Bishop Leopoldo Tumulak of the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines who died of complications due to pancreatic cancer on Saturday will be laid to rest inside the Shrine of St. Therese in Pasay City.
Tumulak’s interment will be held at 9 a.m. on Thursday while his remains will no longer be brought to his hometown in Cebu and Bohol where he was the Bishop of the Diocese of Tagbilaran for 13 years.
The bishop who had jurisdiction over all military, police and coast guard personnel, their dependents, and the civilian employees of all government security branches will be given full military honors.
His burial site which he requested prior to his death, the Shrine of St. Therese, is a diocesan shrine under the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines.
Tumulak who was 72 years old when he passed away was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer early this year, according to the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).
At the time of his death, Tumulak was also serving as chairman of the Episcopal Commission on Prison Pastoral Care (ECPPC) of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.
“It is a sad day for the jail and prison ministry because we lost not only a chair in our commission but one who truly is a father to us all,” said Rodolfo Diamante, ECPPC executive secretary.
“Up to his last minute he wanted to spend his remaining days with his flock and spent quality time with them. His life of service will be etched in our hearts. We will never forget him,” he added.
The bishop also served as the first chairman of the bishops’ Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church from 1996 to 2005.
In 2000, Pope John Paul II appointed him as a Consultor to the Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church, a position he held until 2005.
Prior to his reassignment in Metro Manila, Tumulak was the bishop of the Diocese of Tagbilaran from 1992 until 2005.
He was ordained priest on March 30, 1971 and consecrated a bishop on January 12, 1987 under Cardinal Vidal.
The bishop’s wake is also being held at the Shrine of St. Therese. (With a report from Allen Doydora)