The New Peoples Army (Communist) was another problem. Young Bila'ans often saw the NPA as a way to gain back their stolen lands. Fr. Carl tried to persuade his young men to leave the rebels and seek amnesty.

Photo Credit: Our Lady of Perpeutual Help Seminary Archives

His activities did not make him popular with the paramilitary. In Easter Week, 1988 Fr. Carl had brought six young B’laans to his out-mission at Bolul. He planned to take them from there to the authorities the next day. The paramilitary were probably uneasy, fearing some action could be taken against them. Determined to stop Fr. Carl, they got a young B’laan, Johnny Monday, half drunk. Handing him a Garand rifle they told him to kill Fr. Carl. Johnny was a former teacher in a Catholic school ran by Marist brothers, who worked together with the Passionist missionaries.

On the night of April 7, 1988, Johnny came to the hut where Fr. Schmitz lived. Fr. Schmitz, who was about to sleep, went outside to talk to Johnny, who was shouting at him. Earlier that day, Fr. Schmitz bought Johnny’s wife some medicine. Fr. Schmitz tried to calm Johnny down, but he wouldn’t. Johnny sprayed the priest with bullets and ran towards to house of the captain of the village. Fr. Schmitz’s mission was a missionary career crowned with martyrdom for justice. He loved the Bila'an people and would not allow them to be corrupted by the paramilitary, who were often bent on illegal logging and the rape of the virgin forests.

A Filipino priest who is campaigning for the canonization of Fr. Schmitz as a martyr said that Fr. Schmitz “was shot for not compromising on the social teachings that come from his faith and are based on the social justice principles of the Gospels.” Father Schmitz died not as a martyr for the Catholic faith, but as a man “standing up to others for the social message of the Gospels.”

“For putting their individual talents at the service of country and people” The Cassandra Martyrs (+1983, Philippines)

Shepherding has taken many forms in the history of the Good Shepherd Sisters. In the Philippines, on November 21, 1983, it was shepherding in a shipwreck. Four heroic nuns from the Religious of the Good Shepherd saved several lives during a shipwreck and died in the process.

The four nuns were collectively known as the Cassandra Martyrs after their heroic deeds during the MV Doña Cassandra ferry tragedy on November 20, 1983. The four boarded the ferry from a port in Nasipit, Agusan del Norte to attend their congregation’s meeting in Cebu along with two other nuns, a priest, and several church workers. Despite the stormy seas caused by a typhoon, the inter-island ferry, which was allegedly overloaded, still set sail for Cebu.

On the morning of November 21, the sisters saw the ship’s crew bailing water out of the hull. Despite the crew’s insistence that there was nothing wrong with the ferry, the sisters alerted passengers about what they saw. It was not long before the boat started to capsize.

The sisters wasted no time. They shepherded the passengers by giving out life jackets, though the four sisters did not have any safety gear for themselves. They also led many passengers to the safety of the life rafts.

The four sisters continued to help other passengers, especially the children, until the ferry completely sank. Survivors say that they last saw the four nuns holding small children before they drowned in the shark-infested waters off Northeastern Mindanao. Until the end, the four sisters showed selfless love and the desire to save lives.

The four nuns were known not only for laying down their lives for others during the shipwreck, but for their individual advocacies in fostering inter-faith dialogues, education, and justice for the victims of human rights abuses during the Marcos regime.

Sr. Mary Consuelo Chuidian

Sr. Mary Consuelo Chuidian, 46, was the superior of the St. Bridget’s community in Davao. She fearlessly documented human rights violations during the Marcos regime. She also led a movement against President Marcos, with the poor, oppressed and exploited Davaoeños supporting her. She chaired the Women’s Alliance for True Change, was coordinator of the Rural Missionaries for Southern Mindanao, and was active in the associations of women religious in Davao and Mindanao. Her leadership inspired her community to be open to victims of every kind, especially those of Martial Law.

Sr. Mary Concepcion Conti

Sr. Mary Concepcion Conti, 46, was a member of the Davao Community. She organized and headed the Community-Based Health Program in the Diocese of Tagum. She sought to train rural health workers, thus empowering them to attend to the basic health needs of the poor. She chose education as her way of helping people. She spearheaded literacy programs for the Banwaan Manobos of Agusan.

Sr. Mary Virginia Gonzaga

Despite coming from an affluent family, 42-year-old Sr. Mary Virginia Gonzaga chose to join the religious life. She fought for the rights of poor people and small workers in Cebu and supported interfaith dialogues between Christians and Muslims. She was the superior of the Sapad Community in Lanao del Norte. She had organized the Young Christian Workers in her home city and later, as a religious, worked among slum dwellers and migrant workers before she went to the Sapad mission among Christians and Muslims.

Sr. Mary Catherine Loreto

Sr. Mary Catherine Loreto, 39, was the youngest of the four nuns. She joined the campaign to protect the rights of political detainees and also helped the families of desaparecidos (victims of forced disappearances) during the Marcos regime. Hers was the most difficult challenge of standing up for those harassed by the military and their families, with the risk of herself falling under suspicion.

Different organizations recognized the sisters’ zeal and martyrdom, most notably by the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Foundation founded by former Senate president Jovito Salonga. In inscribing their names on the “Wall of Remembrance” for heroes during the Martial Law era, the citation read:

“For contributing to the protest movement against the Marcos dictatorship and human rights abuses, as street parliamentarians and religious superiors heading and implementing education, health, rehabilitation and justice programs, both through legal and extra-legal means;

“For leaving the safety and comfort of home and convent to work as rural missionaries among poor farmers, indigenous peoples and Muslims in remote areas of Mindanao, thus becoming active witnesses to the Church’s mission to serve the poor, deprived and oppressed at the height of state repression of the Church;

“For putting their individual talents at the service of country and people.”

Sr. Marcia Caridad Mercado of the Religious of the Good Shepherd Sisters Philippines said that the Vatican has requested for documents related to the heroism of the Cassandra Martyrs to facilitate their possible beatification.

Fr. Thomas Byle: The Priest of the Titanic

On April 10, 1912, Father Thomas Byles made the journey from Essex, bound for Southampton. Arriving at Liverpool Street Station, he went to Waterloo Station, and there joined the Boat Train for Southampton. With second class ticket #244310 in hand, which had cost £13, Father Byles boarded the great ship.

He was able to make arrangements with Captain Smith to have the use of space on the ship in order to say Mass for the passengers of the Titanic since he had brought a portable altar stone and all accessories, borrowed from Monsignor Watson.

A few hours later, while the Titanic lay at anchor at Cherbourg, he wrote to his housekeeper Miss Field back at his parish in Ongar, Essex:

"Everything so far has gone very well, except that I have somehow managed to lose my umbrella. I first missed it getting out of the train at Southampton, but am inclined to think that I left it at Liverpool St. We arrived at Southampton in the boat train at 11.30 and started at 12 o'clock very punctually. At one we had lunch. We were then still in Southampton Water, but when we came out of lunch we were between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight.

"Before coming out of supper we had stopped at Cherbourg, and the tender was just coming alongside with passengers. The tender is a good sized boat of 1260 tons, but by the side of the Titanic she looks as though with a good crane we could lift her out of the water and lay her on deck without feeling any inconvenience.

"When you look down at the water from the top deck, it is like looking from the roof of a very high building.

"At the time of writing 7.45 we are still stopping at Cherbourg. The English channel was decidedly rough to look at, but we felt it no more in the roughest part than when we were in Southampton Water. I do not much like the throbbing of the screws but that is the only motion we feel...I shall not be able to say mass to-morrow morning, as we shall be just arriving at Queenstown ... I will write as soon as I get to New York..."

He spent most of the day Saturday hearing the confessions of those who wished to avail themselves to this grace. On Sunday morning, April 14, Father Byles offered what would be his last Mass. It was Low Sunday; i.e., the Sunday after Easter. He said Mass first for the second class passengers in their lounge and then for the third class passengers. He preached in English and French on the need for men to have a lifebelt in the shape of prayer and the sacraments to save their souls when in danger of being lost in spiritual shipwreck in times of temptation, just as men require a lifebelt to save themselves when their lives are in danger of being lost in an actual shipwreck.

Of the very few passengers willing to brave the cold, Father Byles had been reciting the Breviarium Romanum, fully dressed in his priestly garb, while walking back and forth on the upper deck at the moment the Titanic struck the iceberg. He acted bravely in his capacity as a spiritual leader of men. Descending to the third class and calming the people, Father Byles gave them his priestly blessing and began to hear confessions; after which, he began the recitation of the Rosary. He then led the third class passengers up to the boat deck and helped load the lifeboats. He gave words of consolation and encouragement to the woman and children as they got into the boats. As the danger became even more apparent, he went about hearing more confessions and giving absolution. By all accounts, Father Byles was twice offered a seat in a lifeboat but refused. After the last lifeboat was gone, he went to the after end of the boat deck and led the recitation of the Rosary for a large group kneeling around him of those who were not able to find room in the boats. Father Byles also exhorted the people to prepare to meet God. As 2:20 a.m. approached, and the stern rose higher and higher out of the sea, Father Byles led the more than one hundred people kneeling before him in the Act of Contrition and gave them general absolution.

Witnesses gave testimony of Father Byles' bravery while the ship was sinking.

"When the crash came we were thrown from our berths ... Slightly dressed, we prepared to find out what had happened. We saw before us, coming down the passageway, with his hand uplifted, Father Byles. We knew him because he had visited us several times on board and celebrated mass for us that very morning. 'Be calm, my good people,' he said, and then he went about the steerage giving absolution and blessings.... A few around us became very excited and then it was that the priest again raised his hand and instantly they were calm once more. The passengers were immediately impressed by the absolute self-control of the priest. He began the recitation of the rosary. The prayers of all, regardless of creed, were mingled and all the responses, 'Holy Mary,' were loud and strong." -- Miss Helen Mary Mocklare, third class passenger.

"Continuing the prayers, he [Father Byles] led us to where the boats were being lowered. Helping the women and children in he whispered to them words of comfort and encouragement." -- Miss Bertha Moran, third class passenger.

"One sailor ... warned the priest of his danger and begged him to board a boat. Father Byles refused. The same seaman spoke to him again and he seemed anxious to help him, but he refused again. Father Byles could have been saved, but he would not leave while one was left and the sailor's entreaties were not heeded. After I got in the boat, which was the last one to leave, and we were slowly going further away from the ship, I could hear distinctly the voice of the priest and the responses to his prayers. Then they became fainter and fainter, until I could only hear the strains of 'Nearer My God, to Thee' and the screams of the people left behind." -- Miss Helen Mary Mocklare, third class passenger.

Another survivor spoke of how Father Byles was a leader in caring for those left behind. 

"I first saw Father Byles in the steerage. There were many Catholics there, and he eased their minds by praying for them, hearing confessions and giving them his blessing. I later saw him on the upper deck reading from his priest's book of hours. Survivors, especially a young English lad, told me later that he pocketed the book, gathered the men about him and, while they knelt, offered up prayer for their salvation." -- Miss Agnes McCoy, third class passenger.

Father Byles died in the sinking. His body was never recovered.

William and Katherine did not reschedule the planned wedding, but had another priest perform a very simple ceremony. Following the wedding the couple went home, changed into mourning clothes and returned to the church for a memorial Mass. This article appeared in the Evening World:

"Wedding bells, quickly followed by a funeral march, changed on Saturday, what was to have been the happiest day in the lives of Miss Isabel Katherine Russell and W. E. Byles. More than two thousand people were expected to be present. The ceremony was to have been performed in St. Augustine's Church and the Rev. Thomas R. D. Byles of Ongar, Essex County, England, brother of the groom, was to officiate. Miss Russell and Mr. Byles did not give up hope that Father Byles had been saved until every passenger had arrived from the Carpathia. They returned to the Russell residence, No. 119 Pacific Street, and, by telephone and telegram, recalled the numerous invitations. Believing in the superstition, however, that it is bad luck to postpone a wedding, the ceremony was performed Saturday by the Rev. Wm F. McGinnis, D. D., a life-long friend of the bride, in St. Paul's Church. Instead of the usual reception and wedding breakfast following, the bridal party hastened home, and, donning garments of mourning, returned to the church, where the Rev. Father W. Flannery, rector, performed a requiem mass for the late Father Byles."

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported the following: 

"There was a wedding this morning that was not all joy, at St. Paul's Church, Congress and Court streets. William E. Byles, of 124 Pacific street, was married to Isabelle C. Russell, of 119 Pacific street, by the Rev. Dr. William F. McGinnis. The wedding was to have been performed by the bridegroom's brother, the Rev. Thomas R. D. Byles, but the latter was one of the victims of the Titanic disaster, and from all accounts one of the heroes of the awful calamity. It is said that he administered the last rites to all that asked his services, and helped also to save many people from death.

"After the low nuptial mass today, a solemn high requiem mass was celebrated for the lost priest."

The following account of the Funeral Service held at Ongar Church appeared in the Essex Chronicle on May 2, 1912:

"Ever since the news of the disaster to the Titanic the congregation at St. Helen's Catholic Church, Ongar, have been concerned in paying fitting tributes to the memory of their much-loved pastor. As soon as it was beyond doubt that Father Byles was amongst those who had perished, the sorrowful tidings were announced by the tolling of the church bell, and since then Masses have been said almost continually for the repose of his soul. At the Mass on the Sunday following an address was given by Father Connor, of St. Andrew's Institute, Barnet, in which he spoke of the sterling qualities of character as shown forth in their rector's life. His career was a remarkable one, and God seemed to have marked him out in an extraordinary way for His own divine purposes. Finally, he had been the rescuer of innumerable souls on a storm tossed ocean...

"The Priest-in-charge of the Ongar Catholic Church attended the solemn requiem Mass at Westminster Cathedral in the name of the bereaved mission. Nevertheless, it seemed that the love and affectionate remembrance of the little flock for their shepherd could not be satisfied except by tokens, both public and private, at the very heart of the good Priest's activities - his own most dearly loved church. Accordingly on Sunday evening last a special service was arranged to fulfill these obligations. The Sisters of Charity and the boys under their charge at St. Charles' School, Brentwood, together with their chaplain, Mgr. Watson, journeyed to Ongar to assist at these devotions...

"On Monday morning a Requiem Mass was held at the church and there was a very large congregation... Mgr. Watson addressed the clergy and laity present. He referred to St. Paul, and the fact that though St. Paul suffered from physical ailments and was only small in stature, yet he was the great Apostle of the Gentiles. In like manner the late Father Byles, although of a humble exterior, was a man of great learning, great zeal, possessed a kindly love for the poor and a spirit of great humility." 

On a trip later that year, Katherine and William traveled to Rome where they had a private audience with Pope Saint Pius X, who said that Father Byles was a martyr for the Church.

The name "Titanic" will forever live in our hearts and memories as a symbol of tragedy because of the dramatic sinking of the great liner and the enormous loss of life, but remember there is another legacy, as reported in the survivors' descriptions of the final hours of the great ship. It is the legacy of the men and women who stayed behind.

It is the stuff of Greek tragedies, of the classical myths, of heroes and villains, scoundrels and good Samaritans.

The hero element of the classical myths is very important because it is through the hero that the audience learned how to behave heroically. Or, if the hero made a mistake, as Odysseus did when he angered Poseidon, then he still overcame the punishment in heroic fashion. All of these stories were meant to teach people what was important in life.

The Titanic is just such a story.

In the survivors' accountings there are examples of humanity at its basest form as well as examples of deeds that we, as Christians and good people, hold up as exemplary; actions which declare that we are above the beasts because we are capable of moral decisions; behavior which dignified not only the man, but that man's whole race. It provided evidence of the dignity and honor of which we are capable.

Father Byles was part of that legacy, a hero in a hopeless situation.