Encounters with PJP II inspire shrine workers

Bacolod City — Three officials of the John Paul II National Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family (JPNISMF) in Bacolod City said their close encounters with Blessed John Paul II further inspired them to work hard at propagating his teachings.

JPNISMF director Msgr. Victorino Rivas, Teresa Golez and Fr. Nitodel Soriano on Monday spoke of their experiences with the Blessed John Paul II at a press conference to announce the holding of a concert in Bacolod City Thursday to raise funds for more scholars at the Institute.

Soriano, a JPNISMF professor, said when he was eight years old, he received a papal blessing from Pope John Paul II during his pastoral visit to Tondo in Manila in October 1981. He said he was one of three acolytes who brought a bouquet of flowers to the Holy Father.

Soriano said that he met the pontiff thrice more when he became a priest and studied his Licentiate on Sacred Theology specializing in marriage and family in Rome.

“He was a very holy person, he was really a man of God. When you were in his presence it seemed like you were actually absorbed by his holiness,” he said.

Rivas, who studied Canon law in Rome, said his meetings with the Blessed John Paul II were very inspiring and encouraging. He was deeply impressed by the Blessed John Paul II’s prophetic words on marriage and family, Rivas said.

Golez said she met the pontiff at his summer home at Castel Gandolfo in 1999 after she had joined a delegation that went to Rome to talk about the establishment of the JPNISMF in Bacolod City. “When I saw him, the feeling was indescribable. He had a different kind of aura that was overpowering and he did not even talk he just smiled because at the time he already had Parkinson’s disease,” Golez said.

“Meeting him strengthened my commitment to helping establish the JPNISMF,” said Golez, who is the institute’s registrar.

The JPNISMF in Bacolod, which has about 25 students, will hold a concert on Thursday to raise funds for more scholars. The graduates of the JPNISMF earn masters degrees to enable them to teach in colleges to further strengthen the values of marriage and family, and design programs for the Church, among other jobs, Golez said.

The concert that will feature classical music will be held at L’Fisher Hotel’s La Proa Ballroom 6 p.m. Friday, with tickets at P1,000 each.

The concert, titled “Omaggio: Giovanni Paolo II” (Homage to Pope John Paul II) features Negrense sisters soprano Nenen Espina and pianist Mary Anne Espina, Bago-born tenor Randy Gelongo, the string quartet Quarteto Espressivo and the University of Saint La Salle chorale.

Just before the concert, the organizers would present the life and works of John Paul II, as well as the facts about the JPNISMF, said Menchie Tan, assistant academic dean of JPNISMF. /INQUIRER