Davao archbishop emeritus Fernando Capalla dies at 89

By: Julie S. Alipala, Luisa Cabato - 12 months ago

Davao Archbishop Emeritus Fernando Capalla
Photo courtesy of St. Francis Xavier Regional Major Seminary of Mindanao

ZAMBOANGA CITY — Archbishop Emeritus Fernando Capalla of Davao City passed away at 1:23 a.m. on Saturday, the Davao archdiocese said in a statement. He was 89.

Ozamiz Archbishop Martin Jumoad said Capalla died four days after Pagadian Bishop Ronald Lunas died Tuesday, January 2, from complications after undergoing heart bypass surgery in Davao City.

“It is a really very sad year because two of our conferres in the episcopacy, Bishop Emeritus Fernando Capalla and Bishop Ronald Bong Lunas, died,” Jumoad said in a phone interview.

“May the soul of Archbishop Fernando Capalla and the soul of Bishop Ronald Ignacio Lunas rest in peace. Let us entrust them to the mercy of God,” added Jumoad, who is attending a gathering of bishops in Manila.

Jumoad remembered Capalla mostly for his work in interreligious dialogue and peace-building, alongside the late Muslim cleric Mahid Mutilan, the late Bishop Hilario Gomez of the National Council of Churches of the Philippines, and now Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Emeritus Antonio Ledesma, through the Bishops-Ulama Forum.

Born in Leon, Iloilo, Capalla was ordained priest in 1961 at age 26. After 14 years of service in the Archdiocese of Jaro, he was appointed auxiliary bishop of Davao in 1975 and had stayed in Mindanao ever since.

Capalla also served as president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) from 2003 to 2005.

Among the departments that he led in the CBCP were the Episcopal Commission on Interreligious Dialogue and the Episcopal Commission on Ecumenical Affairs.

He was a prelate at the Prelature of Iligan in 1977 before becoming its first bishop when Pope John Paul II raised it to a diocese in 1982.

“He also served as the apostolic administrator of Marawi from 1987 to 1991 while the prelature awaited a new shepherd. In 1994, Capalla was appointed coadjutor archbishop of Davao. He assumed the role of Davao archbishop in November 1996 and served until his retirement in February 2012,” the CBCP added.

He was also the founding father of the Bishops-Ulama Conference, which is an interreligious organization that targets building understanding between Muslims and Christians.

The late CBCP president’s effort in interfaith dialogue led him to several awards, including the San Lorenzo Ruiz Award for Peace and Unity in 1991, Ateneo de Manila University’s Public Service Award for Peace in 1998, and the Aurora Aragon Quezon Peace Award for Peace Advocacy and Peace Building in 2000, the CBCP said.