“We are called to discover and uncover the face of Jesus - hidden in every person [that] is scarred by poverty, indifference and injustice. We are invited to have the patience of the woodcarver in carefully removing the things that hide God's face." - Fr. Melanio Viuya, M.J., 2011
Melanio, is a name from the Greek word, melas (meaning black ink) -- a dark-skinned person. While he was with the Congolese, Fr. Melanio discovered what his name meant. It is an African tradition to give folks ordinary names, yet with a subtext in folk practices, to trick the spirits and to protect and spare these folks from diseases.
He lived in Congo for 7 years, with the Congregation of Immaculate Heart of Mary (CICM). To get to the Catholic Congolese, he travelled through rivers, forests and fields. He learned Lingala and French. He acquired his licentiate in Sacred Scriptures at the Biblicum in Rome. He learned English, Tagalog and Kapampangan in the Philippines, and in his travels abroad, he became familiar with French, Lingala, Italian, Hebrew, Spanish, German, Aramaic, Latin and Greek languages. He is by far the most fluent in multiple languages that I have met, and conversant on what each culture brings to his Kapampangan, Belgian, Congolese, Italian and American – influenced identities.
He heard confessions early in the morning, next to a trap for tse-tse flies (which caused the sleeping sickness disease, Tripanosomiasis). By sunset, he ministered to hundreds. He ate like the Congolese, who harvested their produce and caught their game, whether it's antelope, squirrels, deer, alligator, crocodile and snails as big as turtles and catfish from the rivers.
Caterpillars were pounded into cassava leaves, a paste now enriched with protein and iron. Cassava flour was mixed with corn flour. He witnessed how people made salt: banana peelings were gathered, dried, grass added, burned, filtered, then water evaporated until only the potassium salt remains. Salt was added to the cassava leaves that have been boiled and red palm oil was added. This became their prime source of food. Given the lack of iodine, the common ailment was goiter, including amoebiasis, tripanosomiasis and AIDS. He transported medicine for AIDS, which were purchased in Europe by CICM. He travelled 3-4 days, through rough roads and riverbanks, and various military checkpoints. Congo, at the time of his assignment, was in the midst of civil war. When stopped, he said the French word for AIDS, SIDA, and was quickly cleared. He learned how to get along with the Congolese, how to be in a large family of 12.
He grew up listening to his father, Melanio Sr. who gave recollections, retreats and cursillos. His mother, Luring Reyes, gathered them at 6pm to pray the Angelus, and then, they all sat down for dinner. She gathered all 12 of them, inside a mosquito net, and they prayed the rosary. Melanio, Sr. time and again read bible stories, creation stories, complete with pictures of Noah, Moses and the Exodus, until they all fell asleep.
When Student Catholic Action (SCA) came to his high school to recruit for members, Melanio Jr. joined. He became an altar server and a choir member. He visited the sick, the prisoners, and taught catechism. He went to Tarlac High School, and attended Mother of Good Counsel Seminary in Pampanga. He found it odd that his teacher did not call him during bible studies. So, he informed the priest that the bible was his bedtime reading. He became a friend of the professor. He went to the University of Assumption but, one summer, a priest corresponding with him through letters, Fr. James Desmedt, invited him to visit him in Baguio. This led to taking the entrance exam at Maryhurst Seminary. He got admitted and there, he graduated with a Bachelor’s of Arts in Philosophy. He went to Maryhill School of Theology where he earned Masteral degree in Theology. Then he was sent to Congo for seven years.
Fr. Melanio shared visiting a political prisoner, Fr. Pepito Bernardo, later released in 1982, during Dictator Marcos’ times, to the custody of Archbishop Oscar Cruz, then the ordinary of Pampanga. While in St. Louis in Baguio, Fr. Melanio joined rallies, similar to EDSA, to call for a return of democracy and the rule of law in the Philippines. Later, he was sent to pursue a licentiate in Sacred Scriptures in Rome. During his last year in Rome, he, together with 40 other missionaries - two Belgians, and one American, founded the Missionaries of Jesus (MJ) - looking for a new way of responding to the new challenges wrought by the changing times.
MJ’s first supporter was Archbishop Oscar Cruz, who handed Php 300,000, contributed by his friends. An artist, Rey Contreras sculpted 41 faces of Jesus to represent the founders. He doubled the sculptures, and these additional art pieces were sold to benefactors to form the initial seed monies of MJ. Many more faces of Jesus were sculpted for those who wanted to help the MJs financially. Supported by families, relatives, friends and donors all over the world, MJ has now built a seminary house, a dozen seminarians are in formation, and in two years, they await the ordination of the first priest of their seminary.
Fr. Melanio became part of the Missionaries of Jesus, a group of 38 Filipinos, 2 Belgians and an American. They found a common purpose in doing God’s mission of taking The Gospel to far-flung, underserved communities: the Mayan people in Guatemala, the indigenous people in Papua, New Guinea, Lumad in Davao, to Aetas, Igorot and Benguet communities in Baguio and the Mindanao communities, where Christians and Catholics are in the low 4%, while predominantly populated by Muslims. As I left, I asked for his blessing: "May you uncover the face of Jesus in her, continue to shower her with blessings, so she may grace everyone she meets with her vitality in life, vibrant energies."
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