Teacher of service and of love
Jun 30, 2005
Thousands of people joined the funeral rites for Archbishop Emeritus of Manila Jaime Cardinal Sin who was finally laid to rest yesterday at a crypt below the Manila Cathedral in Intramuros.
(Manila Bulletin Online, June 28, 2005) People, both young and old, rich and poor, trooped to the cathedral as early as 6 a.m. to be able to secure a seat inside the church where most of the proceedings was held.
At exactly 9 a.m., the Cardinal’s funeral began with Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales providing the opening remarks.
In his message, Cardinal Rosales thanked God for giving to the Filipino people a one-of-a-kind shepherd for the Church, Jaime Cardinal Sin.
"Thank you for serving and inspiring us in love and for teaching us that to serve is also to love," he said.
After his welcome remarks, the casket was wheeled outside the cathedral to Plaza Roma where the state honors took place.
Draped with a Philippine flag, the Cardinal’s casket placed on a white carriage was paraded around the plaza, escorted by honor guards from the Philippine Navy, Marines and nine of Sin’s former auxiliary bishops.
When the procession came back to its place of origin, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo then turned over the flag draped on the casket to the Cardinal’s brother, Ramon with his other siblings as witnesses. The troopers fired a 21-gun salute.
The casket was then taken in front of the altar for the Eucharistic celebration presided by Archbishop Rosales.
The homily, however, was provided by Sin’s long time private secretary, and now Balanga Bataan Bishop Socrates Villegas.
In his homily, the Bishop spoke of the times he spent with the Cardinal, particularly the times when the latter would call him to go with him.
But it was the part when Villegas was narrating the Cardinal’s last moments in the hospital that his voice broke.
"Vamos!" Let us go! And for so many years, it truly meant that I would go with him. Yet this time, the invitation was there and I could not believe that he left me alone and left me behind," he said.
But although the Cardinal is no longer here on earth he said, his invitation to the faithful is still the same. Only this time he said, the Cardinal is inviting us to be real followers of Christ so that we could be with him in Heaven.
Towards the end of the mass, three fellow bishops of the Cardinal also delivered their messages — Papal Nuncio to the Philippine Archbishop Antonio Franco, Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal and Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) President Archbishop Fernando Capalla.
When all the messages were delivered, the pall bearers then brought the casket down to the crypt below the cathedral’s altar.
Inside the crypt, only the Cardinal’s family, former auxiliary bishops, and staff from his residence at Villa San Miguel were allowed entry for lack of space.
But although not everyone was allowed to go down the crypt, everything that transpired was seen by everyone with the video walls set up by the Archdiocese of Manila.
Also at the funeral were former President Corazon Aquino, Vice President Noli De Castro, Senate President Franklin Drilon, Manila Mayor Jose Atienza Jr., and other highranking government officials.
With Jaime Cardinal Sin gone, many are already guessing who will take his place as the "people’s conscience." His successor Archbishop Rosales is the probable candidate for cardinal.
Teacher of service and of love