MANILA — Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle invoked his father’s childhood wounds from World War II in a forceful appeal Thursday for an end to wars and violence that leave lasting scars on families and communities.
“In the name of Tatay Maning: Please, no more wars. No more widows — women who are made widows without any sense. Please, no more violence that will create wounded young people,” Tagle said during his father’s funeral Mass at Imus Cathedral in Cavite, south of Manila.
Manuel “Tatay Maning” Tagle Sr. was 14 when an air raid struck his neighborhood during the war, killing his father and injuring him. He survived with shrapnel lodged in his body for the rest of his life.
“He bore in his body, in his mind, in his memory, the horrors of war,” Tagle said in his homily.
The pro-prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization said his father’s story showed that war wounds extend far beyond the battlefield, affecting people, families and entire communities for generations.
Tagle said his father also survived because people around him offered support during the war, a lesson he connected to the importance of human relationships.
“Life is in communion. Life is in relationship with God, with brothers and sisters, with the whole of society, with the whole of creation. That’s where we find life,” he said.
Manuel Sr. died Sept. 6 at 96, days after he and his wife, Milagros, marked their 70th wedding anniversary on Aug. 26.
READ: Cardinal Tagle’s father dies at 96
Tagle recalled his father’s quiet service to others, including bringing Holy Communion to the sick as a Eucharistic minister and helping young people pursue education, including blind students.
He said those acts showed a life centered on service and connection, themes that also shaped his reflection on death and Christian hope.
“Others may forget you, but with God remembering you, time is healed by eternal memory,” Tagle said.
Twelve bishops, including Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan and papal nuncio Archbishop Charles Brown concelebrated the funeral Mass with more than 100 priests.
READ: Pope Leo XIV consoles Cardinal Tagle after father’s death
