It takes a village to raise a cardinal

ACHIEVERS BY THE DOZEN The 12 Advincula siblings of whom three became priests (seated from left): youngest brother Rev. Fr. Neil Peter, parish priest of Cuartero; then Bishop Jose Jr. of San Carlos Diocese; and older brother Monsignor Benjamin, then parish priest of Panay. The sisters are doctors of medicine, a dentist, an architect and teachers. The rest of the brothers are a mechanical engineer, a chemical engineer and an electronics technician. —PHOTO FROM FAMILY ALBUM, 2003

Months before the celebration of the 500th anniversary of Christianity in the Philippines, the Archdiocese of Capiz received the most marvelous gift: Pope Francis had named its third archbishop, Most Rev. Jose Fuerte Advincula Jr., DD, as the ninth Filipino cardinal and Capiz’s first.

With the archbishop as shepherd, Capiz had expanded the Church’s reach to the peripheries, with 29 mission stations in remote places across the relatively small province, and 34 parishes growing phenomenally to 64 today, and more priests to share where they’re lacking.

His elevation to the high Catholic post surprised the low-key archbishop, who could only humbly surmise that he earned the papal nod by following the Pope’s call for priests to stay close to the marginalized and to be a “shepherd living with the smell of his sheep.”

But he had yet to formally don the red biretta and receive the ring from the papal nuncio when a second papal announcement came—his transfer to his new post as archbishop of Manila.

Cardinal Jose Advincula

A family of priests

Although not totally unexpected, the responsibility weighed down on his shoulders: he will shepherd an urban archdiocese of almost 3 million members, significantly larger than Capiz’s rural archdiocese of around 800,000.

What may have prepared the incoming archbishop of Manila, who turned 69 last March 30, for his tasks ahead?

His journey to the priesthood began as a young “Teting” who was soon called “Father Joe” by his flock. Later he was called “Monsignor Jo-Ad,” to distinguish him from other priests named Jose.

Today, “Cardinal Joe” suits him fine.

He is fourth in a brood of 12 born to Jose “Toting” Firmalino Advincula, a former seminarian, and Carmen “Inday” Falsis Fuerte, a “colegiala” who had wanted to be a nun.

Toting and Inday raised six sons and six daughters steeped in the Catholic faith in the town of Dumalag. With their residence just across from the four-centuries-old parish church, the family attended Masses together, occupying one or two pews. And the children rushed home in time for prayer as the church bells signaled the Angelus.

What makes the family remarkable is that three of the children eventually became priests: the older brother, the late Monsignor “Manong Ben,”; the youngest brother Rev. Fr. Neil Peter, or “Petbong,” parish priest of Cuartero, Capiz; and Cardinal Joe himself.

There’s an abundance in religious DNA on both parents’ sides. The former vicar general of Jaro, Msgr. Teodulfo Castro, is first cousin to Cardinal Joe’s Advincula grandfather. His mother’s brother, the late Msgr. Sinforiano Fuerte, as then rector of a diocesan college, guided the young Teting and his Manong Ben to pursue the priesthood.

Then there were his mother’s cousins, the late Msgr. Edmundo Fuerte and Rev. Fr. Antonio Fuerte Arinquin, who provided the stimulus to their vocation.

Even the first Archbishop of Capiz Antonio Frondosa, who ordained Ben and Teting, is a relative on their mother’s side who would send the then Monsignor Joe to Rome for studies in canon law.
At present, Cardinal Joe counts 21 other close relatives, cousins and nephews who are priests.

Eldest sibling Josefa Advincula-Dimalanta, a teacher formerly with St. Paul University in Manila, says that having three priests in the family became a cause for banter among their father’s ex-classmates in the seminary. (Jose Sr. and his Advincula cousins had built a reputation for entering the seminary yet not becoming priests.)

Cardinal Sin

“Cardinal Sin used to tease Papa that he left the seminary only to replace himself with three priests,” Josefa says, musing on their early ties with the legendary late Archbishop of Manila, Jaime Cardinal Sin.

Born in Aklan but ordained for the Diocese of Capiz, then Father Sin was rector of St. Pius X Seminary in Roxas City who admitted the 12-year-old Teting and who would later become his teacher in Latin.

In a series of coincidences, Teting was ordained priest in 1976, the same year Archbishop Sin was made a cardinal. Decades later, Cardinal Sin delivered the homily for then Bishop Joe‘s episcopal ordination in 2001.

Simple lifestyle

A simple lifestyle was the norm because the Advincula family income came only from the farm and Toting’s salary as a government employee.

Through hard work, diligence and faith in God, Toting and Inday managed to provide all 12 children with more than a modest education. Of the daughters, Anafe Lustre and Consolacion Feca are physicians, Fatima Fajardo a dentist, Carmela an architect, and Josefa Dimalanta and Coronacion Grant teachers. Of the other sons, Felixberto is a mechanical engineer, the late Antonio was a chemical engineer, and Candelario an electronics technician.

Josefa recalls the words of their parents Inday and Toting, who passed away in 1988 and 1989, respectively, that “priests are gifts to God and whatever wishes they do for God, the family must not interfere [with] or hinder.”

To evangelize and help

As the siblings grew older, mountain trekking, hiking, collecting plants, photography and road trips served as family bonding activities.

Imbued with a love for nature, the young Father Joe took leisurely hikes with fellow priests and seminarians, leading him to discover the mountains of Capiz and its indigenous people known as the Tapaz Bukidnon.

It was then that the would-be cardinal saw the sad plight of the impoverished in far-flung areas and recognized the need not only to evangelize but also to help by establishing mission stations and protecting their basic human rights.

Msgr. Regie Pomposa, writing for the archdiocese of Manila, is upbeat on Cardinal Joe’s leadership in the time of a pandemic and threats to human rights: “His episcopal motto, ‘Audiam’ (I will listen), explains everything that [he] does, a bishop who loves to listen, truly a discerning leader in times of crises and trials.”

—CONTRIBUTED

(Editor’s Note: The author is a second cousin of Cardinal Jose Fuerte Advincula Jr.)