Jose C. Abriol
From Textus Receptus
Jose C. Abriol<ref name=MCathedral/><ref name=MC2>Jose C. Abriol, official website of the Manila Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica, ManilaCathedral.org</ref> (February 4, 1918<ref name=RCam2/> – July 6, 2003<ref name=RCam2/>) was a Filipino Catholic priest, monsignor, and Bible translator from the Philippines. He became an official member of the priesthood on May 14, 1942. He translated the Holy Bible from the original Hebrew and Greek. Apart from this, he also became the rector of the Manila Cathedral from 1962 to 1975, and at the same time as the chancellor of the Archdiocese of Manila. He was fluent in nine languages, namely Spanish, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, English, German<ref name=ManilaStandard/> and Filipino (Tagalog). According to the official website of the Metropolitan Manila Cathedral of the Philippines, Abriol was the first and only Filipino to be honored as one of the 2000 Outstanding Intellectuals of the 21st Century by the International Biographical Centre of England in February 2003.<ref name=MCathedral/><ref name=MC2/><ref name=ManilaStandard/> He served as a priest for sixty years. He died at the age of 85, five months after receiving his award.<ref name=MCathedral>Msgr. Jose C. Abriol (1962-1975), Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Concepcion, Metropolitan Cathedral of Manila, ManilaCathedral.org</ref><ref name=MC2/><ref name=ManilaStandard>Macairan, Evelyn Z. Msgr. Abriol, Church Intellectual, Dies at 85, News, ManilaStandardToday.com</ref><ref name=RCam2> Msgr. Jose Abriol: A Great Church Intellectual Passes Away, The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila website, RCam.org</ref> He is regarded as one of the "great intellectuals of the Philippine Church and the world."<ref name=ManilaStandard/><ref name=RCam2/>
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As a translator
As a priest who yearned to propagate the Roman Catholic faith in the Philippines<ref name=CyberD/>, Abriol wrote and translated hundreds of books and novenas into the Filipino language. Among his works are the very first translation of the complete books of the Catholic Bible into Tagalog (also known as Pilipino<ref name=ManilaStandard/><ref name=RCam2/>),<ref name=MCathedral/><ref name=MC2/> literature on Roman Catholic Cathecism, the Ordinary of the Vatican II Missal, the Sacramentary, and the Lectionary. He translated the Holy Bible from the original Hebrew and Greek while serving as rector of the Cathedral of Manila, a period encompassing ten years of his life. From 1953 to 1963, he alloted five hours a day for this task.<ref name=MCathedral/><ref name=MC2/><ref name=ManilaStandard/><ref name=RCam2/> Among the 69 to 70 books he authored - excluding his other translation works - were those about the life of saints, prayers for the Virgin Mary, Sunday missals, the Via Crucis (or the Way of the Cross), the Siete Palabras (Spanish for the Seven Last Words of Christ).<ref name=ManilaStandard/><ref name=RCam2/> Before the year 2000, he was also able to finish his translation of Pope John Paul II's encyclical, the Fides et Ratio (or Faith and Reason), which became Pananampalataya at Katwiran in Tagalog.<ref name=RCam2/>
As a priest
Apart from being the rector of the Manila Cathedral and from being the Chancellor for the Archdiocese of Manila from 1962 to 1975, Abriol also served as parish priests for the parishes of St. Michael the Archangel at Jala-Jala, Rizal (1947-1951), of San Rafael, Balut, Tondo in Manila (1951-1962), and of the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene at Quiapo, Manila (1976-1993). He was also a member of the Manila Archdiocesan Commission for the Conservation of the Patrimony of the Art and History of the Church from 1993 through 1999. He became the Vicar General<ref name=CyberD/> for the Archdiocese of Manila for 38 years<ref name=ManilaStandard/> from 1965 to July 2003.<ref name=MCathedral/><ref name=MC2/><ref name=Museum/> He was also the first director of Manila's Archdiocese Museum,<ref name=Museum>Jose C. Abriol, first director of the Archdiocese of Manila Museum, RCam.org</ref> a museum that houses his own "personal collections and church treasures" formerly safeguarded inside a bank vault.<ref name=Museum/> While serving as a parish priest at the Basilica of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, Manila, Abriol established the St. Peter’s Men Society, a group that "defended Catholicism in Plaza Miranda against anti-Catholics and employed radio technology to communicate and explain the Biblical foundation of the Catholic faith" to the Filipino people.<ref name=Abe>Fr. Abe. Jose C. Abriol, the great Filipino Bible Scholar, "The Statue of St. Peter guards the entrance door," The Basilica of the Black Nazarene, The Splendor of the Church], SplendoroftheChurch.blogspot.com, 2008</ref> Abriol did not retire from the priesthood, nor from his translation and research activities<ref name=RCam2/>, when he reached the mandatory age of 75. Abriol died of cardiac arrest at the Cardinal Santos Memorial Hospital on July 6, 2003.<ref name=RCam2/> His wake was held at the Arzobispado de Manila (the Archbishopric of Manila) inside Intramuros, while the interment was held on July 10, 2003 at the Manila Cathedral, with Jaime Cardinal Sin as the main celebrant of the mass.<ref name=RCam2/> Abriol was the friend and confessor of Jaime Cardinal Sin.<ref name=ManilaStandard/>
Awards and recognitions
In the Philippines
In the Philippines, Abriol received the Gawad Bukas Palad<ref name=ManilaStandard/><ref name=RCam2/> (literally, the "Open Palm [ of the hand ] Award") in 1999 from the Ateneo de Manila University<ref name=RCam2/>, the Outstanding Manilan Award in 2000 from the government of the City of Manila<ref name=RCam2/>, and the Gawad ng Pagkilala<ref name=ManilaStandard/> (or "Recognition Award") in 2000 from the Commission on the Filipino Language<ref name=ManilaStandard/> (formerly known as the National Language Institute) of the Philippines for the "propagation and development of the Filipino language."<ref name=MCathedral/><ref name=MC2/><ref name=RCam2/> On October 3, 1999, Abriol - then 81 years old - also became a recipient of the Ten Outstanding Elderly of the Philippines Award (known in the Philippines as Sampung Ulirang Nakatatanda) because of his religious work and writings that were offered "for the use and edification of the ordinary faithful." The award was given to Abriol at St. Paul’s College in Quezon City.<ref name=CyberD>Mission, Gina. Msgr. Jose C. Abriol, one of the Sampung Ulirang Nakatatanda Awardees (Ten Outstanding Elderly of the Philippines Award): Ordinary yet noble lives], CyberDyaryo, Gina.ph</ref>
Outside the Philippines
As a result of being honored as one of the 2000 Outstanding Intellectual of the 21st Century by the International Biographical Centre (IBC)<ref name=RCam2/>, Abriol's name and biography is now also recorded on the pages of the 2003 published version of IBC's 2000 Outstanding Intellectuals of the 21st Century. He was also regarded as one of the 2000 Outstanding Scientists of the 21st Century and as one of the 2000 Outstanding Scholars of the 21st Century.<ref name=MCathedral/><ref name=MC2/>
Works
The translation works of Abriol include the following:<ref name=Paulines>"Msgr. Jose C. Abriol" (translator of the "Banal na Biblia, Ang" (Holy Bible, The) , Scriptures, Paulines.ph.</ref>
- Ang Bagong Tipan [The New Testament] (translator, 1997)
- Ang Lumang Tipan [The Old Testament<ref name=RCam2/>] (translator)
- Ang Banal na Biblia [The Holy Bible] (translator, 2000)<ref name=MCathedral/><ref name=MC2/><ref name=RCam2/>, ISBN 9715901077
References
External links
- Photograph of Msgr. Jose C. Abriol, from FirstFilipino.blogspot.com
- Photograph of Msgr. Jose C. Abriol, from the official website of the Manila Metropolotican Cathedral-Basilica (Philippines), ManilaCathedral.org
