Alfredo María Aranda Obviar (29 August 1889 – 1 October 1978) was a Filipino bishop the founder of the Congregation of the Missionary Catechists of Saint Thérèse of the Infant Jesus, and was Bishop of Lucena until his death. His cause for

beatification Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

is currently underway, having been declared

Venerable The Venerable (''venerabilis'' in Latin) is a style, a title, or an epithet which is used in some Western Christian churches, or it is a translation of similar terms for clerics in Eastern Orthodoxy and monastics in Buddhism. Christianity Cathol ...

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Early life

Alfredo María Obviar y Aranda was born on 29 August 1889 in Mataás na Lupa,

Lipa Lipa or LIPA (Cyrillic: Липа) may refer to: Acronym *Liquid Isopropyl alcohol *League for Independent Political Action, a former American progressive political organization *Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, a performing arts school in ...

Batangas Batangas, officially the Province of Batangas ( tl, Lalawigan ng Batangas ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region on Luzon. Its capital is the city of Batangas, and is bordered by the provinces of Cavite and La ...

to Telesforo Obviar and Florentina Catalina Aranda. He became an orphan at the early age, and was put under the care of his relatives from his mother’s side."Venerable Alfredo Obviar", ''Oclarim'', Semanario Catolico de Macau, November 23, 2018
/ref> Obviar received his early religious instruction at the College of St. Francis Xavier in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

run by the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

, where he graduated in 1901. He earned his degree in Bachelor of Arts at

Ateneo de Manila , mottoeng = Light in the Lord , type = Private, research, non-profit, coeducational basic and higher education institution , established = December 10, 1859 , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic (Jesuits) , academic_affi ...

in 1914, and proceeded to the

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (also known as UST and officially as the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila) is a private, Catholic research university in Manila, Philippines. Founded on April 28, 1611, by Spanish friar Miguel ...

Pontifical Seminary for his theological studies. Obviar received the

sacerdotal Sacerdotalism (from Latin ''sacerdos'', priest, literally one who presents sacred offerings, ''sacer'', sacred, and ''dare'', to give) is the belief in some Christian churches that priests are meant to be mediators between God and humankind. The und ...

ordination on 15 March 1919. His pastoral ministry began that same year at Luta (now

Malvar, Batangas Malvar, officially the Municipality of Malvar ( tgl, Bayan ng Malvar), is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Batangas, Philippines. The municipality was named after General Miguel Malvar, one of the last Filipino generals to surrend ...

) and he continued as vicar of the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

-parish in

from 1927 to 1944. In both parishes, he established Catechetical Centers in the '' población'' and the ''

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city, usually delimited by functional (e.g. residenti ...

s''. He was also

Vicar General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

for the Diocese of Lipa, and was appointed

confessor Confessor is a title used within Christianity in several ways. Confessor of the Faith Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith but not to the point of death.Auxiliary Bishop of Lipa. After 25 years in the ministry, Obviar was appointed to the

episcopate A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

on 29 June 1944, with

Guglielmo Piani Guglielmo Piani, S.D.B. (16 September 1875 – 27 September 1956) also known as William Piani, was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He was Apostolic Delegate to the Philippines from 1 ...

, Apostolic Delegate, as Principal Consecrator, and with Pedro Paulo Santos Songco, Bishop of Caceres (

Naga Naga or NAGA may refer to: Mythology * Nāga, a serpentine deity or race in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions * Naga Kingdom, in the epic ''Mahabharata'' * Phaya Naga, mythical creatures believed to live in the Laotian stretch of the Mekong Riv ...

) and César Marie Guerrero, Titular Bishop of Limisa,

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as Co-Consecrators. He also became Titular Bishop of Linoë,

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from 11 March 1944 to 21 June 1959. When Linoë was an active diocese, it was part of the Ecclesiastical Province of Nicaea. On 22 January 1951, Obviar was installed as

Apostolic Administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of the new Diocese of Lucena. Motivated by his great work for

catechesis Catechesis (; from Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of converts to Christianity, but as the ...

, he founded the Missionary Catechists of St. Therese (MCST) on August 12, 1958.Tubeza, Philip C., "Retired Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales to make a saint", ''Philippine Daily Inquirer'', October 16, 2011
/ref> He established the Missionary Catechists of Saint Thérèse of the Infant Jesus (MCST), with the help of Mother Mercy Medenilla, who became the first superior of the MCST, and has four other women. The earliest monastic MCST was founded in

San Narciso, Quezon San Narciso, officially the Municipality of San Narciso ( tgl, Bayan ng San Narciso), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Quezon, Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philipp ...

. To compensate for the shortage of priests in the new diocese, Obviar also founded the Our Lady of the Most Holy Seminary which was later renamed as Our Lady of Mount Carmel Seminary, a minor seminary in Sariaya, Quezon. Decades after, a major seminary was founded by the Diocese of Lucena re-institutionalizing the name Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Seminary. The establishment of this increased the number of priests attending from 1951 to 1975. In the year of his retirement, it had increased by more than 100 priests. Obivar ordained Ricardo Jamin Vidal to the priesthood on St. Patrick's Day, 17 March 1956, in Lucena; Vidal would later become a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

and Archbishop Emeritus of the

Archdiocese of Cebu The Archdiocese of Cebu (more formally the Archdiocese of the Most Holy Name of Jesus in Cebu; ; ; ; ) is a Roman Rite Diocese, archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the Philippines and one of the ecclesiastical provinces of the Catholic Church i ...

. From 11 October 1962 to 8 December 1962, Obviar was a Council Father at the first Session of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

. After more than 18 years as Administrator, Obviar was declared the first diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Lucena on July 15, 1969. He served as Bishop of Lucena until his retirement in 1976.

Death

Obviar died at the age of 89, in Lucena, Quezon, on 1 October 1978,Kosloski, Philip. "Three Filipino Bishops on the Road to Canonization", ''Aleteia'', January 2, 2018
/ref> on the feast of his

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

Thérèse of the Child Jesus.

Veneration

Obviar has saint protocol number 2398, and was declared ''nulla osta''

Servant of God "Servant of God" is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression "servant of God" appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in th ...

in 2005.

named him as

on 7 November 2018.

Notes

References

Hagiography Circle

External links

MCST website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obviar, Alfredo Maria Aranda 1889 births 1978 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Philippines Ateneo de Manila University alumni University of Santo Tomas alumni Filipino Servants of God People from Lipa, Batangas People from Lucena, Philippines Roman Catholic bishops of Lucena Venerated Carmelites Venerated Catholics by Pope Francis