O.CARM. IN THE PHILIPPINES
Planting the Seeds of Carmel
In 1957, the Philippines was a young republic still savoring its hard-won independence after centuries of Spanish and American rule.
In October of that year, the seeds of Carmel were planted on the fertile grounds of Negros Occidental by Fr. Brocardus Meyer, Provincial of the Dutch Carmelite Province and Father Richard Vissers, a veteran of the Carmel mission in Indonesia.
Over breakfast at his residence, Bishop Epifanio Surban of the Diocese of Dumaguete told his Dutch guests: “Look around. You can take any parish north of the diocese, except for Bais and Tanjay”.
Traveling far north of the diocese, they arrived at the poor and neglected Vicariate of Toboso, with its parishes in Old Escalante and Toboso, as well as a chaplaincy in Central Danao which served some 85,000 sugar workers, farmers, and fisherfolk.
Here, amidst the marginalized, the oppressed and the exploited, the pioneering Dutch friars chose to build the foundations of the Order of Carmelites in the Philippines.
The Founding Years
After Fr. Meyer sailed back to Holland, Fr. Vissers became the first Provincial Superior and was joined by Fathers Werenfried Viester, Theodulf Vrakking and Fidelis Limcaco, a Filipino Carmelite.
On March 15, 1958, Fr. Vissers took charge of the parish in Toboso, with its unfinished church and a small two-room convent that earned the nickname “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.”
In May, following the arrivals of Vrakking, Viester and Limcaco, a rundown Spanish church in Old Escalante and a bare but functional chapel in Danao were turned over by the Spanish Recollects.
During the founding years, pastoral work was strongly Church-centered and not too different from established customs. It was primarily a time for learning more about the language, the culture and the people.
But as they learned more, the shocking reality of how so much misery and hunger existed just outside the very wealthy sugar estates struck the very core of their beings --shaping the Carmelite ministry into developing a strong bias for the poor, the neglected and the suffering.
The Order continued to grow through a steady influx of new missionaries from The Netherlands, as well as with the arrival of the Carmelite Nuns from Madrid, who established their first convent in Dumaguete in 1958.
Rapid Expansion
The beginning of the 1960s was marked by rapid expansion and involvement with the people.
In 1963, the Carmelites accepted the parish and mission in San Francisco, Agusan del Sur, expanding their work to reach Iligan City in 1968.
Meanwhile, the sweeping reforms of the Second Vatican Council paved the way for the use of the vernacular in liturgical celebrations. This prompted Fr. Theodulf Vrakking to embark on the painstaking work of translating the English lectionary into Cebuano for communities in the Visayas and Mindanao – a labor of love that is still widely used today.
Capability building was strengthened at the grassroots level through the Basic Christian Community (BCC), which equipped lay workers with skills in community organizing and community-based health programs.
More importantly, the changing socio-political landscape of the country saw the Carmelites becoming increasingly engaged in what is now called “Social Action Apostolate”.
The friars, together with their lay volunteers, became involved in labor education, community empowerment, organizing farmers and factory workers, and providing health care for the poor… an apostolate that gained momentum as a cloud of dissatisfaction and unrest gathered over the shaky political scenario.
Responding to the call of the times, the Carmelites assembled for their First National Convention in 1969, where new programs were formulated along what was then perceived as the chief areas of concern: pastoral work, catechesis, education and liturgy.
No one could have guessed the shocking turn of events that would change the course of Philippine history.
Championing the "Church of the Poor"
When Pres. Ferdinand Marcos signed Presidential Decree 1081 declaring Martial Law in the Philippines, the entire country was thrown into a pit of darkness and oppression.
Civil liberties were curtailed. People in cowered in silence for fear of the military and police. Poverty worsened and human rights violations swelled.
Several Carmelite co-workers were hauled to prison; others went into hiding. One Dutch friar was arrested and later deported for working with labor unions.
Martial Law left the Carmelites with no other choice but to commit themselves to the struggle for promoting peace, justice and basic human rights – the beginning of a new way of social evangelization.
A new vision steadily emerged – one that placed service to the people over and above maintaining institutions.
In 1978, this aspiration was expressed in a position paper presented to the Dutch Carmelite Chapter: the “option for the poor,” in which friars in the Philippines expressed their common conviction that they had no other choice but to stand on the side of the underprivileged.
Modern-day Martyrs
However, championing the “church of the poor” was not without its own martyrs.
In 1973, Fr. Engelbert Van Vilsteren, assistant parish priest in San Francisco, was ambushed and hacked to death by members of a fanatical sect while retrieving the body of a murder victim. He and three companions died on the spot.
Ten years later, on suspicions that he was a communist sympathizer, student friar Isagani Valle was shot by the police in cold blood in Buenavista, Agusan del Norte. His bullet-riddled body was displayed in front of the municipal hall then later buried at a common grave.
Another tragedy befell the Carmelites in 1983 when Fr. Simon Westendorp, parish priest of San Francisco, perished in the sinking of the MV Doña Cassandra while on his way to attend a religious convention in Cebu. Among those who died with him were a UCCP pastor and seven nuns, including Dutch missionary Nanette Berentsen of the Sisters of Julie Postel.
Witnesses have attested that these religious men and women were last seen "praying, distributing life vests, helping children put theirs on, instructing other passengers to hasten towards the life rafts and to be ready to abandon ship.” Sadly, they lost their own lives when emergency supplies ran out and the boat finally sank.
By far, the most gruesome memory in the last five decades was left by the bloody incident of September 20, 1985, when paramilitary forces of the local government in Escalante gunned down civilians engaged in a protest-rally over the 13th anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law. This sinister act is now grimly referred to as the "Escalante Massacre”.
Bringing out their Elijan tradition, the Carmelites’ commitment to justice, peace and the integrity of creation became a beacon in those dark days of Martial Law, attracting more young men into its fold, as well as an emerging group of lay collaborators who will later be known as the “Carmelite Associates”.
From Darkness to Light: Growth and Milestones
After the historic EDSA Revolution in 1986, democracy returned to the Filipino nation.
Still, the Carmelites’ vision of a society that is free, just, democratic, and humane remained a dream.
At their 1987 Convention, the friars renewed their commitment to the cause of the suffering Filipino people and identified their specific areas of concern: strengthening brotherhood, attention to contextualized formation of candidates, and new forms of participation in Carmelite life.
The 1990s saw the Order responding to the challenge of renewing interest in Carmelite spirituality in a rapidly changing world.
In the process of growing deeper into the midst of the people, the last decade of the 20th century saw the Carmelites rediscovering their vitality, creativity and the capacity to be happy and to celebrate life.
In 1991, the Carmelites partnered with the Franciscans and Redemptorists to establish the Inter-Congregational Theological Center (ICTC) to provide a more socially relevant theological training for young candidates.
Tapping into the immense potential for evangelization promised by a free media, the Order also established the Titus Brandsma Center in 1992, heralding the start of the Carmelite media ministry and the emergence of a center for spirituality
In 1994 the Teresa of Avila Building was inaugurated, an ambitious project in New Manila, Quezon City – an educational complex named after the famous Carmelite mystic, housing the Institute of Formation and Religious Studies of the Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines, the Institute of Spirituality in Asia, the Titus Brandsma Media Program, and the General Commissariat’s Administration.
By the start of the new millennium, the building also became the home of the Institute of Spirituality in Asia -- a research and academic institute for the scholarly study of spirituality that has been envisioned to be Carmel’s gift to Asia and to the world.
Not forgetting its “option for the poor”, the Carmelites continued to operate its pastoral programs through the BCC, credit cooperatives and labor organizations. They also set up a Special Education Program for speech and hearing impaired scholars in Mount Carmel College- Escalante, funded mostly by benefactors from The Netherlands.
The Philippine Commissariat
On the Feast Day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in 2004, Carmelites in the Philippines rejoiced at a much-awaited development.
After 48 years of Carmelite presence in the archipelago under the Dutch Province, the Philippine General Commissariat of Blessed Titus Brandsma was canonically erected, with Fr. Antonio dela Cruz as its first Commissary General.
A year later, in February 2005, the First General Commissariat Chapter was held, in which Fr. Artemio Jusayan was elected as the new Commissary General.
In March 2008, overflowing gladness and thanksgiving filled the hearts of both the religious and lay members of the Carmelite family as the Order celebrated its Golden Jubilee in the Philippines.
Among the activities in this four-day event were pilgrimages back to the roots of Carmel in Negros Occidental, Agusan, Iligan and Isabela -- bringing back memories of the past and reflections on the ongoing journey of Carmel in the Philippines.
The jubilee celebration culminated in the Second General Chapter, which saw the re-election of Father Jusayan as Commissary General.
It was during this 2008 Chapter that the Philippine Commissariat accepted the challenge of opening its first mission in Papua New Guinea. Three Filipino Carmelites – Fathers Jun Adeva, Reynold Caigoy and Edwin Magbago -- were appointed as pioneers of this mission in Bereira Diocese and left in October of the same year.
The Philippine Carmelite Province
In February of 2011, the Carmelites in the Philippines held their Third General Commissariat Chapter to elect their new leadership.
Invoking the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they elected Fr. Christian Buenafe as Commissary General and a Council composed Fathers Rico Ponce, Roberto Noel Rosas, Gilbert Sabado, and Eduardo Albino. Student Friar Bro. Melvin Lorono and Associate Ms. Rizalina Om-bion were likewise elected as extended councilors.
It was during this Chapter that the official guidelines for the membership and formation of lay Associates were approved -- strengthening and recognizing their unique contributions in the ministries and community life of Philippine Carmel.
As vocations flourished and membership to the Order continued to grow, the new Commissary General and Council worked tirelessly to achieve a long-cherished dream – the establishment of a Philippine Carmelite Province.
Finally, after 55 years of presence working among the poor and the marginalized in the country, Philippine Carmel was officially declared as the Philippine Carmelite Province of Blessed Titus Brandsma.
Under the patronage of Dutch Carmelite martyr, Titus Brandsma, the new Province was canonically erected on July 16, 2013, at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Cubao, Quezon City.
Vicar General Christian Körner presided over the Eucharistic celebration, while the decree for the canonical erection issued by Prior General Fernando Millan Romeral was read by his representative, General Councilor for Asia, Albertus Herwanta.
The following year, a Chapter was held to elect the very first Prior Provincial and Council, who will serve from 2014 to 2017.
Called to the leadership were Fr. Christian Buenafe who was named Prior Provincial, with Fathers Marlon Lacal, Eduardo Albiño, Fernando Lopez, and Gilbert Billena forming the Provincial Council. Student Friar Marvin Diongzon and Associate Angela Ureta were also elected as external councilors.
Previous slide
Next slide