GMA kin may soon become saint

By Nereo C. Lujan

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo may soon have a relative who is a saint.

Moves are now underway to have Mother Rosario Arroyo de la Visitacion, founder of the Dominican Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary in the Philippines, beatified. She is the grandaunt of lawyer Jose Miguel Arroyo, the president's husband.

Mother Rosario Arroyo, O.P.

The congregation created in October 2004 the Mother Rosario Arroyo Commission to document miracles attributed to Mother Rosario or Madre Sayong, as she is fondly called, according to Sister Maria Serafica Tolentino, O.P., general secretary of the congregation.

Among these were the cases of a nun who survived aneurysm in May 2004, of a poor woman from Patnongon town in Antique province who survived leukemia early this year; and of Angeles Palma, now deceased, who lived for 20 more years after surviving cancer.

The creation of the commission continued the researches started in the 1970s by Sister Veneranda Mission, O.P., who was tasked to document the life of Madre Sayong.

Mission now sits as member of the six-person commission headed by Mother Visitacion Alecto, O.P.. The other members include Dominican sisters Virgilia Rivero, Eleanor Garlito, Ma. Luz Mission and Alma Amancio.

Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo gave his “blessings and go-signal” on February 9, 2005 for the commission to start its formal bid for the beatification of Madre Sayong. Lagdameo has also given his imprimatur to a prayer for Madre Sayong, which was approved by the Archdiocesan Liturgical Commission.

Beatification is the first step towards sainthood. Unless the candidate is a martyr, a candidate for beatification must show a miracle, which is to be confirmed by the Vatican. A second miracle , a requirement for canonization, can make the candidate a saint.

Madre Sayong founded the Dominican Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary in the Philippines on February 18, 1927 after the Vatican approved the request of her parents, Don Ignacio Arroyo and Doña Maria Pidal de Arroyo, that a new congregation be started here in Iloilo.

Records obtained by the congregation showed that the wealthy and generous couple had promised Bishop James McCloskey of Jaro that they would donate one-third of their wealth to the congregation if it will be realized. They then suggested that the Dominican sisters would be founded as a diocesan congregation in Iloilo since their daughter was then with the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena in Manila.

The Sacred Congregation of Religious in Rome issued a formal permit to Bishop McCloskey on July 24, 1925 to start the new congregation. Two years after, Madre Sayong, together with Sisters Mercedes del Santisimo Sacramento and Ana Maria Enriquez de Jesus, came to Iloilo to start their mission.

The 2004 Catholic Directory of the Philippines lists the Dominican Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary as having 271 members. All the nuns except one are Filipinas. They work in the congregation's 31 schools, two dormitories, two retreat houses, one charitable institution and one clinic. Fifty-four Filipina sisters also work in foreign missions.

Born on February 17, 1884 in Molo town in Iloilo (now a district of Iloilo City), Madre Sayong is the only daughter of three children. Her two brothers were Jose Maria Arroyo, who became a senator in 1919, and Mariano Arroyo, who became governor of Iloilo in 1928.

Her brother Senator Arroyo married Jesusa Lacson of Negros Occidental. They had seven children, one of whom was Ignacio Arroyo, father of First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo. Marriage made President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo the grandniece-in-law of Madre Sayong.

“Madre Sayong is known for her love for the poor, her strong faith in God and her simplicity in life,” said Sister Tolentino. “Despite her wealth, she became a nun and dedicated herself to the service of the poor.”

Sister Tolentino shared that during World War II, a number of people had prodded Madre Sayong to disband the congregation because the Japanese were threatening to kill them. But Madre Sayong refused, saying God will protect them. Not a single sister was harmed by the Japanese during the war.

Madre Sayong died of heart failure on June 14, 1957 and was interred at the Molo cemetery the following day. In 1975, her body was exhumed to be transferred to a crypt at the congregation's motherhouse in Avanceña Street in Molo district, Iloilo City.

“When her coffin was opened, her body was still intact. When some people rushed to touch the body soon after it was discovered to be still intact, it then deteriorated. So we decided to have her bones cleaned before they were re-interred,” said Sister Tolentino.

The motherhouse of the congregation stands on a one-hectare property donated by the parents of Madre Sayong. The couple had also donated the property that now hosts of the Asilo de St. Louise de Marillac, a home for the elderly which is run by the Daughters of Charity, also in Molo.

Last May 4, First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo together with his brother Negros Occidental Representative Ignacio Arroyo and his sister businesswoman Marilou Arroyo visited Madre Sayong's tomb at the congregation's motherhouse after they were informed of the move for their grandaunt's beatification.

Sister Eleanor Garlito, OP, a member of the Mother Rosario Arroyo Commission, said the first known “miracle” by Madre Sayong happened sometime in 1983 when a certain Angeles Palma got sick of cancer in Manila. A native of Iloilo and a devotee of Madre Sayong, Palma prayed hard for her intercession and to her doctor's surprise, she got cured and lived for 20 more years until she died in 2003.

In May last year one of the sisters, Sister Nemia Daral, OP, principal of the St. Joseph Academy in Bugasong town in Antique province was seriously stricken with aneurysm and was airlifted to Manila to undergo a life-threatening surgery at the University of Santo Tomas Hospital.

First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo (right) with his brother Negros Occidental Representative Ignacio Arroyo (left) and his sister businesswoman Marilou Arroyo (center) pay a visit to the tomb of Madre Sayong at the motherhouse of the congregation of the Dominican Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary of the Philippines last May 4, 2005.

Before the operation, Sister Tolentino took a portion of Madre Sayong's bendico (headdress), wrapped it in plastic and gave it to Sister Daral to pray with. “Now, Sister Nemia is in perfect health. She does not take any maintenance drugs anymore and she's very active,” Sister Tolentino beamed.

Sister Garlito added that a poor woman, surnamed Dalumpines from Patnongon, Antique was miraculously cured of leukemia after she petitioned Madre Sayong for good health. “That woman was required to undergo blood transfusion but since her family couldn't afford it, they brought her to a relative's home in Jaro. Someone had advised them to seek Madre Sayong's intercession and she the signs of leukemia were already gone,” she said.

According to Sister Garlito, details of these miracles are now with the Mother Rosario Arroyo Commission. “We are continuously gathering testimonies of more people to strengthen every cases,” Sister Garlito said.

Madre Sayong's full name is Ma. Beatriz del Rosario Arroyo, according to the fact sheet prepared by the congregation. Records obtained by the congregation from the Molo Parish Church showed she was baptized by Fr. Agapito Buenaflor three days after her birth. The Molo baptismal registry described her father as head of Barangay 4 of the town of Molo while her mother is a Spanish mestiza.

The baby girl's paternal grandparents were Don Pedro Arroyo, deceased at that time, and Doña Apolonia Lacson. Her maternal grandparents were Don Melquiades Pidal, a Spanish, and Doña Luisa Regalado, a single and native of the same town. Witnesses of the baptism were Valentin Consing, a Chinese mestizo, head sacristan and resident of the parish, and Mateo Firmeza, native, a worker of Molo Church and at the same time a parishioner.

Madre Sayong first attended school at the Escuela de Santa Ana in Molo, and then at the Colegio de San Jose in Jaro district in Iloilo City. At 13, she enrolled with the Santa Catalina College in Intramuros, Manila, the first school for girls in the country and was run by religious women of the Third Order of St. Dominic.

At age 27, she entered the Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena. After postulancy of six months, she was clothed with the Dominican Habit. By secret vote, it was unanimously approved that she be clothed with the habit of the Third Order of St. Dominic.

Clothed along with her was Macaria Ablay, 26, a Filipina. Madre Sayong was admitted for the choir while Macaria was admitted for obedience. The fact sheet says that Rosario could have entered at an earlier age but great attachment to her mother prevented her from doing so.