Alfredo Obviar

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Lipa City
) Auxiliary Bishop of Lipa
MottoFaciem tuam, Domine, requiram
('Your Face, O Lord, I seek', Psalm 27:8)
Coat of armsAlfredo Obviar's coat of arms
Styles of
Alfredo Obviar
Venerable

Alfredo María Obviar y Aranda (29 August 1889 – 1 October 1978) was a

Roman Catholic Church and the founder of the Congregation of the Missionary Catechists of Saint Thérèse of the Infant Jesus. He was Bishop of Lucena until his death. His beatification process was opened and Obviar was declared venerable by Pope Francis.[1]

Early life

Alfredo María Obviar y Aranda was born on 29 August 1889 in Mataás na Lupa, Lipa, Batangas 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.[2]

Obviar received his early religious instruction at the college of

Society of Jesus, where he graduated in 1901. He earned his degree in Bachelor of Arts at Ateneo de Manila in 1914, and proceeded to the University of Santo Tomas Pontifical Seminary for his theological studies.[2]

Obviar received the

Vicar General for the Diocese of Lipa, and was appointed confessor
and chaplain of the Carmelite Monastery of Lipa.

Religious life

On March 11, 1944, Obviar was appointed the first

Bishop of Caceres (Naga) and César Ma. Guerrero, Auxiliary Bishop of Manila and Titular Bishop of Limisa, Tunisia
as Co-Consecrators.

On 22 January 1951, Obviar was installed as

Apostolic Administrator of the new Diocese of Lucena. Motivated by his great work for catechesis, he founded the Missionary Catechists of St. Therese (MCST) on August 12, 1958.[4] 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
.

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

Archdiocese of Cebu
.

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

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.[5]

Death

Obviar died at the age of 89, in Lucena, Quezon, on 1 October 1978,[6] on the feast of his patron saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus.

Veneration

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

venerable on 7 November 2018.[1]

Notes

  1. ^
    Sun.Star
    . November 9, 2018. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "Venerable Alfredo Obviar", Oclarim, Semanario Catolico de Macau, November 23, 2018
  3. ^ "Bishop Alfredo Maria Obviar y Aranda", Catholic Hierarchy
  4. ^ Tubeza, Philip C., "Retired Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales to make a saint", Philippine Daily Inquirer, October 16, 2011
  5. ^ Patinio, Ferdinand. "Bishops laud Pope declaration of Obviar as 'venerable'", Philippine News Agency, November 9, 2018
  6. ^ Kosloski, Philip. "Three Filipino Bishops on the Road to Canonization", Aleteia, January 2, 2018

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alfredo Obviar.
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