REST IN PEACE. In a horse-drawn carriage, the cremated remains of Archbishop Oscar Cruz are transferred from Saint John the Evangelist Cathedral to the adjacent Santuario de San Juan Evangelista in Dagupan City on August 28, 2020. The Santuario de San Juan Evangelista is his final resting place. (Photo by Liwayway Yparraguirre)
DAGUPAN CITY – Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz of Lingayen-Dagupan diocese was laid to rest on Friday morning at the Santuario de San Juan Evangelista here.
Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, who officiated the funeral mass, described Cruz as “joyful, funny, and witty, sometimes sarcastic”.
Villegas said Cruz championed social justice and the rights of people.
“He was a doctor of law. A doctor is an authoritative teacher whose proficiency is unquestionable, and whose counsel is sought and hailed. He taught us the path of justice and righteousness; to be true to the truth; he taught us to challenge our Goliaths in the name of the Lord Almighty," he said.
Villegas said Cruz was a doctor of canon law thus his legal opinion was valued, adding he was a “teacher of goodness; a saint, but not the usual one”.
Present at the funeral were the family and friends of Cruz and priests from the Lingayen-Dagupan Archdiocese.
At the Santuario, only the immediate family and priests were allowed inside to adhere to the protocol on social distancing.
Cruz died at 85 years old on August 26 at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City.
His cremated remains were brought to Saint John the Evangelist Cathedral here.
He was a native of the City of Balanga.
He served at the Lingayen-Dagupan Archdiocese from 1991 to 2009. (PNA)
