The country’s largest network of Catholic schools will give its highest honor, the Pro Deo et Patria Award, to Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle for his lifelong service to the Church and the Filipino people.
The Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) praised Tagle’s leadership as one marked “not for grandeur or power, but for presence.”
“His way of leading is not from above, but from alongside: listening, walking with the people,” CEAP said.
“Whether in classrooms forming future priests, in poor communities building schools for children, or in global platforms giving voice to the forgotten, Cardinal Tagle has lived a life of joyful service to God and country,” it said.
Tagle, 68, is pro-prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization, where he helps guide the Church’s mission worldwide, particularly in Asia and Africa.
Before his Rome assignment, he served as bishop of Imus and later as archbishop of Manila.
In 2000, while bishop of Imus, he founded Our Lady of the Pillar Catholic School to provide quality education for children from poor communities — a project CEAP described as leaving “a lasting mark on countless young lives and educators.”
The Pro Deo et Patria Award is given to individuals who show “exemplary attitude for God and country” and demonstrate “faithfulness to Catholic teachings as part of service to God.”
CEAP said it is honoring Tagle not for his many titles or achievements, but “for his genuine spirit.”
“Through his life and mission, many have felt the love and hope that Christ brings,” it added. “His story reminds us: to truly serve is to walk with others, to educate truly is to lift others, and to lead truly is love.”
The award will be presented Oct. 2 during CEAP’s national convention at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City, where Tagle will also deliver the keynote address.
