Imus – This morning, at ten o’clock, the bells of the Cathedral of Imus rang for a funeral and for a family. In the first diocese entrusted to the episcopal ministry of Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle, the funeral rites were celebrated for his father, Manuel Topacio Tagle Sr. known simply to everyone as “Tatay Maning.”
The Mass was celebrated and the homily delivered by his son, Cardinal Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization.
Numerous Bishops gathered around him, together with two Cardinals and the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, Archbishop Charles Brown. Hundreds of priests and religious were also present, along with a multitude of people who came from Imus, Manila and every corner of the archipelago. An entire people came to express their affection for the Cardinal and his family.
In his homily, Cardinal Tagle recalled how the Eucharist gathers believers in a single communion and reveals how God can make human beings a gift to one another.
The Cardinal acknowledged that the experience of losing loved ones is marked by loneliness and suffering. Yet he stressed that it is precisely in such circumstances that one can also perceive, with particular clarity, that the human heart is made for closeness, companionship and communion: a desire that his father had expressed with particular intensity even during times of illness and hospitalization.
The Cardinal then returned to the Gospel account of the Crucifixion and to the promise made to the good thief: “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” This, he said, is an answer to humanity’s oldest fear: the fear of being abandoned.
Eternal life, the Cardinal recalled, is to remain close to Jesus. It means being forever held in God’s loving memory. Human beings sometimes forget, but God never forgets those whom he loves. And this, the Pro-Prefect of the missionary Dicastery recounted, was evident also in his father’s life, marked by suffering, service and love.
Tatay Maning was still a boy when a bombing during the war killed his father. Some shrapnel remained lodged in his body for the rest of his life. From that wound, the Cardinal said, arose an appeal: to reject war and to build a world without widows and without the wounded. As an adult, he also experienced violence. He was kidnapped after being mistaken for the son of a wealthy man. Yet, whenever he spoke about it, he did so without resentment. The Cardinal chose to read this wound, too, as an appeal: against kidnapping, against every form of exploitation of the most vulnerable, and for communities where no one is left behind.
Tatay Maning’s faith was reflected in small, constant acts. As an extraordinary minister of the Eucharist, he brought Communion to the sick and the dying. He regularly visited families, never growing tired of doing so. He discreetly helped those in difficulty, anonymously supporting students throughout their studies. Many learned of this only after his death. He was, the Cardinal said, a man who was grateful for the help he himself had received.
Within the family, Tatay would accompany his grown and adult children to the airport and personally wait for them upon their return. These everyday gestures expressed his dedication to remaining close to those he loved, at every departure and every return – an attentiveness that continues today in the Cardinal’s brother, Manuel “Nonoy” Tagle Jr.
The Cardinal also recalled the serenity of his father’s final moments. Although he was in Rome, he had managed to speak with him by video call, pray with him and bless him. Reassured that the family would take care for his wife, Tatay was able to let go in peace. In his homily, this death was presented as a passage towards the promise of Paradise: in Christ, the Cardinal concluded, no one is ever alone, because all are held in the memory of God and welcomed into eternal communion.
After the Mass, Tatay Maning was accompanied to the family tomb in a moment reserved for his closest relatives. This was followed by a simple, family-style lunch open to everyone. In that atmosphere, one could sense the deep affection of the people for the Cardinal and his loved ones. Those present were the Cardinal’s mother, Mrs. Mila Tagle, “Nanay,” aged 96; his brother Manuel “Nonoy” Tagle Jr.; and numerous relatives, some of whom had also travelled from abroad. The day concluded with a more intimate moment reserved for the family.
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