The Servant of God Alfredo Maria Obviar
By: +Angel N. Lagdameo, Archbishop of Jaro

Born on August 29, 1889 in Lipa City, Batangas, the young Alfredo was the only son of the Catholic parents, Telesforo Obviar and Catalina Aranda. Having become an orphan at the early age of four months old, he was taken care of by relatives from his mother’s side.

He entered the Jesuit Seminary of San Francisco Javier in 1907. After his graduation in Liberal Arts at the old Ateneo de Manila, he continued for the priesthood in the Seminary of Sto. Tomas. He was ordained priest on March 15, 1919.
As Parish Priest of Malvar, Batangas, he displayed an extraordinary charism for organizing catechists as well as for teaching catechism most especially to the old folks. In Lipa City, where he became also the Parish Priest, he established many catechetical centers in the poblacion and in the barrios. According to old folks in Lipa, some 300 catechists would teach children every Sunday, a prophetic preparation for what he would do in the coming years. Because of his zeal, application to study and priestly holiness, Bishop Alfredo Verzosa made him Vicar General of the Diocese, which at that time covered the provinces of Batangas, Quezon, Laguna and Marinduque. In addition, he was the confessor and chaplain of the Carmelite Nuns in the Monastery of Lipa.

On June 29, 1944, he became the Auxiliary Bishop of Lipa making the formation of rural voluntary catechists the main thrusts of his ministry. It was about the period between 1948 and 1950 that Our lady was said to be appearing to a young nun accompanied by shower of roses. It has not yet been ascertained what the late Bishop Obviar’s role in the incidents was. He was as a matter of fact the chaplain and confessor of the nuns in the Monastery.

However in compliance with the declaration of non-approval by a six-member panel of Bishops representing the former Catholic Welfare Organization, both Bishop Verzosa and Bishop Obviar followed with magnanimous prudence the line of keeping quiet about the alleged incidents. Some nuns in the Monastery were consequently distributed to different Monasteries of the Order. With the early resignation of Bishop Verzosa, Bishop Obviar received from the Holy See a new assignment, that of Apostolic Administrator of the newly created Diocese of Lucena. He occupied this position from March 15, 1951 to July 19, 1969, when he at the recommendation of the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Carmine Rocco, became the first Bishop of Lucena. The late Rufino Cardinal Santos succeeded Bishop Verzosa as Apostolic Administrator of Lipa.

The unexpected transfer of Bishop Obviar to the fledging Diocese of Lucena was in some sense providential. Miracle or no miracle, he continued his pastoral ministry with Carmelite humility and dedication. He heroically kept to himself what has transpired in the Monastery of Lipa.

He started to build the new Diocese with the help of only 30 priests. He saw the need of collaborators who would help the priests catechize their flock. It was not enough to have a handful of catechists. They must be multiplied. But the big project must start small. Thus, with Mother Mercy A. Medenilla, the future Superior General of the MCST, and four other generous women, Bishop Obviar founded the Missionary Catechists of St. Therese. That was on august 12, 1958. The first house was in San Narciso, Quezon. To date, this Missionary Catechists number about two hundred and seventy, faithfully keeping alive the zeal and diligence of Bishop Obviar to the task of Evangelization.

With the establishment of Mt. Carmel Seminary and later of St. Alphonsus School of Theology, the number of priests increased to more than one hundred between 1951 to 1975, the year of his retirement. One of the spiritual sacrifices, which he strongly encouraged the priests to practice, was the keeping of the Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament or at least an hour of prayer himself. He was a priest whose solitude was eloquent as his preaching. His love and concern for the priest s surpassed whatever failure or sin they might have committed.

Transparently a priest, he led the common life of a Bishop of the Church animating the priests with his Spirit-filled monthly conferences (sometimes expertly delivered in Spanish), and meticulously prepared circulars and letters. In addition to Pastoral Visitations, in which he himself tried to feel the pulse of the lay faithful, he likewise organized diocesan conventions and diocesan congresses on the various areas of the apostolate. Above all, he kept with great regularity and dedication the yearly catechetical conventions.

The catechists in Bishop did not wane in his advance age of 80. He would still gather a handful of “catechistas oradores” at the sacristy of the Cathedral or at his residence to review the “doctrina” with them in prayerful fashion. He encouraged the priests to give at least once a week “conferencilla” to adults whenever they could be gathered, such as in the street corners and unused public places. The Word of God must be preached from the housetops.
When sickness and advancing age have become very apparent, Bishop Obviar was given a Coadjutor in the person of Bishop Jose T. Sanchez. He considered his eventual retirement from the governance of the diocese as a change of mission in the church: to pray more for the Church and to offer his sickness in union with Jesus for his beloved catechists. He spent the last three years of his life in the convent of the Missionary Catechists of St. Therese in Tayabas, Quezon. Nothing gave him more joy when the Sisters would gather around him to share with him their little stories and experiences in the field. He always reminded them to give the lessons with simplicity, humility and one point at a time.

He died peacefully in the Lord on October 1, 1978 in the hospital which he founded, the Mount Carmel Clinic. His remains are buried in the compound of the MCST in Tayabas, awaiting for the glorious resurrection and justification.

The Chronicle of the Cause of Bishop Alfredo Maria Obviar

PANALANGIN

Ama naming makapangyarihan at mapagmahal, nagpapasalamat kami sa pagkakaloob mo sa iyong simabahan ng isang huwarang pastol, ALFREDO MARIA OBVIAR. Nawa'y matularan namin ang kanyang buhay pananalangin, matapat at tahimik na pagbabata sa mga paghihirap at mapagkumbabang kasunuran sa Inang Simbahan. Sa iyong awa at pagmamahal, ipagkaloob mo sa amin ang biyaya na maitanghal sya sa hanay ng mga banal upang sa kanya ikaw ay mapapurihan. Hinihiling namin ito sa pamamagitan ng iyong Anak na si JesuCristo, Panginoong nabubuhay at naghahari kasama mo ang Espiritu Santo, isang Diyos magpasawalang hanggan. Amen.