Philippine-born missionary on way to sainthood

Manila: A Philippine-born Catholic missionary is scheduled to be beatified in a ceremony at the Vatican on October 13, a report said.

Franciscan Capuchin priest Jose Maria de Manila, also known by his real name Eugenio Sanz-Orozco, is set to be beatified in Tarragona, Spain, three months from now, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines said on its CBCP Online website.

Following his beatification in a ceremony led by Cardinal Angelo Amato, the late missionary will be known as the ‘Blessed Jose Maria of Manila’ in reference to his land of birth, which is the Philippines capital.

The beatification of Jose Maria de Manila will take him a step closer to sainthood. He will be the third Philippines-born person to be beatified after Lorenzo Ruiz and Pedro Calungsod who are now regarded as saints.

Based on the Vatican process of elevating a person to the status of a “saint” it could take several years and tedious deliberations before Jose Maria de Manila’s sanctity will be recognised.

‘Red Terror’

The beatification of Jose de Manila is in recognition of his martyrdom for the Catholic faith during the Spanish Civil War during the so-called ‘Red Terror’ waged by left-wing groups against the nationalists in the late 1930s.

“On July 20, 1936 due to the savage acts perpetuated by anarchist and Marxist troops against the Christian religion and their ministers, several religious leaders, including Father Jose, were forced to abandon their convents in Madrid,” the CBCP said.

At the time of the civil war, the Republican government had been targeting clerics and their supporters in reaction to news that the military under General Francisco Franco had started a revolt.

“It was on August 17, 1936 that the Filipino priest was executed at the gardens of the Cuartel de la Montaña, a military building in Madrid,” the CBCP said.

Jose de Manila was born to Spanish parents on September 5, 1880. He is son to Don Eugenio Sanz-Orozco, the last Spanish mayor of Manila and Doña Feliza Mortera y Camacho.

According to Father Eugenio Lopez, Provincial Minister of the Capuchin Philippine Province, Father Jose’s baptismal certificate could not be produced because it was burned during the ‘Liberation of Manila’ in 1945.

“But his school records from the UST [University of Santo Tomas] showed he is ‘natural de Manila’. All his biographies from Spain also showed he was born in Manila,” Lopez said.

Jose de Manila spent his initial years of education at the Ateneo de Manila University, San Juan de Letran and the University of Santo Tomas.

“He stayed in the Philippines until he was 16 years old after which, as was customary then, he pursued further studies in Spain,” the CBCP said.

Lopez said Jose de Manila “remained a Filipino at heart” throughout his years in Spain. He said the priest had wanted to return to the Philippines to serve the local Church.

“Circumstances, however, prevented him to fulfil his dream of coming back to the land of his birth, yet he still offered his life for the Gospel he zealously preached in Spain and longed to proclaim in his native land,” Lopez said.