Silence: A Eulogy for +Archbishop Leonardo Z. Legaspi, O.P., D.D. Archbishop Emeritus of Caceres

S I L E N C E

A Eulogy for +Archbishop Leonardo Z. Legaspi, O.P., D.D.

Archbishop Emeritus of the Archdiocese of Caceres

UST Main Chapel, España, Manila

August 14, 2014, 6:00 p.m.

My last hours with the beloved Archbishop was last August 7 at his hospital bed in UST.  It was a familiar feeling -- I was once again his secretary and he was my Archbishop boss.  Just like old times, there was more silence than words.

Silence.  This has been the characteristic of my relationship with the Archbishop.  I remember when I was first assigned to his office, I was uninitiated to his ways and to the work.  Thus, instead of me reminding him of his schedule and tasks, it was he who reminded me.  He just kept silent.  After three days, however, he could no longer contain his irritation perhaps, he called me into his office and showed me a wind-up musical box and scolded me saying:   ‘Don't be like this!’ referring to the toy which would not function unless wound up.   

That was for me a life-changing moment.  From that moment on, I learned that his way was not to be very explicit with his expectations of you.  He demanded that you already knew without being told.   Ayaw niya ng mga sagot na tulad ng ‘Siguro po’, ‘Hindi ko po alam’ o ‘Baka po.’   Para sa kanya, kapag di mo alam, alamin mo.  Kapag di ka sigurado, siguruhin mo.  Kapag walang paraan, maghanap ka ng paraan.   

But I found a way to answer him when I really did not know, I would say:  ‘I will find out’ or  ‘I'll address the concern.’

Then on our first trip to a parish, the trip was characterized by silence.  So I felt bored and asked the driver to play some music.  At first, the driver followed my instruction, but on the next trip, he refused to switch on the radio. I wondered why.  I realized that the Archbishop was praying the rosary all throughout the trip.  And so, I started to pray myself but I would fall asleep and my rosary would fall off my hand.    In all our trips, this would be the scenario.  At times there would be some exchange of words between us.  But most of the time, we were like cellphones programmed to silent mode. 

In the early years, our meal times were also marked by a great degree of silence in the sense that we normally would not speak unless spoken to.  We were like students about to take their oral exams.  I remember, during breakfast, I would make sure that I have already tuned in to CNN or BBC otherwise, my breakfast would be in complete silence as I would not be able to contribute to the conversation.

On many occasions, however, I would silently listen to him trying to discern his mind and character.  It was in this manner that I learned about the influence of his father who was also of a formidable character.  He related once, how in their household, no one could speak unless the father has spoken. Also when he was about to leave for the novitiate in Hongkong and his mother and siblings were hugging him and crying about his departure, his father just sat cold and silent in one corner of the sala.   When the Archbishop turned to his father, all his father said to him was "BE GOOD."

It was his father who would wake him up everyday, instruct him of the things to be done and bring him to the palaisdaan.   I believe it was there that he learned the value of hardwork, determination and tenacity of purpose.  He was demanding in work that he would expect one to leave no stone unturned in accomplishing a task or a mission.  He did not exempt himself from this, even demanded more from himself. These things would later serve him well when he entered the seminary.  

He confessed that he was not really very religious nor had he dreamt of becoming a religious.  However, on a visit to a seminary to play basketball, he was struck by the serenity and silence of the place. It was then that he decided to undertake the rigors of the religious life in the Dominican order where he learned the rudiments of monastic life.  These would have a great influence in the exercise of his episcopal ministry.

St. Dominic said: ‘If you are not a busy person, pray for half of an hour.  If you are a busy person, pray for an hour.’    In the residence, I realized, the Archbishop prayed longer than any of us.  Daily he celebrated Mass and prayed the Divine Office.  He would prepare the sacred vessels before he retired each night. His day began and ended at his little chapel beside his room.  There were times I would chance upon him praying before the Blessed Sacrament exposed. One of his favorite places was his study and among his treasures were his books.  He kept himself faithful to the Dominican spirit of prayer and study.  Both required silence.  Thus, his loaded schedule included time to write scholarly articles and books.  He always came prepared for his classes, talks, speeches.  I am reminded of the Dominican motto:  Contemplata aliis tradere -- to share the fruits of one’s contemplation to others.

I believe it was his deep spirituality that allowed him to perform multiple tasks. While he was Archbishop of Caceres, he held offices at the Vatican, at the CBCP, at ECCCE, FABC and more.  We cannot forget his great contribution to the Church in the Philippines when he convened PCP 2, when he worked for the approval of CFC, and lobbied for the passage of a landmark legislation allowing catechesis to be taught in public schools.  I am reminded of his Episcopal motto:  Illuminare Omnes --to enlighten all.

Now let me focus on what he did for Caceres.  When he came in 1983, I was a first year minor seminarian then, he had three priorities: the clergy, the seminary and catechesis.  He boosted the morale of the clergy knowing that the well-being of the clergy would redound to the good of the faithful.  This meant, improving the seminary and re-engineering catechetical instruction resulting in the increase of vocations to the priesthood.  During his time, ordinations per year increased to an average of 8. During his incumbency (28 years), 205 diocesan priests were ordained, including myself.  I and my brothers, would be forever grateful for that solemn silent moment of the laying on of hands by which we received the sacred grace of the priesthood.   

Because of this gift of vocations, Caceres became a sending Archdiocese.  Thus, ours was a unique problem: the Archbishop did not know where to assign his priests.   This however led to two opportunities:   1) the creation of new 49 parishes thus, bringing the church closer to the people; and 2) the sending of missionary priests to needy churches outside the diocese and even outside the Philippines. Some diocese include: Batanes, Cabanatuan, Papua New Guinea, Solomon islands, West Indies, Australia to name a few.

He enriched the pastoral ministry of the Archdiocese by inviting religious congregations and movements who would minister to the poorest of the poor, to the deaf and mute, to unwed mothers, and victims of sexual abuse; in sum, the marginalized.    He also invited and supported congregations that were engaged in the task of education, parochial ministry and care for the retired priests.

Externally, one would see structures rising, people coming, programs emerging, all these were a silent embrace of an archbishop to his people. 

He loved the faithful of Caceres in silence. A love that I had the privilege of witnessing in the little things that he did.  I remember during the pastoral visits, when we would be welcomed by a throng of people and his driver would speed up towards the church, the Archbishop would remind him to slow down.  He would say "Dahan-dahan lang, matagal nang naghihintay ang mga tao. Buksan mo ang bintana..." and he would silently wave with his signature restrained smile.

At one point, he revoked the faculty of some priests to administer the sacrament of Confirmation. I wondered why he did this for it meant more work for him -- because he had to lay hands on a multitude sometimes five hundred to a thousand. I realized, he did this because, it was only in Confirmation that, as a bishop, he could personally and concretely impart to his flock his pastoral touch. 

As to his clergy, his love and concern was unremitting, while he did not express it in words.   He would sit in silent contentment seeing his priests beaming with happiness as they gladly accepted the gifts that he had prepared for each of them during his own birthday and on Christmas day.  He improved their well-being by establishing the Clergy Security System, a cemetery, and even providing for their needs.  He ordinarily welcomed them for official visits, but he silently longed for a plain ‘unofficial’ visit from them.

When he was younger, he would play basketball with the clergy but as the years passed, he would patiently watch them engage in games during the Union of Bicol Clergy (UBC) or during his birthday.  He faithfully accompanied them during their annual retreat and clergy assembly.

Looking back, Archbishop Legaspi was an exceptional person and an extraordinary bishop.   I surmise that he was able to do all these because of his deep love for God and devotion to the Lady of Peñafrancia and St. Dominic.  Even if he was not a native of Bicol, he was a staunch promoter of the devotion to our Ina, even producing a movie in her honor.  The Bicolanos would know of what he has done for the devotion to Ina.  He entrusted his life and ministry to the Lady of Peñafrancia.  Up until his last breath, the manto of Ina was his protection.  This, however, did not mean abandoning his devotion to Our Lady of La Naval.

In the meantime, he was a faithful son, too, of St. Dominic.  He may not have been very vocal about it, but in the silence of his chapel, he celebrated the feast of the Dominican saints and daily he prayed the prayer to St. Dominic – ‘O spem miram’. 

Duty and Love for the Church Until the End

In the history of Caceres, before Archbishop Legaspi, there were only three Dominican Bishops, but the historian Abella describes them as the 3 brilliant Dominicans.  Indeed they were, and they contributed much to the growth of the local church:  Domingo Collantes is remembered for having started the seminary.  Andres Gonzalez is remembered as the Bishop with whom the devotion to the Lady of Peñafrancia started.   Francisco Gainza, described as the greatest of them all, was a reformer.  He systematized seminary formation, founded the Colegio de Santa Isabel, built churches,  and did many more.

Archbishop Legaspi was very much aware of the contributions of his Dominican predecessors.  In fact in his speech of 1984 he said:

When I learned of my appointment as the next Archbishop of Naga, one of the first things I did was to get hold of a copy of the “Bikol Annals” and read.  It has been said that a good way of learning about a people is by tracing its history.  What I read, confirmed what I knew:  here is a great people.  And it makes me happy to know that soon, it will be my distinct privilege to live and walk amongst them.

The phenomenal growth of the Catholic faith in Bikol is a testimony to the courage and wisdom of the great Bishops and Archbishops whom I am now honored to have as predecessors.  But it is also a testimony to the deep religiosity and receptive hearts of the Bikolanos that Church has lived and flourished in this part of the world.

Within a few weeks, I shall be with you.  I will have no need, then, to know you through the pages of a history book for I shall be one among you.

Now, it can be said, without exaggeration, that he had become one of us.  As his brother Atty. Domingo Legaspi once observed, we had more of him than his own family.  He spent more years with us than with his Dominican Brothers.  We thank the family, the Dominican brothers and the University of Santo Tomas for such generosity.

Now, there is no need for him to know us from the books of history.  He has become one of us.  And his name will be etched on the pages of the history of Caceres and Bicol.  He has led us to greater heights, made us better devotees of INA, and a better local church.

Yet, he was a person who maintained some distance.  I worked with him as his private secretary, but there was always some distance.  I assume his Dominican brethren would say the same; perhaps, even his family.   Yet while he maintained distance, he was silently near.  This brings to mind the remarks of the people yesterday morning in Naga: ‘Di naman kami magkakilala; di naman kami close, but I could not help but shed tears. ‘

That he died on the Feast of St. Dominic, on the anniversary of his episcopal ordination, on the day when the Philippine Dominican Province was approved in Ireland, I am tempted to say:  ‘Indeed, Archbishop Leonardo was programmatic!’

He was as programmatic in his death as he was programmatic in everything else. This brings to mind a time when he called me and a brother seminarian to his office before our graduation from philosophical studies. He addressed us: “You have been recommended to be sent to the UST Central Seminary for studies in theology.  When you finish and get ordained, do not yet aspire to become parish priests.  We need priests in the seminary.  We need formators.”  All we could say in reply was a sheepish “Yes, Archbishop.”  When a younger batch of seminarians politely refused such offer, he was disappointed.  Again in a very direct manner, he told them:  “Why do you refuse? Do you not realize that not everyone is sent or given such opportunity?   You are being sent not primarily because you are the best, but because you have a mission to fulfill.” This provided me a deeper understanding of ‘mission’.   

He was a visionary, and a missionary. He was deeply convinced that if God wanted you to accomplish a task, God would give you the means to do it.  In the Archbishop, one could find such deep faith coupled with the attitude of not leaving things to chance.   In 2009, when he learned he had stage 4 cancer, he wrote a letter of resignation to the Apostolic Nuncio.  It was not accepted.  He remained at the helm when the tercentenary celebration of the devotion to Our Lady of Peñafrancia was held. He saw things to their completion.  Archbishop Legaspi was somebody who would do his homework and would do it well.

His age and the physical deterioration accompanying it did not diminish his desire to lead.  I always felt he wanted to die with his boots on.   During his last round of pastoral visits, he would silently and patiently listen to the parishioners during their dialogue with the bishop.  On two occasions he thought that his time had come.

His illness would prove helpless against his desire to preach and exercise his ministry as bishop. During his last year, when invited to preach at a retreat or ordain priests, he would rise from his sickbed or get out of the hospital to fulfill his mission.   He was, indeed, programmatic.

Yet, in as much as he would have wanted to plan everything, we are no arbiter of life… only God.  For him to die on August 8, what a blessing! Perhaps, God approved of his plan to go away that day.  Duty until the end!

Friends, before us tonight, lies the mortal remains of a rare person.  I thank God for having met such a person.  He was indeed rare.  He exuded an imposing presence that somehow unsettles, yet also affirms.  News of his coming makes people stand on their feet.  He was influential, but was silently uncomfortable with praise and adulation.  For him, duty comes first before personal gain or enjoyment.  When his own mother was on her deathbed, he missed seeing her on her last moments as he had to fulfill duties in the Archdiocese. He was strict externally, even stern, but he had a compassionate heart.  

In one of his last articles entitled: “The Changing Image of Bishops”, he quoted another bishop (Bishop Lahey) heavily, who said during a particular Synod of Bishops: 

The Bishop is the visitation of God.  The bishop comes primarily among his people not as 'overseer' but 'as 'visitor' who keeps alive the saving mysteries.   He is for and with the local church -the sacrament of God's visitation in Jesus Christ.  This renewed biblical understanding allows us to see the bishop above all else as the sacrament of God's mercy, for mercy is the characteristic of the divine visitation.'

When his body was leaving Naga, as he passed by the Cathedral yesterday morning while dawn was breaking, in the silent procession, people were saying that they could not help but shed tears.  In that familiar silence that filled the streets of Naga at the break of dawn, at that very moment, they seemed to have felt for the last time the ever-silent presence of their beloved Archbishop and realized that even as he was going to be physically absent, henceforth, he will silently live on in their hearts.

Archbishop Legaspi’s voice resounded in the many pastoral letters and statements he crafted; in homilies, talks, addresses he delivered; in the books he wrote; in the organizations he headed; in the councils he convened and meetings he presided.  But he was not emotionally fluent.  For me, his silence was the more eloquent expression of his love as a bishop and a member of a family.    Thus, while there was more silence between us, I have always felt the care of a father in him.

Thank you sincerely, dear Archbishop from the clergy and the people of Caceres and Bikol.  Fare well. 

Thank you for being an instrument of God’s visitation.  And we offer this prayer for you:   “In paradisum deducant te  Angeli . . .”

May angels lead you into paradise; 

upon your arrival, may the martyrs receive you

and lead you to the holy city of Jerusalem.

May the ranks of angels receive you,

and with Lazarus, once a poor man,

may you have eternal rest.

Fr. Rex Andrew C. Alarcon

Fr. Alarcon is a priest of the Archdiocese of Caceres, ordained by Archbishop Legaspi in 1996. He served as the Private Secretary to the Archbishop for 7 years. He is currently the Director of Naga Parochial School.