Father Raul Caga and his melodic mission
ABLESSED Holy Week to all. In today’s special Music Day feature, we present a unique artist who combines faith and melody, Father Raul G. Caga, SVD. Born in Malimono, Surigao, Fr. Caga shares his journey as a priest and how he sings his way into the hearts of people.
Question: Father, in your childhood in Surigao, did you come from a religious family, and did you sing a lot? Describe to us your journey as a priest and in music?
Fr. Caga: Yes, my parents nurtured spirituality in our family. Every day, we prayed the rosary at 6:00 p.m. as a family, and it was a must. On Sundays, we never missed attending mass. My parents would round us up if we did not wake up on time to prepare for church.
Music is undeniably a powerful way to touch a person’s heart. When I was still a new priest assigned to a remote mission in Mindanao, I soon discovered that music was my entry point to people’s hearts. Before the start of the mass, I would practice songs with the congregation, something they hadn’t experienced before,
and in no time, church attendance swelled every Sunday.
Music was a part of family life. We had a piano at home, and three of my sisters studied formal piano lessons. I have a brother who is naturally gifted to play the piano by ear or “ouido.” Because he can play any song, singing became a favorite and spontaneous pastime. I also tried to study piano, but I did not persevere beyond the beginner’s phase. However, I discovered my passion was in singing as i would always find myself singing. All ten siblings sing, but my seminary years helped me develop my craft for singing, although I never went for formal voice lessons.
Q: How do you draw the line between your priestly duties and your being a music celebrity?
FC: My music ministry is at the service of my priestly ministry. I use it to evangelize — to proclaim God’s reign of love, peace, and solidarity. I discovered that chanting certain prayers of the mass helps people focus in prayer and brings solemnity to the liturgical celebration. I never consider myself a music celebrity in the way people normally understand it.
Q: What is the role of Curve Entertainment in your career as a singer? From the beginning of your musical career, did you set boundaries regarding your image as a priest and a performer?
FC: Curve Entertainment helps me promote and market my music, of which I’m grateful to Sir Ciso Chan and his team for their assistance. Yes, the boundaries between a priest and a performer are clear to me. As I said earlier, my music ministry is at the service of my priestly ministry. I resist friends’ prodding to sing always at mass, like in my homily, because it is not its place unless necessary. When I do a concert or am asked to sing at other occasions, it’s the performer in me that takes over.
Q: When you set out on the path of bringing God’s word through songs, did you have certain goals then and have you achieved them?
FC: I identified three goals for my music ministry: first, to evangelize; second, to promote vocations to the priesthood and religious life; third, to raise funds for the studies and training of our seminarians. Although it’s hard to measure success, the amount of encouraging and positive feedback has inspired me to continue producing songs. To date, I have recorded six music albums. One of which, “My Sweet Surrender,” was recognized as the Best Religious Album in 2012 by the Catholic Mass Media Awards. Two other albums, “Called by Love” and “gracious Mercy,” Became finalists. In the latter, I have a song, “Mercy and Compassion,” sung as a duet with His Eminence Cardinal Antonio Luis Tagle.
My hope is that my music ministry will inspire young men and women to consider seriously the priesthood and religious life. The sales of my music albums have grown, and I have done a lot of fundraising concerts, both locally and abroad, especially in Europe, the USA, and some Asian cities, to support the training and formation of our SVD candidates.
Q: How do people contact you and find out about your musical activities?
FC: The easiest way to reach me is through social media. My Facebook personal account is “HeartTunes with Fr. RC,” Instagram is @fraulcagasvd, TikTok is @frraulcagasvd, YouTube Channel is Fr. Raul G. Caga SVD, and I’m also on Spotify and Apple Music.