BELOVED Filipino Redemptorist priest Amado Picardal, who was known for his anti-corruption and anti-rights abuses initiatives in the country, passed away, his religious order announced on Wednesday, May 29, 2024. He was 69.
“With great sadness, I announce the passing of our dear confrere, Fr. Amado ‘Picx’ Picardal, CSsR today, May 29, 2024, the day of his religious profession,” said Rev. Fr. Edilberto Cepe, the provincial superior of Redemptorist Province of Cebu.
“Fr. Picx was a brilliant and courageous missionary. He was a passionate advocate of peace and social justice and a professor of theology who has touched and transformed the lives of many. May the light and joy that he left this world radiate through us as we continue to become beacons of truth and social transformation,” Cepe wrote on their official Facebook page.
He enjoined the faithful to pray “for his eternal repose as he now finally joins our Redeemer.”
Picardal, who lived a hermit life following his retirement, died on the same day he was celebrating his 47th anniversary of his “religious profession of the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience as a Redemptorist.”
He was found lifeless near the retreat house garden, just a few steps away from his hermitage in the mountain of Busay, overlooking the Cebu City metropolis of the central Philippines around 1 p.m. of May 29.
Before his death due to cardiac arrest, Picardal was able to pen a poem entitled “A Hermit's Companion” on his Facebook page, which became his platform to the faithful in the outside world.
“This took place four years before my presbyteral ordination (April 24, 1981). Three more years to go before my golden jubilee of profession. I thank the Lord for the grace and strength to remain faithful to the solemn promise I made through the years,” he said.
“I am celebrating this in silence and solitude with my dog,” added Picardal, as he wrote the poem for his pet, Bruno.
Parts of the poem are foreboding, albeit reflective in mood.
“I hope, companion in my solitude, that you'll always be with me till the end of our days. Whoever will go first, I know one of us won't be consoled while gazing at the grave.
“Bruno, I'm grateful for your presence in the twilight of my life as I prepare for my final journey to eternity to meet face to face the One I love to whom I sacrificed my whole life.
“I hope dogs are also welcome in the heavenly home,” an excerpt of Picardal’s poem reads.
AI-aficionado, digital spiritual guru
Days before his death, Picardal expressed his newfound joy and enthusiasm in experimenting with the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the church ministry.
He even took time to share AI-generated Gospel reflections in his study of the Bible on social media, and urged the public and other Church workers to try AI.
In the last interview with this writer on May 15, Picardal, who was the former executive secretary of Basic Ecclesial Communities under the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, urged the faithful to “learn to enjoy the benefits it brings but also be aware of the risks and dangers it brings.”
“AI can help the priest or deacon in preparing his homily. AI chatbot can come up with commentaries and reflections on the readings of the Mass. It can also suggest ideas or themes that may focus on. However, he should not preach a homily generated by AI which is usually based on homilies posted by other priests in the internet. Each homily should be based on the particular local context of the hearers and address their situation and concerns,” Picardal suggested in his May 16 post online.
Despite his old age, Picardal continued to write spiritual and Gospel-related works for his personal blog site and the CBCP bi-monthly news publication called The Monitor, along with entertaining media interviews online.
Tributes, social contributions
New-York based Human Rights Watch was generous in recollecting the contributions of Picardal in promoting human rights in the Philippines since the Martial Law period of the late Ferdinand Marcos Sr., up to the “bloody drug war” of then firebrand President Rodrigo Duterte.
“Picardal helped activists, labor leaders, Indigenous peoples, and other victims of rights abuses for decades. During the Ferdinand Marcos Sr. dictatorship, he was arrested, jailed, and tortured for his work. Aside from being a prolific writer, blogger, columnist, and poet (he posted a poem online hours before his death), Picardal also walked, ran, and biked across the Philippines and Europe to bring attention to human rights,” wrote former Filipino journalist and now HRW senior researcher Carlos Conde on May 30.
“After accusing Duterte of serious crimes, Picardal said his life was in danger, forcing him briefly into exile abroad before he returned to the Philippines in 2018 to build his hermitage in the mountains of Cebu, where he lived until his death,” Conde added.
Despite receiving death threats for his crusading works, Picardal “never wavered in this conviction.”
“He will be remembered as a champion of human rights both in the Philippines and around the world,” said Conde, who also visited Picardal during his hermitage life in 2022.
CBCP’s Episcopal Commission of Basic Ecclesial Communities also expressed sadness over Picardal’s passing.
“We remember him not only for his leadership but also for his unwavering faith and passion for social justice. May his spirit continue to inspire us to build a more just and loving world,” the commission said in a statement.
Redemptorist Brother Karl Gaspar also recalled the life and works of Picardal in a special tribute for his beloved Redemptorist missionary brother.
“Clearly, he took his missionary vocation very seriously. He lived up to the challenges of a highly committed Redemptorist, ready to take on any tasks no matter how difficult. In his spare time, he wrote poetry and shared these with me,” Gaspar wrote in his tribute article on May 29 for Mindanews publication.
“I found them quite impressive, so I took the initiative to collate them together into a publication and published a few copies. We even had a launch of this booklet at the parish hall. He also played a number of musical instruments, including guitar, harmonica and the piano,” he added.
Early life
Fr. Amado Picardal, or popularly known as Fr. Picx, was born on October 6, 1954 in Iligan City, Mindanao.
An eldest among eight siblings, Picardal studied AB Philosophy at the University of San Carlos in Cebu from 1971 to 1975.
When Martial Law broke out, Picardal got himself into student activism and was arrested, tortured and imprisoned for seven months a year after Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law in 1972.
After completing his college degree, he lived among the poor for six months in a slum area in Cebu and was trained as community organizer, Picardal wrote in his biography online.
He became a Redemptorist in 1977 and was ordained priest in 1981 after completing his theological studies at the St. Francis Regional Major Seminary in Davao City.
His last mission assignment was in San Fernando, Bukidnon where he helped in organizing and mobilizing communities against the logging companies in 1987-1988.
“As a result of our efforts, the government imposed a total log ban in the province since 1989,” Picardal said.
In August 1989, Picardal began his higher studies at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley. He joined the Pax Christi, a Catholic Peace movement, in 1990.
In 1991, after he got his licentiate in theology, Picardal went to Rome to finish his studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University.
He earned his doctorate in theology (Magna cum laude) with his dissertation titled “An Ecclesiological Perspective of the Basic Ecclesial Communities in the Philippines” in the year 1995.
From May 1995 to March 2011, Picardal returned to Davao, as professor and dean of academic studies at the St. Alphonsus' Theologate (later renamed St. Alphonsus' Theological & Mission Institute).
Aside from involving himself in teaching theology for Redemptorists in the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Indonesia and also for other religious communities in Davao, he also became a parochial vicar, acting parish priest, and peace advocate for Christian-Muslim dialogue.
In Davao City, which was also the political turf of then-mayor-turned-president Rodrigo Duterte, Picardal became part of the council of leaders of the Coalition Against Summary Execution.
Aside from his human rights causes, Picardal was also pro-environment. He was eventually kwon the “cycling priest of the Philippines.” In 2000, he rode his bicycle for peace advocacy across the country (from Davao to Ilocos Norte) covering 2,083 kilometers.
He also led the annual bike for peace in Davao during the Mindanao Week of Peace. He even biked around Israel in 2005 during his sabbatical leave.
In 2006 and 2008, he biked again “for life and peace” around Mindanao for three weeks and around the Philippines (Davao to Aparri and back to Davao) covering more than 5,000 kilometers in 56 days.
In 2009, he returned to his other passion, which is marathon. During the 2010 Holy Week, Picardal ran and walked across Mindanao, covering around 400 kilometers in nine days.
In July-August 2010, he did the same on the Camino de Santiago, from the French Pyrenees across the North of Spain up Santiago de Compostela, covering around 800 kilometers in 27 days. He did it barefoot.
In April to May 2011, he ran and walked across the Philippines covering 2,060 kilometers in 57 days. In December 2014, he ventured into climate cycling ride from Manila to Tacloban City, Davao, Cagayan and Iligan in 14 days covering over 1,800 kilometers.
Aside from being a poet and a player of flute, violin, guitar and harmonica, Picardal also composed some songs for liturgy and evangelization seminars.
As a mountain climber, he was able to climb Mt. Apo, the Philippines’ highest mountain with an elevation of 2,954 meters (9,692 feet) above sea level, seven times.
Since June 2011, Picardal became a full-time executive secretary of CBCP Episcopal Committee on Basic Ecclesial Communities, while celebrating masses, doing clergy retreats, and writing several books.
He retired in 2018 for his “safety” after advocating against Duterte’s “drug war” and helping in the preparation for a case in the International Criminal Court for the erstwhile president.
“I am now a senior citizen and I look forward to the next phase of my life (the last phase) living as a hermit in the mountain of Busay,” Picardal wrote of his retirement in 2018.
“Sometimes we are too active, we forget the contemplative part. We think everything depends on us. Even a life of prayer contributes to the transformation of society, especially when you realize you're up against evil forces,” he told SunStar Philippines in a May 2018 interview. (Ronald O. Reyes/SunStar Philippines)