“Bishop of the poor” 100th year celebrated

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — The late Bishop Emeritus Antonio Y. Fortich will be remembered and his life will be celebrated in a week-long festivities leading to August 11, when he would have turned 100 years old.

Fortich, who was popularly called the “bishop of the poor,” was awarded the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for Rural Development in 1973, and in 1974, for his work in Dacongcogon project, a sugar mill, that he pioneered.

Spearheaded by the Blessed John Paul II National Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family, based in this city, the activities will culminate with “Insta: A Festival of Faith” set Aug. 10 and 11 at the Redemptorist Church grounds in the city.

“Insta” was the motto Fortich used to guide his colorful, and oftentimes, controversial episcopacy. It is taken from 2 Timothy 4:2: “Preach the word! Be ready, in season or out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and teaching.”

Monsignor Vic Rivas, president of the Blessed JP II Institute, said, “Insta: A Festival of Faith” will celebrate what we have become because of Fortich. “While the festival will recall the life and times of Fortich, it will also celebrate what we have become as a people because of what he did in his lifetime,” Rivas added.

Screenings of a video presentation on the late bishop started last August 5 at the Redemptorist Church and will run throughout the week. Students and other interested groups can schedule screenings.

Fortich's bones, his bishop's ring and pectoral cross were transferred from the San Sebastian Cathedral to the chapel Our Lady of the Holy Rosary in the Cathedral, after the mass celebrated for 10th anniversary of his death. A book on Fortich will also be launched on Aug.10.

Festival activities include a concelebrated mass, rummage sale, food and drinks kiosks, songs and dances, photo exhibit, bingo socials, feeding and a concert on Aug. 11 at the church grounds. A motorcade will kick off the festival at 7:30 a.m. on Aug. 10, beginning at the Redemptorist, around the city and back.

GMA TV, the official media partner of the festival, will mount the Aug. 11 concert featuring Kapuso stars Aljur Abrenica and Kris Bernal.

The Bacolod City Council last March 13 approved an ordinance naming the street from the corner of Rizal and San Juan streets to the Reclamation Area, up to the western shoreline of the city as the “Bishop Antonio Y. Fortich Avenue,” which was blessed and inaugurated last April by Bishop Vicente Navarra.

Brother Jaazael Jacosalem will put up a statue of Fortich on the site facing that of Pope John Paul II tower, also at the Reclamation Area, on August 11.

City officials are now planning to include the Bishop Antonio Y. Fortich Avenue in the list of the pilgrim sites in the city.

Fortich was one of the first awardees of the Ang Banwahanon Award for public service, the highest award given by the city to a person whose life or service has made a considerable impact on the people and community. (FREEMAN)