VIDAL REMEMBERED FONDLY BY AIDES
Priests, workers say they are thankful for the years they have shared with the late prelate.
A jolly but stern boss.
This was how the subordinates and colleagues of the late Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal remembered him.
Cebu Auxiliary Bishop Dennis Villarojo, who served as Cardinal Vidal’s secretary for four years, said that serving the late prelate during his younger years was one of his memorable experiences.
Villarojo described Vidal as a stern boss, but one who apologized after he got mad.
“When Cardinal Vidal gets angry, it takes the spirit out of you. But then one thing about him is that when he knew that my mistake was honest and not out of caprice, he came back, knocked on my door and said, ‘I’m sorry,’” Villarojo said.
Cebu Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Emilio Bataclan said that Cardinal Vidal was not only a stern boss but also a comedian who saw the positive in things.
Bataclan recalled when Vidal was celebrating a mass in Barangay Tanke, Talisay City and a deranged man came up and punched the prelate and Msgr. Achilles Dakay.
Vidal was hospitalized because of the incident.
When Bataclan visited and asked him how he was doing, Cardinal Vidal answered: “Atoato lang ni ha. Pero naayo akong sinus. ( Just between the two of us, it healed my sinusitis).”
For his employees, Cardinal Vidal was not only their boss but a constant friend and father.
Marlon Leviste, 43, told SunStar Cebu that he never regretted being hired by Vidal as his driver.
Leviste, who worked for Vidal for 27 years, said the late prelate often called him “boss” whenever he is inside the car.
“When I was still young, he served as my second father. He gives me advice every time I made mistakes,” he added.
Mariano Baquero, 43, one of Vidal’s backup drivers, said the prelate always treated his staff like a part of his family.
Baquero, who was 18 when he started working for Vidal, said he often remembers the latter asking him about his children.
Vidal would also help him when his family members got sick, he added.
As for Fr. Expedito Torrevillas, one of Vidal’s former master of ceremonies, he said he will always remember Vidal for reforming him in his younger years.
Torrevillas, who is the parish priest of Cristo Rey Parish in Barangay Bulak, Dumanjug, said that before he became a priest, he was a rebel and had been in and out of the seminary.
But Torrevillas said Vidal chose him as one of his emcees and his life gradually changed, which led him to his priesthood.
Torrevillas said that Cardinal Vidal inspired him to become closer to the parishes he is assigned, and that he’ll try to always keep the cardinal in mind.
“I can repay Cardinal Vidal by being faithful and serious in serving the people,” he said. /