Calapan City (AsiaNews) – The first ethnic Magyan priest was ordained on April 17 in a ceremony that brought together many faithful. The new priest comes from one of the most ancient and least known indigenous groupings of the country.
Although he had wanted a simple affair, Hanunuo Mangyan Gabayno Calinog Oybad’s entry into the priesthood was welcomed by thousands of Catholic faithful in Bulalacao Cathedral, Oriental Mindoro province.
“This is an event for the whole Catholic church,” said Fr. Ewald Dinter, director of the Mangyan Mission-Oriental Mindoro.
Quoting Pope John Paul II the clergyman explained that a “faith that does not become culture is a faith which has not been fully received, not fully lived.’
The service, held in the local dialect, was presided by Bishop Warlito Cajandig with the assistance of about a hundred priests, a string tied around their forehead out of respect for local indigenous traditions.
The following day Father Oybad travelled back to his mountain community near the city of Bulalacao where people rejoiced over his ordination.
Asked how he felt now that he was a priest, he said: “I am overwhelmed with the love of God.”