Description
Written by Lin Acacio-Flores
Illustrated by Jomike Tejido
Eduardo Hontiveros was the sixth child of Vicenta Pardo and Jose Hontiveros, born on December 20, 1923, in Molo, Iloilo City, Philippines. He studied at the Capiz Elementary School and the Ateneo de Manila, where he finished high school in 1939. He entered the San Jose Seminary and started the lengthy studies for priesthood. He took his first vows at the Sacred Heart Novitiate in Novaliches in 1947, where he finished his studies in philosophy. At the Ateneo de Zamboanga, he taught religion, Latin and English and was moderator for the Choir String Band. It was then that his kindly, fatherly manner of teaching started to be appreciated. Thus the affectionate nickname given him, “Father Honti.” In 1951, he studied more theology in the United States and was ordained by Francis Cardinal Spellman in 1954.
In 1965, the bishops, convening in Rome for the Second Vatican Council, called for a more understandable manner of conducting church rituals, like saying the mass, not in Latin as it had always been, but in the language of the parishioners. This included church music. Even before that, Father Honti had already composed hymns in Tagalog which were sung in the parish churches near Ateneo in Loyola Heights. If the choir members (usually not professional singers) couldn’t reach certain notes or found some phrases too difficult, he would readily strike them out and change them. His simple, straight-from-the-heart music spread out to all Catholic churches in the Philippines. His Filipino “Ama Namin (Our Father)” became one of the favorite songs sung by the crowds rallying at the main thoroughfare of EDSA.
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copyright © 2008
ISBN: 978-971-569-661-6
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