Fr. Mateo Sanchez
"Tatay" to the Bukidnon Lumad
A Jesuit Missionary and “Tatay” to the Bukidnon Lumad
By Fr. Mars Tan SJ
Going up the gravel road, the motorbike slowly inches upward and both tires waggle from the heavy load of three riders. The third rider closest to the edge looks behind and signals us pointing to the thatched huts ahead. He seems excited as he is smiling and saying perhaps that soon we will finally reach one of his mission stations. Later after the long uphill ride, we enter the cleared spot at the center of the village and children come with big smiles to welcome us. Adults also come to meet us but congregate around our leader, Father Mat, who excitedly greets each one like a father to his many children.
Standing alone, I become quiet to notice the hard realities of life the local tribes have long endured in this forgotten corner of the earth. Then, my attention shifts to a group of happy carefree children running around at play while their parents gleefully exchange pleasantries with Father Mat. For many of them, life goes on despite its harshness. Incidentally, this is my first time to be in his village of the Umayamnon, one of Bukidnon’s indigenous people tribes, upon Father Mat’s invitation and with this proud claim that Jesuit mission work for the indigenous tribes is doing well up here.
At 85 years old, Father Mat’s energy is still amazing and a cause of envy to many younger Jesuits. The white-haired Robert Redford look-alike Jesuit does not seem to tire as he goes around directing retreats and ministering to his spiritual children. He admits though that at present his energy level is no longer as it was 20 years ago, which was a quite a long time! Fortunately, in my pastoral years after ordination I caught with Father Mat in Cabanglasan, Bukidnon, and this had afforded me an up-close look at this person and his work. By the way, twelve years back then I was novice (first and second years of formal Jesuit training) under him, one of the 34 novices the Jesuit Province biggest 2-year novitiate batch so far in recent year.
Father Mat’s long-awaited dream to serve the poorest in the mountains of Cabanglasan, Bukidnon, came to realization only after his 13-year stint as novice master and his 7-year stay in St. John Vianney Theological Seminary as spiritual director of priests and seminarians. Thus, Father Mat could be considered a “Johnny-come-lately” in the missionary work among the lumad in Bukidnon. This, however, he fully compensated with his wholehearted dedication of ministering to the spiritual and material needs of the indigenous people.
A Jesuit priest through and through, Father Mat had trudged far and deep into the jungles of the Umayamnon tribes to become a friend and a spiritual father to these beautiful people in the mountains. With palpable simplicity and bereft of pompous religiosity, he celebrated Mass for them, taught them prayers, baptized them, wedded them, and blessed them and their harvests. In times of their grief, he brought Christ to them through sacraments and his practical assistance to their needs.
Once, a lumad mother lost her child at birth and came to the parish to ask for a coffin for the dead baby. A carpenter was supposed to make the box but showed up late as I was delayed to inform him. At noon, as I approached the parish church from school, I heard the wailing of a woman, the mother, lamenting over the long waiting for the body to be inside the wooden box. Even from afar, I could hear her loud calling of the name of Father Mat imploring his help to expedite the work. It dawned on me what to them was Father Mat, their hope and intercessor for almost everything in life and death.
Apart from being a priest to them, Father Mat also acted like the elder among the tribal leaders, listening to their stories, counseling them and guiding them to govern well their constituents. He also helped them solve their conflicts to maintain peace in their land. Between warring groups, he acted as their wise mediator soliciting or donating animals as settlement to appease the aggrieved party. For them, Father Mat’s words were true as they were effective because in times of their needs and problems, he was always there to help theme. It was not a surprise that the Jesuit priest got a moniker “ang Amahan sa Kanunay’ng Panabang” in reference to the most well known and loved icon of the Blessed Mother, “Our Mother of Perpetual Help”.
Father Mat undertook two major mission engagements to address the lumad poverty: livelihood for the communities and education for the children. In both I had the chance to witness and help being his assistant parish priest for a couple of years. Financed by a foundation, the livelihood program involved abaca growing and production. To increase supply of abaca, Father Mat brought technical people to the mountains and new technologies were introduced to the communities. Lowland markets were also found to command better prices for the products. He also purchased an Isuzu Canter to haul the abaca hemp from the mountains to the city.
To address the lumad’s need for education, a culture-based pre-school program was set up in the communities where trained local women taught pre-school children. Then, some older children were provided with high school scholarships at the parochial school, Fr. Leoni Memorial School (formerly the Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe High School built by another Jesuit missionary, Fr. Ferrucio Leoni, also the founder of the parish) while residing at the parish convent. In my two years, it was a sight to see the long dining table fully filled on both sides with the resident priests, the parish staff, the JVP’s (volunteer teachers), and a dozen lumad scholars while those extra ones would gladly retreat to the kitchen closer to the food source and unnoticed by many. For Sunday marketing and grocery, an Elf truck had to be used to haul a week-long supply from the nearby city of Valencia. Practically, in almost all aspects of the life of the tribe, the indefatigable Father Mat was there to help them improve their living conditions and discover their value as persons and as a community.
The next day, we started our trek down the rugged mountain slopes. To avoid the bumpy ride and at times slippery trail, I opted to hike with some lumad scholars. On a much slower pace I have the luxury to enjoy the sceneries of lush vegetation all around me, and the cool breeze that touches my face and skin. Alone most of the long walk I am afforded time to reflect on our Jesuit missions among the indigenous people. What draws us Jesuits to do missions among them? What attracted Father Mat and other Jesuits to live and work with them? I now recall that in the novitiate I learned about Ignatian spirituality as being able to see God in the stories of people in the most banal and even harsh life’s situations. It is God who draws a Jesuit to participate in the stories of His people so that their stories may become part of the story of God’s salvation of His people. Truly essential in Ignatian ministry is not just about being able to preach and to teach but to engage the people in their life’s situations and their community’s struggles. It is God who sustains the Jesuit and deepens his engagement with the lumad and with Him. In some cases, the engagement leads to a deeper relationship, and the community’s bond with the missionary is formed. Thus to many, Father Mat is a Tatay to them…
Reproduced from the book, Mateo Sanchez SJ, Glimpses and Gratitude – Fr. Mars Tan SJ is incoming President of Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan. He was the Rector of the Jesuit Community of Xavier University to which the Jesuits of St. John Vianney Theological Seminary, Fr. Mat Sanchez SJ, belongs. Fr. Mars was a novice under Fr. Mat from 1987 to 1989.
Also reproduced from same book, Fr. Tony Moreno SJ, President of Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific (JCAP), wrote about Fr. Mat: In a nutshell, Father Mat’s priestly life is a journey of availability and mission. After his ordination to the order of presbyterate on 1 May 1968, he resumed his studies in MS Agricultural Botany at the University of the Philippines, Los Baños, Laguna. After his studies, he taught at the College of Agriculture, Xavier University until 1973. After his tertianship formation in 1974, he was an assistant to the Master of Novices in Sacred Heart Novitiate in Novaliches. He then left for Sadhana Institute of Spirituality, De Nobili College in Pune, India, where Fr. Anthony de Mello SJ, a well-known spiritual guru, mentored him. He was missioned back to Sacred Heart Novitiate in 1976 until 1989 to accompany and train Jesuit novices, and at one point he was Superior of the Jesuit community there. He was involved in pastoral work with urban poor settlers in Sapang Palay, San Jose del Monte City. After 14 years in the novitiate, he was missioned to St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in Cagayan de Oro to serve as Spiritual Father and Assistant Director of the Spiritual-Pastoral Formation Year among other assignments he did. In 1996, he became a missionary among the indigenous people while doing parish work in Cabanglasan, Bukidnon. He did his work with so much energy and joy in this tough mission. During his 14 years in Cabanglasan, at some point he was the Director of Fr. Leoni Memorial School. In 2010, the tireless missionary at 73 years old became the parish priest of St. Therese of the Child Jesus Parish in Miarayon, Talakag, Bukidnon, for four years. For a year in Miarayon, he was also the Director of the St. Therese High School. Like when he was in Cabanglasan, he was a pastor to the indigenous people – the most vulnerable sector in Philippine society. From 2013, he moved back to St. John Vianney Theological Seminary and from thereon functioned as Spiritual Director of the seminarians.
