Fernando Suarez
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Fernando Suarez (7 February 1967 – 4 February 2020) was a Filipino
Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...
who performed
faith healing Faith healing is the practice of prayer and gestures (such as laying on of hands) that are believed by some to elicit divine intervention in spiritual and physical healing, especially the Christian practice. Believers assert that the healing ...
in the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
and abroad. He grew up in the Philippines and spent much of his life working in the Philippines. In 1995 he left with a Chemical Engineering degree travelling to
Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
to pursue his calling to become a priest. In 1997 he joined the Companions of the Cross community of priests and seminarians in
Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
, Canada. (He left the Companions of the Cross in 2011.) Suarez was ordained to the priesthood in 2002 and began to focus on faith healing. In July 2003 he was assigned to begin a ministry of healing. He established Mother Mary of the Poor Healing Ministry with the mission and intent "to seek holiness in evangelizing and working with the poor through the intercession of the
Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...
."


Early life

Fernando Suarez was born in Barrio Butong in Taal, Batangas, Philippines on 7 February 1967. His father, Cervando, was a tricycle driver and his mother, Azucena, was a seamstress. He was the oldest of four siblings and attended public school. At the age of 12, he worked by renting inflatables (salbabida) at Butong Beach. He attended
Adamson University Adamson University ( fil, links=no, Pamantasang Adamson) also referred to by its acronym AdU is a private, Catholic coeducational basic and higher education institution run by the Congregation of the Mission in Manila, Philippines. The univers ...
and earned a Chemical Engineering degree. After college, he briefly entered Christ the King Seminary, leaving after six months after being absent without leave. In 1986, at the age of 18, he became aware of his healing gift. He prayed over a paralyzed 60-year-old beggar woman who he found outside Quiapo Church; according to Suarez, the woman was able to walk again after his prayers. In 1995, he met French-Canadian student Mark Morin, who invited him to Canada and paid for his fare. They intended to enter into a business partnership but Suarez later decided to enter the priesthood. In 1997 he joined the Companions of the Cross, a newly established community of priests and seminarians in Ottawa. He was ordained in 2002 at age 35. He left the Companions of the Cross in 2011. In Canada, when Suarez was still a seminarian, a Canadian woman declared dead eight hours earlier also opened her eyes after he prayed over her. From there his healing ministry continued and in 2008, he returned to the Philippines to resume his healing work.


Healing ministry

In 1997 he joined the Companions of the Cross religious community of priests and seminarians in Ottawa, Canada. Suarez was ordained to the priesthood in 2002. Since his ordination to the priesthood, Suarez has found that the gift of healing became more pronounced in him. In July 2003 he was assigned to begin a ministry of healing. He established Mother Mary of the Poor Healing Ministry with the mission and intent "to seek holiness in evangelizing and working with the poor through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary." He spent the first year of his priesthood as the associate pastor of St. Timothy's parish in North York, Ontario, however, since July 2003, in order to foster the spiritual gifts God has given him, he was assigned to begin a ministry of healing. He was regularly conducting Healing Masses, retreats and missions, with large numbers of people now in attendance. On 11 January 2008, Manila Cardinal Archbishop
Gaudencio Rosales Gaudencio Borbón Rosales (born August 10, 1932) is a Roman Catholic Cardinal who was Archbishop of Manila, succeeding Jaime Sin in 2003, and succeeded by Luis Antonio Tagle in 2011. Being the Metropolitan of the ecclesiastical province of Ma ...
officiated for Suarez's celebration of the Mass which started the three-day, 40-hour
vigil A vigil, from the Latin ''vigilia'' meaning ''wakefulness'' (Greek: ''pannychis'', or ''agrypnia'' ), is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance. The Italian word ''vigilia'' has become genera ...
at Suarez'
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 ...
City Montemaria mega-shrine. Hundreds of devotees and the sick gathered. On 26 January 2008, two died and seven were rushed to James Gordon Hospital due to exhaustion,
Olongapo Olongapo, officially the City of Olongapo ( fil, Lungsod ng Olongapo; ilo, Siudad ti Olongapo; xsb, Siyodad nin Olongapo), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Located in the province of Zambales ...
City while waiting for Suarez' healing Mass. Juanito Eleazar, 69, died of a heart attack amid more than 15,000 worshippers having lined up. Also in 2008 Suarez was banned by Archbishop Oscar Cruz and Bishop Jose Oliveros from their diocese citing the Catholic Church's Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, which requires a local bishop's permission for church-related activities conducted by those who do not belong to the diocese. Suarez announced his return to and resumption of his
healing With physical trauma or disease suffered by an organism, healing involves the repairing of damaged tissue(s), organs and the biological system as a whole and resumption of (normal) functioning. Medicine includes the process by which the cells i ...
in the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
in May 2008 He left the Companions of the Cross in 2011. In 2015, he appeared on ''
The Bottomline with Boy Abunda ''The Bottomline with Boy Abunda'' was a Philippine current affairs-talk-reality show, hosted by Boy Abunda, which premiered on November 28, 2009, and aired every Saturday night on ABS-CBN. From May 2, 2020, the show has been temporarily suspe ...
'' and shared his encounter with
Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
and Suarez said that
Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
is human, yet he is a man of God. He said he concelebrated mass with Pope Francis at the Sta. Marta Chapel in Vatican in the previous year. Suarez also said that on that occasion, they exchanged skull caps, and that the Pope told him to continue his mission. On 19 January 2020, Suarez gave a public interview with the ''
Philippine Daily Inquirer The ''Philippine Daily Inquirer'' (''PDI''), or simply the ''Inquirer'', is an English-language newspaper in the Philippines. Founded in 1985, it is often regarded as the Philippines' newspaper of record. The newspaper is the most awarded bro ...
'', regarding his exoneration from alleged activities of monetary corruption, sexual molestation, and the merchandising of religious articles for profit from the
Holy Office The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible f ...
which he cited ruling in his favor on 6 January 2020. During his interview, Suarez claimed he was deprived of
due process Due process of law is application by state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to the case so all legal rights that are owed to the person are respected. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual pers ...
within the structure of the Catholic Church in the Philippines, prompting him to take his case directly to the Vatican for a permanent resolution. He further questioned the motives of some select bishops within the Catholic Church in the Philippines, which he viewed as consistently persecuting both his name and reputation on social media, pertaining to his healing ministry and global outreach outside of the Philippines. He also declared that his local ordinary bishop gave him authorization to conduct his ministry of healing, formerly sanctioned by Cardinal
Ricardo Vidal Ricardo Tito Jamin Vidal ( la, Ricardus Titus Vidal; es, Ricardo Tito Vidal y Jamín; (February 6, 1931 - October 18, 2017) was a Filipino prelate of the Catholic Church. Made a cardinal in 1985, he was Archbishop of Cebu from 1982 to 2010. ...
.


Death

Suarez died of a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
on 4 February 2020 while playing
tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
at the Ayala Alabang Clubhouse, three days before his 53rd birthday.


References


External links


Fernando Suarez' websiteMary Mother of the Poor official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Suarez, Fernando Faith healers 21st-century Filipino Roman Catholic priests Supernatural healing 1967 births 2020 deaths Spiritual warfare Adamson University alumni People from Taal, Batangas