Venerable Alfredo Ma. Obviar - The Meek Shepherd of Lucena
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| Venerable Alfredo Ma. Obviar |
It is a high time that we need to take a look on his holy life that is worth emulating not only by our own clergymen, but also by the faithful for his life a picture of tireless service to the master of the vineyard.
Early Life and Calling
Alfredo Maria Obviar y Aranda was born on August 29, 1889 in Lipa City, Batangas, to devout Catholics parents, Telesforo Obviar and Catalina Aranda and the only son of the family. Having become an orphan at the early age, he was taken care of by relatives from his mother’s side.
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| Venerable Alfredo Ma. Obviar as a priest |
Early Life in God's Service
Father Obviar has this passion to evangelize the youth of his area that on his assignment in Malvar, Batangas as a Parish Priest, he displayed an extraordinary charism for organizing catechists as well as for teaching catechism most especially to the old folks. In Lipa City, where he became also the Parish Priest, he established many catechetical centers in the poblacion and in the barrios. According to old folks in Lipa, some 300 catechists would teach the children every Sunday – a prophetic preparation for what he would do in the coming years.
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| Venerable Alfredo Ma. Obviar |
It was in his assignment as the chaplain of the Carmelite Nuns in Lipa that he developed his devotion to St. Therese of the Child Jesus, the Little Flower of Carmel and Patroness of the Missions and to the Virgin of Carmel that he would later name his congregation and seminary respectively years later.
The Lipa Events
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| Ven. Alfredo Obviar with the Carmelite Nuns of Lipa |
On June 29, 1944, he became Auxiliary Bishop of Lipa making the formation of rural volunteer catechists the main thrust of his ministry. It was about the period between 1948 and 1950 that the Blessed Virgin Mary was said to be appearing to a young nun in the Carmelite Monastery of Lipa named Teresita Castillo and that there were allegedly miraculous showers of roses. It has not yet been ascertained what the late Bishop Obviar’s role in the incident was. He was a matter of fact the chaplain and confessor of the nuns in the Monastery.
However, in compliance with a declaration of non-approval by a six member panel of Bishops representing the former Catholic Welfare Organization, both Bishop Versoza and Bishop Obviar followed with magnanimous prudence the line of keeping quiet about the alleged incidents. Some nuns in the monastery were consequently distributed to different monasteries of the Order. With early resignation of Bishop Versoza, Bishop Obviar received from the Holy See a new assignment – that of Apostolic Adminisrtation of the newly created Diocese of Lucena. He occupied this position from March 15, 1951 to July 19, 1969, when he, at the recommendation of the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Carmine Rocco, became the first Bishop of Lucena.
The unexpected transfer of Bishop Obviar to the fledging Diocese of Lucena was in some sense providential. Despite of the controversy, he continued his pastoral ministry with Carmelite humility and dedication. He heroically kept to himself what has transpired in the Monastery of Lipa and never released any statements regarding this matter until his death.
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| Ven. Alfredo Obviar and his Catechists |
One of the spiritual exercises which he strongly encouraged the priests to practice was the keeping of the Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament or at least an hour prayer. Such was expected from one who was a man of prayer himself. He was a priest whose solitude was as eloquent as his preaching.
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| Ven. Alfredo Ma. Obviar meeting St. John XXIII |
The catechist in Bishop Obviar did not wane in his advance age of 80. He would still gather a handful of “catechists oradores” at the sacristy of the cathedral or at his residence to review the “doctrina” with them in prayerful fashion. He encouraged the priests to give at least once a week “conferencilla” to adults whenever they could be gathered, such as in street corners and unused public places. The Word of God must be preached from the housetops.
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| Ven. Alfredo Ma. Obviar in his last years |
When sickness and advancing age have become very apparent, Bishop Obviar was given a Coadjutor in the person of Bishop Jose T. Sanchez. He considered his eventual retirement from the government of the diocese as a change of mission in the Church to pray more for the Church and to offer his sickness in union with Jesus for his beloved catechists.
His Passing to Eternal Life and Tributes
He spent the last three years of his life in the Covenant of the Missionary Catechists of St. Therese in Tayabas, Quezon. Nothing gave him more joy as when the Sisters would gather around him to share with him their little stories and experiences in the field. He would always remind them to give the lessons with simplicity, humility and one point at a time.
He died peacefully in the Lord on October 1, 1978 in the hospital which he founded, the Mount Carmel Clinic. His remains are buried in the Compound of the MCST in Tayabas, awaiting for the glorious resurrection and justification.
The people of Lipa and Lucena unceasingly gave tributes to this beloved prelate. In 1994, the Bishop Alfredo Obviar Museum opened in Tayabas, Quezon where his memorabilia is currently kept and preserved. Ten years later, in 2004, the Kalipulako Street in Lipa. Batangas was renamed Obispo Obviar Street in honor of its first Filipino priest and later Bishop.
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| Ven. Alfredo Ma. Obviar |
Soon after his death, numerous pilgrims would visit his tomb to pay homage to their beloved prelate and would ask for his intercession. Miracles began to happen through his intercession that the Cause for his Sainthood was introduced and Bishop Obviar was declared "Servant of God" on March 6, 2001. On June 26, 2014 his mortal remains were exhumed and transferred to it's present site to the New St. Therese Chapel in the MCST Mother house in Tayabas, Quezon Province.
On November 7, 2018, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received an audience with His Eminence, Angelo Cardinal Becciu, Prefect of the Congregation of the Causes of Saints. In that audience the Holy Father has authorized the promulgation of the Decree of the Heroic Virtues of the Servant of God, Alfredo Maria Obviar by conferring to him the title "Venerable". Once the Sovereign Pontiff recognized the "heroic virtues" of a candidate for sainthood and declares the candidate "Venerable", it is a few steps away for possible Beatification and Canonization.
The Holy life of Venerable Bishop Alfredo Maria Obviar is a life of endless service and that of a true missionary which is evident in his mission maxim: "Salvar a last almas es amarlas." (To save souls is to love them). May this maxim may be our own as we emulate his life and zeal as we are living through tough times in our lifetime. As we conclude this blogpost dedicated to Venerable Alfredo Ma. Obviar here is the official prayer for the cause of his Sainthood and hopefully he will be immediately beatified and canonized in our lifetime as the first Filipino Bishop to be honored as such.
Prayer for Beatification and Canonization of Bishop Alfredo Maria Obviar
Almighty and ever loving Father You always provide for your people by appointing shephered to care for them. You made Venerable Alfredo Maria Obviar a faithful priest, a true shephered to the flock, and a model to his brother priests. We thank You for having raised this servant as an example of humble obedience to the Church, a silent and committed witness to the Paschal Mystery of Jesus.
We also praise You, Father, that fired with filial love for Mary, Queen of Carmel and imbued with the simplicity of St Therese You inspired Venerable Alfredo Maria to found the Institute of the Missionary Catechists of St. Therese in order to carry out the task of evangelization, an urgent task for the Church today.
In Your merciful love grant us the grace we now ask (Mention your petitions), so that You may be glorified and the Church may present him to the world as another witness of holiness. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
Our Father... Hail Mary... Glory be...
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, pray for us!
St. Joseph, pray for us!
St. Therese of the Child Jesus, pray for us!
If through the Mercy of God, a favor has been granted to you through the Venerable Servant of God Alfredo Ma. Obviar, you may send your testimonies to
Alfredo Ma. Obviar Center
MCST Compound, Tayabas City, 4327, Quezon Province, Philippines
Tel nos. (042) 793 - 3699/ CP. 042-713-1881
Email: alfredomariaobviar@yahoo.com.ph/sr.renerarela@yahoo.it
References:
_____ (2015) Servant of God Alfredo Ma. Obviar August 29, 1889 - October 1, 1978, Priest of Lipa, First Auxiliary Bishop of Lipa, First Bishop of Lucena, Founder of MCST (Missionary Cathechists of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Tayabas. Quezon.
_____ (2016), Biography of Servant of God Bishop Alfredo Obviar, Retreived from http://alfredomaobviar.wixsite.com/bamo on November 8, 2018.
Darang, Josephine, (2006), A Purely Personal book of Miracles: A Collection of Columns published by Philippine Daily Inquirer, Sound Publishing Corporation, Makati City.
de Jesus, Rene (2015), Mary, Mediatrix of All Grace, A Journey of Suffering and Holiness (Carmel of Lipa), LSA Printing Press, Inc. Mandaluyong City. thanks
Lagdameo, Angel, DD,(undated), The Servant of God Alfredo Maria, Obviar.
Tenedero, Erik (2018), Pope decalres Lucena's first Bishop "Venerable", Retreived from https://news.abs-cbn.com/news
Special credits to the owners of the photos that were utilized for this blogpost. +AM+DG+
i grew up with catechists who saw and heard the servant of God Bishop Obviar. he built the minor seminary our lady of mount carmel then the school of saint alphonsus seminary for theology later become regional seminary. he constructed the mount carmel general hospital from the start it just a clinic. he truly a carmelite teriary he look forward to have a carmelite monastery the expelled french carmilite nuns of shanghai we have the carmel of saint Joseph monastery the same name of the former monastery. there some of his priests few name to mention adapt the disipline and dedication. my late grandparents on my fatherside have a great fond of this bishop. we could still hear saying such: maraming namamatay sa kutsara kaysa spada.....magpasenya ka sapangkat ikay pinagpapasenyahan din....Your face O Lord I seek! Salamat sa Diyos!
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