Spanish missionary Fr. Bernardo Blanco, who was abducted in 1993 on the southern Philippine island of Basilan, died Monday in Quezon City.
Blanco, a Claretian priest, died at 1:02 a.m. at Diliman Doctors Hospital, his congregation announced. He was 97.
“We humbly ask you to remember him in your prayers,” the Claretians said.
Blanco, a Claretian priest, died at 1:02 a.m. at the Diliman Doctors Hospital, his Claretian congregation announced. He was 97.
“We humbly ask you to remember him in your prayers,” the Claretians said.
Blanco lived in the Philippines for 32 years and served the Church in various capacities and ministries.
Born in Ceadea de Aliste, a quaint village in the Spanish province of Zamora, he was ordained a Claretian priest in 1953.
Following his ordination, he was sent to Equatorial Guinea in Africa for his first missionary assignment serving there for 22 years.
In 1968, the country underwent political turmoil, leading to a dictatorship that severely restricted religious practices.
In 1976, Blanco was among 52 foreign priests and 200 foreign nuns expelled from the country.
He returned to Spain and waited seven months for a new assignment before being sent to the Philippines.
Blanco arrived in the Philippines in February 1977 and was assigned to Bolong, Zamboanga City, where he dedicated himself to youth ministry and promoting devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
He was later assigned to the Claretian missions in Basilan, where he served as parish priest of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Maluso.
“In this role, he also attended to the needs of the surrounding Christian and Muslim communities,” according to the Claretians.
In 1993, extremists affiliated with the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf kidnapped Blanco. He endured 49 days in captivity before seizing an opportunity to escape.
“His resilience and faith during this ordeal were widely acknowledged,” the congregation added.
“Fr. Bernardo Blanco, CMF, faced expulsion and abduction, yet he remained unwavering in his missionary commitment.”
In 1994, after a brief visit to Rome and Spain, he was appointed spiritual director at the Claretian Seminary in Quezon City. He later served at Claret Theology, first as superior and later as spiritual director.
“He contributed to the spiritual formation of Claretian institutions in Quezon City while also serving as spiritual director for several women’s religious communities,” the congregation also said.