Pope honors Filipino catechists, lay leaders

Pope honors Filipino catechists, lay leaders

The Vatican has conferred a prestigious papal award on 14 Filipino laypeople, mostly catechists and community leaders, for their selfless services to the Church and society.

The award, Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice (“for the Church and the Pope”), the highest honor the pope can bestow to Catholic clergy and laypeople, was presented to the 14 in Batangas province, south of the capital Manila, on Dec. 7.

Many of the awardees have served the Church for decades, said an official from the Archdiocese of Lipa.

“This award was conferred for their distinguished service to the Catholic Church … It is a permanent distinction given by the Holy Father himself to recognize the good works of individuals in the service to the Catholic Church,” Lipa Archbishop Gilbert Garcera told UCA News.

They received the award — gold medals with images of the Apostles Peter and Paul — during a Holy Mass celebrated by the archbishop together with many other clergymen from the archdiocese.

“May their medals serve as an inspiration to dedicate their lives to the Church,” the archbishop added.

The awardees are Josefina Mendoza, 101; Rosario Apacible, 80; Benita Ruffy Riñon, 86; Dolores Hernandez, 78; Carmelita Enrico, 73; Simplicia de la Cuesta, 66; Josefina Inciong, 76; Regina Erlinda Inciong, 83; Celso Marqueses, 73, and Rosanilia Saludo, 76 Noemi Saludo, 86; Candida Pasia, 98; Antonio Pastor, 92; and Rolando Leyesa, 84.

Fellow Catholics welcomed the honor.

“This group is quite special. First, their group is big perhaps the biggest to be conferred with the award,” said Cesar Domagoso, from Lipa Archdiocese.

The awardees themselves said the papal honor had made them proud and came as a complete surprise.  

“I did not even know what the award was, but I feel very honored because the Catholic Church and people have recognized our efforts all these years,” awardee Simplicia de la Cuesta told UCA News.

She said the awardees represented the many Church workers who serve the Catholic Church.

In his homily, Archbishop Garcera said the prestigious award recognizes the simplicity and humble service of the awardees.

“The papal awards are recognition of the tireless dedication and selfless service of the recipients to God and to the Church. The ordinariness of their service to the Church has borne fruit, so the Catholic Church gave thanks,” the archbishop said.