Farewell to Fr. Do

It came as a shock to everyone who knew Fr. Fernando Suarez. He would’ve turned 53 tomorrow but the Lord took him away last Tuesday afternoon. Fr. Do departed playing the sport he loved. He was on his third straight-to-8 singles one-setter against Fr. Paulus of Indonesia when he suffered a massive heart attack on the indoor tennis court at the Alabang Country Club.

Philippine Tennis Academy’s Rommie Chan was with Fr. Do before his second singles one-setter at 11:30 in the morning and he seemed fine. Tennis coach Jun Toledo said he walked up to Fr. Do to congratulate him for winning, 8-1, in his first match that day. “We were talking about how happy he was to have this tournament that fosters camaraderie among his fellow priests,” recalled Rommie.

In the last 10 years, Fr. Do celebrated his birthday with a tennis tournament involving at least 100 priests and guest players from the national ranks. Last Tuesday marked the first day of this year’s three-day Fr. Suarez Cup. Rommie said a highlight of the friendly competition will be a doubles tournament featuring some of the country’s top players, including Jeson Patrombon and A. J. Lim, teaming up with priests.

“Now that Fr. Do is gone, we will continue his mission to bring his confreres closer through his annual tennis tournament for priests,” said Rommie. “It was full cycle near his birthday, after his vindication, enjoying his favorite sport. After interceding on behalf of many sick people to be healed, God has called him to heaven. His passage came on the day when the Gospel was about two major healings with the daughter of Jairus and the woman with hemorrhage. And he died about 3 p.m., also when Jesus died on the cross. Good time, good way to go.”

Rommie referred to Fr. Do’s vindication after the Vatican cleared him of an accusation of sexual abuse of minors in a letter dated last Dec. 13. Most Rev. Giacomo Morandi, secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and Titular Archbishop of Cerveteri, instructed Most. Rev. Antonio Tobias, Judicial Vicar of the National Tribunal of Appeals of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, to notify Fr. Do of the Vatican’s decision. Bishop Tobias’ decree of notification was issued last Jan. 6. The National Tribunal submitted the case involving Fr. Do to Rome in May last year.

Curiously, the minors – two altar boys – who accused Fr. Do later recanted in writing and admitted they were coerced into making up the charges by unscrupulous detractors. The accusation had cast doubt on Fr. Do’s credibility and sanctity for six years before the Vatican stepped in.

When Taal Volcano recently erupted, Fr. Do’s family was put in danger and had to evacuate from Barangay Butong. Fr. Do quietly did his part in gathering thousands of food packs to distribute to evacuees who escaped the volcano’s rage. Rommie said Fr. Do’s wake is at Heritage and the plan is to transport his remains to Butong on his birthday tomorrow, depending on the Taal situation.

Rommie said after collapsing on the court, Fr. Do was rushed to the nearby Asian Hospital where doctors tried to revive him for about 45 minutes but to no avail. A report from the Alabang Country Club said CPR was administered on the court and a nurse also did it on the way to the hospital. Dr. Marc Reyes attended to Fr. Do at the Asian Hospital emergency room.

Fr. Do, who was named one of the country’s Outstanding Young Men for religious service in awarding rites at Malacañang in 2007, wasn’t just into tennis but was also a boxing fan. “I’ve been a boxing fan since I was a boy,” he once said. “I remember when I was eight, my grandfather bought a TV just to watch the Thrilla in Manila in 1975. My boxing heroes growing up were the big heavyweights and Dodie Boy Peñalosa.” Fr. Do said he never failed to say a special prayer for Manny Pacquiao whenever he fought. Before Pacquiao left Manila to battle Oscar de la Hoya in Las Vegas in 2008, Fr. Do prayed over him in a private meeting in a Makati hotel. Pacquiao won by a technical knockout when De la Hoya surrendered on his stool before the start of the ninth round.

Fr. Do was the oldest of four children born to Cervando, a tricycle driver and Azucena, a seamstress. He attended public school then earned a chemical engineering degree at Adamson. In 1995, he left for Canada and two years later, joined the Companions of the Cross, a community of priests and seminarians in Ottawa. In 2002, he was ordained at the age of 35. Fr. Do later established his own order Missionaries of Mary Mother of the Poor and set up a seminary in Ilin Island, Occidental Mindoro. He became widely popular in the Philippines as a healing priest, celebrating Holy Mass capped by touching the forehead of hundreds, sometimes thousands, of devotees lined up for “slaying.” Fr. Do opened his doors to the faithful, rich or poor, and visited the sick in their homes and hospitals all over the country. Never did he take credit for healing anyone, saying he was only God’s instrument. His humanity was legendary. Fr. Do wasn’t only a healer of bodies but a healer of souls. He was envied, criticized and unfairly chastised but never took a step back in his ministry, offering it all up to God.

Fr. Do’s believers will continue the work that he initiated. We’ll never see his two-fisted backhand again. We’ll never enjoy his smile again. We’ll never pray with him again. But Fr. Do will forever live in the hearts of those who share in his faith in God, his love for Mother Mary and his commitment to the poor.