ISA Helps Mark the 25th Year of Fr. Capucao as a Priest

On Wednesday October 3, 2019,  Sr. Corazon Untal, Carm.O.L. and Ms. Joy Kialkial, Administrative Officer and Academic Coordinator, respectively, of  ISA, represented the Institute at the Thanksgiving Mass at the Cathedral of the Divine Infant Jesus of Prague and St. Mark the Evangelist.

Co-celebrants that afternoon were 30 priests, led by Bishop Bernardino Cortez of the Prelature of Infanta, which was established in 1950 and which features a tambuli (native horn) on the marker placed on its door on its 25^th year in 1975.

The horn is one of the icons painted on both sides of the main altar of the Cathedral, and is embroidered on the stole worn by Fr. Capucao for his Thanksgiving Mass. It is also on the estampita/bookmark distributed by the seminarians of St. Joseph Formation Center that night.

At the commemorative rites Fr. Capucao thanked the Lord “for strengthening my zeal and humility (pagka-masipag at pagpapa-kakumbaba) all these years” and acknowledged the help of his parents, superiors, associates and members of the parishes of the Prelature.

Post-dinner events included the autograph session by Fr. Daniel Franklin Pilario, CM, a member of ISA’s International Academic Board (IAAB), of his book And His Garment Is Covered with Dust: Directions in Bishop Labayen’s Theology of Praxis.  This is the first in a series of books issued by SVST and by the Socio Pastoral Institute (SPI), a training and communication outfit founded by Bishop Labayen.

Other activities included a musical program in honor of Fr. Capucao, who warmly applauded the opening dance by grade schoolers and who appeared to want to sit it out that night.

In 1994 Fr. Capucao was ordained by the late Bishop Julio Xavier Labayen of Infanta at  the Most Holy Trinity Church of Balic-Balic, Sampaloc, Manila  whose parish priest, Fr. Eric Adeviso, has often invited  ISA Executive Director Fr. Rico Ponce, O. Carm. to say Sunday Mass.

Fr. Ponce and Fr. Capucao took their Ph.D. together at the Radboud University in Nijmegen, The Netherlands.  Fr. Ponce took his S.Th.D at the same University while Fr. Capucao’s S. Th.D. was in the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium. Upon their return to the Philippines they assumed their respective assignments even as they pioneered in a comprehensive research on the spirituality of students.

They presented their findings at ISA’s Spirituality Forum XV (”Secularization and Spirituality: Issues, Challenges and Opportunities in the Philippines,” 2015), discussed the findings at echo seminars and similar dissemination forums, and co-authored a paper for Scientia, the international academic journal of San Beda University.

In their personal capacity and in keeping with their interest in the emerging field of Empirical Theology, the two collaborated in the founding of the Center for Empirical Studies in Spirituality, Theology & Religion -Asia (CESSTREL-Asia). 

Fr. Capucao was elected president of CESSTREL-Asia while Fr. Ponce is its treasurer. Also on the Board of Trustees are Fr. Christian Buenafe, O.Carm and Fr. Gerry Sabado, O.Carm. Dr. Carmen Alviar, retired professor from the University of Santo Tomas and ISA volunteer for external affairs, serves as secretary.

ISA assisted in the registration of CESSTREl-Asia under Philippine laws and in its launch-international conference held on August 10, 2019. Venue was the St. Vincent School of Theology in Quezon City, and the theme was “Exploring Themes, Methods & Challenges in Doing Empirical Research in Spirituality, Theology and Religion.”

 It will also be recalled that in 2016, ISA published and hosted the launch of The Spirituality of Bishop Labayen – Builder of the Church of the Poor which was edited by Fr. Capucao. It has a preface by Fr. Ponce and its book design by Fr. Baltazar Ronato, O.Carm.

This publication went on to win in the Ministry category of the Cardinal Sin Book Awards for that year. During its launch Fr. Buenafe recalled that he had been ordained by Bishop Labayen and was always warmly greeted (“Sinubaybayan ako“) whenever they would meet. .

For Fr. Capucao’s thanksgiving rites, ISA was hosted by the Congregation of Our Lady of Sion (Notre Dame de Sion), one of the 10 congregations of nuns in the Prelature of Infanta. Like ISA, it is a mission partner in the Protect Sierra Madre network for integral ecology.

NDS also works with members of a women’s cooperative who craft greeting cards, posters, wall décor, bracelets, bangles and other paper products under the brand name of Women’s Garden. ISA was able to interview Aurea Felicia, the officer present that day at their office-cum-production and sales area. 

After the Mass of Fr. Capucao, the next event of interest to ISA is “Dumagat Day 2019” on October 25-27 as part of Indigenous Peoples Month. Venue is once again Infanta, this time under the bridge of Agus River in Barangay Banugan.   

Perla Aragon-Choudhury