NINE women with outstanding contributions and work for the Church were conferred with the Papal Awards and were given the cross as the Dames of St. Sylvestre.
The awardees—Anita Cabinian, Julia Gandionco, Rosa Maria Garcia, Conchito Go, Lourdes Jereza, Lourdes Vilma Lee, Anita Sanchez, Alita Solon and Marquita Salimbangun-Yeung—were accompanied by their families and friends as they were conferred with the award yesterday afternoon at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral.
They wore dark dresses and veils embedded with gold details.
Each of the awardees were given the cross of St. Sylvester, a small medal pinned in their right chests that has the Latin motto of St. Sylvester and the key of the pope in the back.
It is attached to a blue-and-black ribbon, which represents the colors of St Sylvester.
They were called to the altar where they kissed the hands of Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma and afterwards the medal was pinned to them by their escorts.
Each was also given a parchment, which indicates the announcement of the Vatican and the Holy Father that they were chosen for the conferment.
Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal said he submitted the nominees on who will be conferred as the Dames of St. Sylvester early last year. And the awardees, which were carefully chosen by the Holy Father himself, were sent to the Archdiocese of Cebu on January 15 of this year.
“I’ve submitted a lot of names, but only nine came back,” his Eminence told reporters in an interview.
The 80-year-old prelate said he consulted other bishops from the clergy when they submitted the names to Rome.
“They are awarded for their distinguished work of charity and their service to the church,” Vidal said in his homily.
“Through your apostolate, you have given the church of Cebu a heart that truly cares for Cebu,” Vidal added.
He added that he submitted their names along with the nominees for the conferment of the cross for Knighthood of St. Sylvester; however, he said Rome submitted the list for the knighthood first and the award for the dames came last January 25 of this year.
The knighthood was conferred last August 22 to businessmen Augusto Go, Lino Francisco Lebron, Manuel Lim and Leo Liu.
Meanwhile, Yeung, a known philanthropist in Cebu who was one of the faithfuls given the award, said she was humbled when she heard about it.
“I can’t believe I’ve been recognized for the things I love doing,” Yeung told reporters in an interview.
She said the conferment has encouraged her to work more for the church.
She recalled that her close relationship with the clergy was encouraged by her mother who exposed them to a religious upbringing.
Meanwhile, the mother of Msgr. Cris Garcia of the Society of Angel of Peace was one of the awardees.
“I told her, welcome to the club,” Garcia said, saying that his grandfather was the first Cebuano to receive the Knight of Sylvester conferment for the country. /Reporter Candeze R. Mongaya