Rev. Msgr. Jose C. Abriol (February 4, 1918 – July 6, 2003) was a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

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 ...

, linguist, and high official in the church 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 ...

. He was the first to

translate Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transl ...

the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

into Tagalog, the native language for most Filipinos.Msgr. Jose Abriol: A Great Church Intellectual Passes Away
, The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila website, RCam.org

Biography

Abriol was ordained to the priesthood on May 14, 1942. He translated the

Holy Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

from the original

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

and

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

. Apart from this, he also became the

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the

Manila Cathedral The Minor Basilica and Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception ( fil, Basilika Menor at Kalakhang Katedral ng Kalinis-linisang Paglilihi; es, Basílica Menor y Catedral Metropolitana de la Inmaculada Concepción), also known as the ...

from 1962 to 1975, and at the same time was the

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the

Archdiocese of Manila In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

. He was fluent in nine languages, namely

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Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, Greek, Hebrew,

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,Macairan, Evelyn Z
Msgr. Abriol, Church Intellectual, Dies at 85
News, ManilaStandardToday.com and

( Tagalog). He served as a priest for sixty years and died at the age of 85. He is regarded as one of the "great intellectuals of the Philippine Church and the world."

As a translator

As a priest who yearned to propagate the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

faith in the Philippines, Abriol wrote and translated hundreds of books and

novenas A novena (from Latin: ''novem'', "nine") is an ancient tradition of devotional praying in Christianity, consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days or weeks. The nine days between the Feast of the Ascension and Pen ...

into the Filipino language. Among his works are the very first translation of the complete books of the

Catholic Bible The term ''Catholic Bible'' often refers to a Christian Bible that includes the whole 73-book canon recognized by the Catholic Church, including some of the deuterocanonical books (and parts of books): those of the Old Testament which are in the ...

into Tagalog (also known as Pilipino),Msgr. Jose C. Abriol (1962-1975)
Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Concepcion, Metropolitan Cathedral of Manila, ManilaCathedral.org
official website of the Manila Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica, ManilaCathedral.org literature on Roman Catholic

Cathecism A catechism (; from grc, κατηχέω, "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult c ...

, the

Order of Mass Order of Mass is an outline of a Mass celebration, describing how and in what order liturgical texts and rituals are employed to constitute a Mass. The expression Order of Mass is particularly tied to the Roman Rite where the sections under that ...

and the rest of the

Roman Missal The Roman Missal ( la, Missale Romanum) is the title of several missals used in the celebration of the Roman Rite. Along with other liturgical books of the Roman Rite, the Roman Missal contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of the m ...

, and the

Lectionary A lectionary ( la, lectionarium) is a book or listing that contains a collection of scripture readings appointed for Christianity, Christian or Judaic worship on a given day or occasion. There are sub-types such as a "gospel lectionary" or evang ...

. He translated the Holy Bible from the original Hebrew and Greek while serving as rector of the

Cathedral of Manila The Minor Basilica and Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception ( fil, Basilika Menor at Kalakhang Katedral ng Kalinis-linisang Paglilihi; es, Basílica Menor y Catedral Metropolitana de la Inmaculada Concepción), also known as the ...

, a period encompassing ten years of his life. From 1953 to 1963, he allotted five hours a day for this task. Among the 69 to 70 books he authored – excluding his other translation works – were lives of saints, prayers to the

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 Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

, Sunday

missals A missal is a liturgical book containing instructions and texts necessary for the celebration of Mass throughout the liturgical year. Versions differ across liturgical tradition, period, and purpose, with some missals intended to enable a prie ...

, the ''

Via Crucis The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The stations grew out of imitati ...

'' (or

Way of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The stations grew out of imitati ...

), and the ''Siete Palabras'' (Spanish for the

Seven Last Words The sayings of Jesus on the cross (sometimes called the Seven Last Words from the Cross) are seven expressions biblically attributed to Jesus during his crucifixion. Traditionally, the brief sayings have been called "words". The seven sayings ar ...

of Christ). Before the year 2000, he was also able to finish his translation of

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

encyclical An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally from ...

'' Fides et Ratio'' (''Faith and Reason''), which became ''Pananampalataya at Katwiran'' in Tagalog.

As a priest

Apart from being rector of the Manila Cathedral and chancellor for the Archdiocese of Manila from 1962 to 1975, Abriol served as parish priest for the parishes of St. Michael the Archangel at Jala-Jala, Rizal (1947–1951), of San Rafael, Balut, Tondo 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 ...

(1951–1962), and of the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene at

Quiapo, Manila Quiapo () is a district of the city of Manila, in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. Referred to as the "Old Downtown of Manila", Quiapo is home to the Quiapo Church, where the feast of the Black Nazarene is held with millions of p ...

(1976–1993). He was also a member of the Manila Archdiocesan Commission for the Conservation of the Patrimony of the Art and History of the Church, from 1993 through 1999. He was the

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 Archdiocese of Manila for 38 years from 1965 to July 2003. He was also the first director of Manila's Archdiocese MuseumJose C. Abriol
first director of the Archdiocese of Manila Museum, RCam.org which houses his own "personal collections and church treasures" formerly safeguarded inside a bank vault. While serving as a parish priest at the Basilica of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, Manila, Abriol established the St. Peter’s Men Society, a group that "defended Catholicism in

Plaza Miranda Plaza Miranda is a public square bounded by Quezon Boulevard, Hidalgo Street and Evangelista Street in Quiapo, Manila. It is the plaza which fronts the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene (Quiapo Church), one of the main churches of the City of ...

against anti-Catholics and employed radio technology to communicate and explain the Biblical foundation of the Catholic faith" to the Filipino people.Fr. Abe
Jose C. Abriol, the great Filipino Bible Scholar
"The Statue of St. Peter guards the entrance door," The Basilica of the Black Nazarene, The Splendor of the Church], SplendoroftheChurch.blogspot.com, 2008 Abriol did not retire from the priesthood, nor from his translation and research activities, when he reached the mandatory age of 75. He died of

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

at the Cardinal Santos Memorial Hospital on July 6, 2003. His wake was held at the ''Arzobispado de Manila'' (the Archbishopric of Manila) inside

Intramuros Intramuros (Latin for "inside the walls") is the historic walled area within the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. It is administered by the Intramuros Administration with the help of the city government of Manila. Present-day I ...

, while the interment was held on July 10, 2003 at the Manila Cathedral, with Cardinal

Jaime Sin Jaime Lachica Sin ( zh, t=辛海梅, 辛海棉, poj=Sin Hái-mûi, Sin Hái-mî; August 31, 1928 – June 21, 2005), commonly and formally known as Jaime Cardinal Sin, was the 30th Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila and the third cardinal from ...

as the main celebrant of the Mass. Abriol was the friend and confessor of Cardinal Sin.

Awards and recognitions

In the Philippines

In the Philippines, Abriol received the ''Gawad Bukas Palad'' (literally, the "Open

Palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...

of the hand ">hand.html" ;"title="of the hand">of the hand Award") in 1999 from the Ateneo de Manila University, the ''Outstanding Manilan Award'' in 2000 from the government of the City of Manila, and the ''Gawad ng Pagkilala'' (or "Recognition Award") in 2000 from the

Commission on the Filipino Language , logo = , logo_width = , logo_caption = , seal = Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF).svg , seal_width = , seal_caption = , formed = 1937 (first formation)1991 (reformed) , preceding1 ...

(formerly known as the National Language Institute) of the Philippines for the "propagation and development of the Filipino language". On October 3, 1999, Abriol – then 81 years old – also became a recipient of the ''Ten Outstanding Elderly of the Philippines Award'' (known in the Philippines as ''Sampung Ulirang Nakatatanda'') because of his religious work and writings that were offered "for the use and edification of the ordinary faithful". The award was given to Abriol at St. Paul’s College in

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...

.Mission, Gina
Msgr. Jose C. Abriol
one of the ''Sampung Ulirang Nakatatanda Awardees'' (Ten Outstanding Elderly of the Philippines Award): Ordinary yet noble lives], CyberDyaryo, Gina.ph

Works

The translation works of Abriol include the following:"Msgr. Jose C. Abriol" (translator of the "Banal na Biblia, Ang" (Holy Bible, The)
, Scriptures, Paulines.ph. *''Ang Bagong Tipan'' he New Testament (translator, 1997) *''Ang Lumang Tipan'' he Old Testamentref name=RCam2/> (translator) *''Ang Banal na Biblia'' he Holy Bible(translator, 2000),

References

External links

*Photograph o
Msgr. Jose C. Abriol
from FirstFilipino.blogspot.com *Photograph o

from the official website of the Manila Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica (Philippines), ManilaCathedral.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Abriol, Jose C. 1918 births 2003 deaths People from Manila Translators of the Bible into Filipino Filipino non-fiction writers Tagalog-language writers Linguists from the Philippines 20th-century translators 20th-century Filipino Roman Catholic priests 20th-century linguists