The chapel, which was built six years ago in March 2012 through an anonymous donor, was constructed upon the advise of Cardinal Vidal to serve as Bullecer’s “power house”.
How does one show his love for a mentor and inspiration?
How does one honor him in each and every prayer?
For Dr. Rene Josef Bullecer, country director of Human Life International Inc. who is also known as one of Cebu’s staunchest pro-life advocates, honoring his mentor meant building a chapel because the mentor had asked and then naming it after him when the mentor had passed.
Such is the story of the ‘Ricardo J. Cardinal Vidal Memorial Chapel’ which was launched during the late prelate’s 87th birthday, in early February.
The chapel is located inside Bullecer’s office at the Cebu Caritas Building beside the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral along Mabini St., Cebu City.
It was built in March 2012, or a few months after Cardinal Vidal asked Bullecer to build an adoration chapel to serve as his “power house”.
Bullecer recalled that it was a month before Vidal retired in 2012, when the prelate asked him to build the chapel.
“The Cardinal visited the office and told me, ‘I want you to put a chapel here with a tabernacle, as it will serve you as your power house, because you are doing a big job for the people and the country,” Bullecer told Cebu Daily News.
As the Archdiocese’s top lay pro-life advocate, Bullecer was assigned a space in what used to be Vidal’s office as Archbishop of Cebu, when the prelate began to feel ill in 1997.
After that conversation in 2012, Bullecer said he managed to build the adoration chapel at a cost of P 175,000 with the help of an anonymous donor.
In March 2012, Cardinal Vidal himself blessed the chapel inside the office of AIDS Free Philippines and Human Life International-Philippines, the two non-governmental organizations which are both run by Bullecer.
Dr. Rene Josef Bullecer of AIDS-Free Philippines points to a tabernacle containing the Holy Eucharist inside a chapel dedicated to the late Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal located at the 3rd floor of Cebu Caritas Building near the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral in downtown Cebu City.
Vidal who had, by then, moved his office to the Archbishop’s Palace, along D. Jakosalem Street, still found time to make the painstaking climb to the 3rd floor of the Caritas building all the way to the chapel in Bullecer’s office.
“Every month, Cardinal Vidal would never fail to visit the office in the third floor and he would ask how my pro-life activities and AIDS information campaign were doing,” said Bullecer as he continued to fight for the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church especially on matters of reproductive health, same-sex marriage, divorce and other controversies which are viewed as huge challenges by the Church.
Vidal’s last visit to the Caritas building was in August last year, two months before he died.
Vidal was on a wheelchair and could no longer go up to his old office, said Bullecer.
“A day before he was hospitalized, October last year, he was able to tell me, ‘Doc, as long as you can make it, continue the work. You are one good doctor, who dedicated your life to the Church and its people. I promise you, you are always in my prayers, even during those days that I offered mass in the chapel inside my house, you are among those in my prayers,” Bullecer recalled of his last conversations with Cebu’s beloved archbishop.
“Nakahilak gyud ko ato (I really cried),” he said.
Vidal died on October 18, 2017.
Honor and Memory
To honor the memory of the late prelate, the chapel at Bullecer’s office was given the Cardinal’s name last February 7, the actual date of Vidal’s birthday even though the archdiocese traditionally celebrates it a day earlier.
“The Cardinal once told me, that he just chose that the Archdiocese will celebrate his birthday on Feb. 6, so that he can have his day, exclusively with his family, and for himself, “ recalled Bullecer.
“He was named after St. Ricardo, who is having a feast on that date. Mao na every Feb. 7 gyud ko mobisita sa Cardinal para sa iyang birthday (That’s why I always visited the Cardinal every Feb.7 for his birthday),” Bullecer added.
For more than two decades and for the rest of his life, Bullecer has made Cardinal Vidal his inspiration in every endeavor to bring the voice of the Roman Catholic Church to the people of Visayas and Mindanao.
“His messages, always serve as my strength and reminder. The Cardinal is always my inspiration,” said Bullecer.
The Ricardo J. Cardinal Vidal Memorial Chapel, is open to everyone from 8 to 5:00 p.m., Mondays to Fridays with half day on Saturdays.
A weekly mass inside the chapel, scheduled every Thursday at 9:00 a.m. and a Holy Hour vigil every Friday are also open to the public.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
