Memories of a generous man who had simple joys

PIZZA, fried fish, dinuguan, kaldereta, fried bananas, lechon skin and rice soaked in coffee.

These were among the favorites of Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal.

“He loved to eat pizza from Pizza Republic,” said Celestino Tumale, his longtime assistant whose family was adopted by the prelate as his own household.

“During Sundays or when my children did not have any class, we would bring him to a mall or at the business park in Cebu City so he can eat pizza from Pizza Republic,” he added while smiling from ear to ear.

Tumale said they would ask Vidal to just stay inside the vehicle while they ordered pizza for him.

“He enjoyed eating pizza with me and my family. He did not want to eat alone,” he said in an interview.

One time, when Vidal was hospitalized, Tumale jokingly asked him if he wanted pizza.

“He told me, ‘Wala namang (Pizza) Republic dito.’ (There is no Pizza Republic here),” he said while remembering Vidal as lighthearted and who never run out of witty jokes.

Aside from pizza, Tumale said the cardinal also loved eating fried fish, fried banana, dinuguan, kalderetang kambing, lechon skin and puto maya.
“During breakfast, he was used to pouring hot coffee on his rice. That really was his practice,” he said.

When Vidal retired in 2011, Tumale said the cardinal had the same daily routine at his retirement house in Banilad, Cebu City.

Vidal, he said, usually woke up at 5 a.m., took a bath, and then celebrated Mass at the small chapel inside his house.

Afterwards, the cardinal would take a walk and would go back to his room at around 8 a.m. for a short nap before preparing to receive visitors at 9 a.m.

“Cardinal Vidal would tell me, ‘Let me take a short rest so that when priests come here, bringing their problems, my mind is fresh,’” Tumale said.

Visitors often came to Vidal’s retirement home from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. He would take his lunch at 12 noon and then take an afternoon nap.

At 4 p.m., Tumale said Vidal would again entertain visitors.

The cardinal would have dinner with his household at 7 p.m. before spending an hour before the Blessed Sacrament.

“Even if he was already weak, Cardinal Vidal would never spend a night without a private moment with the Lord for an hour. That’s on top of other

prayers, including faithfully reading his breviary, every day,” Tumale said.

A breviary contains all the daily psalms, hymns, prayers for the divine office.

But it was not all prayer and meditation. The cardinal loved to watch TV. His favorite?

“Maalaala Mo Kaya and May Bukas Pa,” said Tumale alluding to shows that draw valuable lessons in life.

But when it was time to pray, he said Vidal would not have second thoughts of leaving the television.

Tumale said he had fond memories with the cardinal, including their shared love for music.

He said it was the cardinal who taught him to read music.

“I know how to play the piano but didn’t know to read notes. The cardinal, on the other hand, knew how to play the piano but with the notes.

Otherwise, he would not be able to play the piano,” Tumale said.

Among Vidal’s favorites songs were Matud Nila, Usahay and Celeste Legaspi’s Gaano Ko Ikaw Kamahal.

But most of all, Tumale said they will remember the cardinal as a generous man who considered them his own household.

“He was very fatherly, generous. He gave without reservation. He was very prayerful. It was he who taught us how to pray and establish a relationship with the Lord,” said Tumale.

Tumale, a native of Bohol, first worked as a gardener and janitor at the Archbishop’s Residence in Cebu City in 1980. He later became Vidal’s personal driver and sakristan.

Tumale said he was brought by the cardinal during the latter’s pastoral trips abroad, including in Rome.

Vidal paid for the tuition fees and educational expenses of Tumale’s five children.

Asked about how he would continue the education of his children, Tumale said, “It’s all up to the archdiocese.” His eldest son is 19 years old while the youngest is 11.

Rodelia Dagodog, the laundrywoman at the Archbishop’s Residence, also could not contain her emotions when she learned about Vidal’s death.
She said Vidal treated her and her children as his own family, even helping her children finish their studies.

“Even if he already transferred to his retirement house in 2011, Cardinal Vidal never forgot us, and even sent us gifts and financial assistance,” Dagodog said.

“We will surely miss Cardinal Vidal. He was so good to us,” she added.