IT IS Father's Day and we remember Baguio City's beloved pastor Fr. Florimund Carlu. Like a father to his children, his steadfast leadership teemed with the needed spiritual support and moral compass to the people of Baguio until his death on June 26, 1950 in Baguio City.
Fr Carlu's passing unexpectedly came months after the whole city celebrated his golden priestly anniversary which has been 60 years now since the people of Baguio mourned his death.
The "Smiling Chaplain," "Priest on Horseback," "Man of Everybody," "Spiritual Director," and "Builder of the Baguio Cathedral" are some of the monikers attributed to him by the Baguio folks.
On the occasion of Baguio City's centennial in 2009, the city government publicly honored Fr. Carlu as one of the "Builders of Baguio."
In memory of his 37 years of pastoral care from 1913 to 1950 for the people of Baguio, especially for being a pillar of strength during the dark days of World War II, a street that is leading to the magnificent Baguio Cathedral that he laboriously built in 1921 and completed in 1936, prominently bears his name today.
Fr. Carlu was born on September 11, 1875 in Belgium. He was ordained priest on December 23, 1899, and he made his vows as CICM on September 8, 1906.
Like Fr. Seraphin Devesse, the founder of Saint Louis University, Fr. Carlu was one of the nine original missionaries of the Congregation of Immaculate Heart of Mary or CICM who arrived in the Philippines on November 2, 1907.
Upon his arrival in the Philippines, Fr. Carlu went to Cervantes and worked there until 1909. Then, he was appointed parish priest of Tagudin, Ilocos Sur where he won the hearts of the people with his hard work, genuine friendship and knowledge in medicine. He also opened schools for the religious education of his followers.
On October 5, 1913 Fr. Carlu arrived in Baguio City and succeeded Fr. Devesse as the pastor of Baguio and took over the wooden churches and schools that the latter built. As the new parish priest of Baguio, he continued the administration of the two small churches and the two mission schools.
The times were changing and Baguio was developing as a premier city and a tourist destination. Fr. Carlu saw the need to build a large and more permanent church to accommodate the growing number of faithful. He also wanted an expanded school system to respond to the increasing population and to provide the needed catechesis to the young people of the city.
He also proved himself to be a great leader of social action groups such as organizing Catholic youth movements in Baguio City. Known for his magnetic personality, Fr Carlu easily endeared himself to the youth and became actively involved in youth organizations.
Also in 1913, the Missionary Canonesses of Saint Augustine (now known as the ICM Sisters), armed with their tested school administration experience and skill, came to Baguio to help manage the two mission schools that Fr. Carlu took over from Fr. Devesse.
The Canonesses foundress Marie-Louise de Meester and her fellow Sisters previously worked with Fr. Carlu in Tagudin. In 1915 the mission schools were formally named Saint Louis, in honor of Saint Aloysius of Gonzaga, the patron saint of young people.
The close collaboration between Fr. Carlu and his CICM successors together with the ICM Sisters over the years significantly saw its clearest expression in the expansion and administration of Saint Louis Schools in Baguio and in the Mountain Provinces. A living testament to this strong partnership is the well-established Saint Louis University. (Jeffrey Centeno)