Wednesday, October 10, 2007 Dacawi: A bishop's morning with kids By Ramon Dacawi Benchwarmer
AS HE is wont to unless celebrating mass or formally blessing the flock, Baguio Bishop Carlito Cenzon donned casual clothes for his appointment with kids on a Saturday morning in front of the Baguio Cathedral.
In lieu of the regal vestments of his position, the bishop wore a black vest -- just like a photographer’s -- over a sleeveless white T-shirt and matching dark pants. Instead of his pastoral staff, he lugged an ordinary umbrella against the rain.
“Do you know what people mistake me for when they see me walking down Session Road?” he asked the children.
“They think I’m a policeman,” he said with a chuckle.
The kids smiled, their wide eyes drawn to his hefty frame. They huddled closer to the city’s spiritual father, for what more he had to tell rather than to seek shade from the drizzle.
“What’s your favorite fruit?” he asked. “Juicy fruit,” a girl replied, triggering group laughter.
Two questions and two answers broke the ice on a rainy morning.
The interaction with grade-schoolers got off from an idea he broached as co-chair of the city’s executive committee for its 98th founding anniversary, He had suggested a story-telling feature of the observance. He said a bit of Baguio history told or retold would bring more substance to the celebration of the city’s milestone.
He hardly had any inkling he would end up as the story-teller.
His encounter with kids likewise provided color to their ongoing “Urban Heritage Walk”, an experiential learning program.
He began with “cathedra,” the Latin word for “chair.” A bishop’s chair, for that matter, he said. It’s presence inside a church makes the structure a cathedral, not necessarily the size of the religious edifice. The cathedral is the seat of the Catholic diocese of Baguio.
The information appeared fresh even for teachers of San Vicente and Roxas elementary schools who accompanied the fourth to sixth graders. Even Councilor Nick Aliping and Secretary to the Mayor Ronald Perez, were nodding their heads, waiting for more to learn.
Pointing his umbrella tip to the marker, His Excellency noted a portion of the text, wishing it had been more precise. It read: “The construction of the Cathedral by phases was begun on this hill, originally referred to as Kampo by the native Ibalois, who had a settlement here in the latter part of the 19th century, and later called Mount Mary by the Catholic Mission.”
The Ibalois are the original settlers of Baguio, he emphasized succinctly.
Mount Mary, he added, included that area now occupied by the SLU Hospital of the Sacred Heart. Then a pinestand, it was where Baguio boys settled differences through fisticuffs, he noted impishly.
Bishop Cenzon paid tribute to the pioneering Belgian priests under the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (CICM) who arrived here in 1907 to establish a mission and then build the “Cathedral on a Hill”
He specifically mentioned Fr. Florimund Carlu, one of the longest-serving parish priests of the cathedral, and the Graymoor Monks in the United States who supported the construction of the religious and historical landmark.
Thousands of residents were saved from the carpet bombing of Baguio near the end of the Second World War when they sought refuge in the cathedral, he said. Some of those who died were buried at the park fronting the cathedral.
“This is my pectoral cross, so-called because it’s worn on the chest,” he said, raising the crucifix for them to see.
He told them the nailed Christ carved into the crucifix was the carver’s mistake. He explained the crucifix should have been plain, as it symbolizes his own cross to bear, a symbol of his burden, his responsibility as shepherd to the flock.
“This is called a fisherman’s ring,” he said, showing the ring on his finger.
Being a bishop can be lonely sometimes, he admitted. He recalled finding himself alone in the Bishop’s House below the cathedral one Christmas. All of the priests were out to their yuletide appointments.
He briefed them for about an hour, standing and leaning on a lectern that added to the informal and personal mood. Before leading them to a look at the bishop’s chair inside, he belted out “Rhythm of the Rain” and chanted an “uggayam”, a traditional chant of the Kalinga tribe he also served for years.
Later, the kids repaired by the side of the swimming pool at the Athletic Bowl for a quiz bee on their interaction with the Bishop. His Excellency had whipped out a P500 bill for the prizes when he learned what they were up to. City Administrator Peter Fianza and “Operation Sayote” relief operations chief Swanny Dicang, who grew up with the bishop-to-be at Guisad, added a few hundred pesos more.
“CICM stands for what?” a teacher asked. “Congregatio Immaculata Cordis Maria”, a girl answered in Latin. “How old is Bishop Cenzon?” “Sixty eight.” “What’s his birthdate?”. “January 25, 1939.” “From where were the Bishop’s parents?” “Bacolor, Pampanga.” “How many children are there in the family?” “Twelve.” “When does a bishop retire?” “When he’s 75, unless the Pope asks him to serve more years.” “What does Monsignor mean?” “My Lord.” “What is the bishop’s hat called?” “Miter!”
The kids inspected the fruits of the prickly sayote they planted behind the pool several months back. They decided to let the hanging rows of fruits mature as planting materials, prompting Fianza and Dicang to produce local ones for their “tinola” mix.
Culinary artist Rito Magpatoc of Rito’s Restaurant and Catering offered to cook for the kids’ poolside picnic. In a pro bono gesture, he added his own menu of noodles, “apritada” and “pinikpikan” (Igorot chicken stew) and provided utensils and the serving staff.
The kids went home with a plastic envelope each. Inside were crayons, writing pads, foot rules, pens and erasers, the cost of which Fianza advanced.
“I just love children,” Bishop Cenzon told Dicang on their way back to the bishop’s house below the cathedral.
(Schools wanting to join the experience learning about Baguio’s landmarks under the ongoing “Children’s Urban Heritage Walk” program may contact the Public Information Division at City Hall at 442-2502.) -- email: rdacawi@yahoo.com for comments
