Historical and biographical review of some of the main figures of the Province of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine of the Order of Augustinian Recollects from its foundation to the present day.
The Last Two Spanish Bishops in the Philippines
Indeed, both bishops were Augustinian Recollects. It is not simply that they were the last and penultimate prelates; rather, they were two Recollects who, in different periods, were considered the last Spanish bishop. Both were born in the province of La Rioja, Spain, near the Monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla. However, one of them, Andrés Ferrero, died in Spain in 1909, while the other, Gregorio Espiga, passed away in Manila in 1997.
Ferrero, somewhat younger than his cousin Mauricio, was born in Arnedo in 1846 and shared the same novitiate with Saint Ezekiel Moreno. After several years as a teacher in Spain, he travelled to the Philippines in 1873. There, he held various important positions, although he favoured his ministry in the town of Pontevedra in Negros Occidental, where he was in charge of the parish for seventeen years.
He was elected prior provincial for the 1894-1897 triennium, and on March 14, 1898, he was appointed bishop of Jaro in Iloilo. The Revolution had erupted, and he faced difficulties traveling to Manila for his episcopal ordination at the archbishop’s palace in the capital, which took place almost clandestinely on November 13, 1898.
Following the war with the United States, Spain relinquished her rule in the Philippines, and the Spanish bishops occupying the five diocesan sees tendered their resignations. Within a few months, all had returned to Spain.
Despite the sensitive atmosphere, Ferrero continued serving as bishop for five years. On October 27, 1903, with all the bells of Manila tolling and a long procession of carriages, Bishop Ferrero departed from the Recollect convent of Intramuros in an open carriage en route to the ship.
In Spain, he retired to the convent in Marcilla, where he had been a student of theology and later a distinguished professor. He died there on December 22, 1909, and was buried in the same place.
After Ferrero, there would be no other Spanish bishops in the ordinary Philippine dioceses, except those assigned to mission territories.
One such individual was Gregorio Espiga, born in Santo Domingo de la Calzada (La Rioja) in 1912. During the Second Republic in Spain, he trained at Saint Austin’s Priory in Ivybridge (Devon, England), residing there from 1932 to 1935, where he was also ordained as a priest.
His assignment in the Philippines was in San Carlos, Negros Occidental (1937-1939; 1941-1945; 1946-1952). During the Second World War, he was notable for the pastoral assistance he provided to those living in the mountains out of fear of the Japanese troops; he also aided the guerrillas fighting the Japanese invaders, earning him the nickname Guerilyang Pari or Guerrilla Padre.
In 1953, he was named apostolic prefect of Palawan. He was consecrated as bishop of the newly established Apostolic Vicariate in 1955 and served in the episcopal see until 1987 when he retired and took up residence at San Sebastian Convent in Manila. He died ten years later on April 15, 1997, at the age of 84.
Strictly speaking, he was not the last Spanish bishop of the modern era. That title was bestowed upon him by Cardinal Jaime Sin (1928-2005), Archbishop of Manila.
The cardinal specifically addressed the prior of San Sebastian, saying: “You do not invite me to the funeral; I will invite myself. I shall preside over it. It shall be in Spanish.”
And so it was. On April 19, Cardinal Sin presided over the funeral mass, conducted entirely in Spanish. He delivered the eulogy, concluding with:
Venerable Bishop Espiga: Do you hear me? I am calling you for the last time, not to make jokes or to seek your advice, but to offer my deepest gratitude from the remotest corner of my heart. I am the last of your friends… You have fulfilled your duties admirably. Rest now, proud and satisfied… Contemplating the distance of the future, dreaming of the golden harvest, in the very bountiful harvest the Church that you have loved with your whole soul will have to gather.
