Spanish Claretian priest Fr. Bernardo Blanco dies, 97

Spanish missionary Fr. Bernardo Blanco, who escaped abduction in Basilan in 1993, died Monday in Quezon City.

In a social media post, the Claretian Missionaries announced Blanco’s passing at the Diliman Doctors Hospital in Quezon City. He was 97 years old.

“We humbly ask you to remember him in your prayers,” the congregation said.

Blanco was born in November 1927 in Zamora, Spain.

At 18, he entered the Claretian Missionaries in September 1946 and was ordained a Claretian priest in 1953.

For his first missionary assignment, Blanco was assigned to Equatorial Guinea in Africa, where he engaged in pastoral ministry and the formation of seminarians in Banapá for 22 years.

Equatorial Guinea underwent political turmoil in 1968, which led to a dictatorship that restricted religious practices.

In 1976, Blanco and 52 other foreign priests and 200 foreign nuns were expelled from the country.

After returning to Spain, Blanco was assigned to Bolong, Zamboanga City and arrived in the Philippines in 1977.

He was then assigned to the Claretian Missions in Basilan, where he served as the parish priest of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Maluso.

In March 1993, extremists affiliated with the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf kidnapped Blanco, where he endured 49 days in captivity before escaping.

“His resilience and faith during this ordeal were widely acknowledged,” the congregation said.

In 1994, Blanco was appointed Spiritual Director at the Claretian Seminary in Quezon City and later served as the local superior then the spiritual director of Claret Theology.

He also contributed to the spiritual formation of Claretian institutions in Quezon City while also serving as spiritual director for several women’s religious communities.

“Fr. Bernardo Blanco, CMF, faced expulsion and abduction, yet he remained unwavering in his missionary commitment,” the congregation said.

“His deep devotion to the Blessed Mother gave him the fortitude necessary to navigate the numerous challenges he faced throughout his life, it added. — Mariel Celine Serquiña/BAP, GMA Integrated News