Obituary of +Fray Cristituto Amorganda Palomar, OAR (October 30, 1960 – August 2, 2025)

Prot. SEM 103/25
5 August 2025

TO ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE AUGUSTINIAN RECOLLECT FAMILY

“How great shall be that felicity, which shall be tainted with no evil, which shall lack no good, and which shall afford leisure for the praises of God, who shall be all in all.”
-St. Augustine (De Civitate Dei, Chapter 30)

Dear brothers and sisters,

It is with deep sorrow that I announce the passing of our beloved brother in Christ, +FRAY CRISTITUTO AMORGANDA PALOMAR, OAR. A member of the Augustinian Recollect Province of St. Ezekiel Moreno, he returned to our Heavenly Father on 2 August 2025, at 1:03 AM, at the age of 64. After many weeks and days of hospitalization and medical interventions, Fray Palomar was hospitalized at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig City for the last time on 28 July 2025, and passed away five days later from pneumonia with acute kidney injury. He had also been battling advanced prostate cancer. Before his death, Fray Palomar received the last Sacraments. While we grieve his loss, we take comfort in the Christian hope of eternal life.

Fray Cristituto “Cris” Palomar was born on 30 October 1960, in Bindoy, Negros Oriental, the third of seven children to Mr. Salvador and Mrs. Eugenia A. Palomar. His early education took place at Bindoy Central Elementary School and various high schools before he entered the Colegio de Santo Tomas in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, as a minor seminarian, completing his high school education in 1978. Fray Cris then earned a Bachelor of Arts in Classical Philosophy from Seminario Mayor-Recoletos in Baguio City in 1982.

His journey as an Augustinian Recollect religious started on 11 June 1983, when he professed the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience, in Seminario Mayor-Recoletos. He then traveled to Marcilla, Navarra, Spain, where he and his batchmates pursued theological studies from 1983 to 1987. During this time, Fray Cris professed his solemn vows on 18 October 1986 and was ordained a deacon on 23 November 1986.

Following the tradition for Augustinian Recollect deacons to be ordained priests in their home country, Fray Cris was ordained into the priesthood on 3 October 1987. The ceremony was held at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish Church in Cebu City by the Most Rev. Manuel Salvador, DD, Auxiliary Bishop of Cebu.

For nearly a third of his life as an Augustinian Recollect religious, Father Cris dedicated himself to the formation apostolate of the Order, guiding young men aspiring to the priesthood. His priestly ministry began at Colegio de Santo Tomas-Recoletos in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, where he served as Prefect of Discipline and Religion Teacher from 1987 to 1992.

In 1992, Father Cris began a new mission at Casiciaco Recoletos Seminary (CaReS) in Baguio City, where he served as National Vocation Director until 2003. This period became known as the “Palomarian Era,” celebrated for its exceptional success in vocation ministry. He became one of the longest-serving National Vocation Directors in the province’s history, recruiting more than 300 new seminarians during his tenure. A good number of these seminarians would go on to become religious brothers and priests, serving not only the Order but also various dioceses.

Inspired by World Youth Day (WYD) in Manila in January 1995, Father Cris launched the CaReS Youth Day (CYD) in December of that year. The event brought together youth from schools affiliated with the Augustinian Recollects, both from the OAR and AR schools, and it laid the foundation for the Recollect Augustinian Youth (RAY), a new organization designed to foster spiritual growth and vocational discernment for the youth. From CYD, the RAY Summit (RAYS) was organized, thanks to the inspiration given by Father Cris.

Another significant contribution of Father Cris was the establishment of the CaReS Family Apostolate on 12 December 1999, on the eve of the Great Jubilee of 2000. This organization’s mission was to provide foster parenting for seminarians, underscoring the crucial role of the family as the “seedbed” of vocation to priestly and religious life.

Even during his assignments in the educational apostolate, Father Cris remained deeply involved in the formation apostolate. From 2003 to 2012, he served as Campus Ministry Director of San Sebastian College-Recoletos Manila. There were also years when he served as School Director of San Sebastian College-Recoletos Canlubang. During this term, he was also a member of the Responsible Team for the Mes de Preparación (2004 and 2007) and an Extraordinary Confessor for formands at the St. Ezekiel Moreno Novitiate-Recoletos in Antipolo City.

In 2005, he became the Luzon Coordinator for the Live-Out Plan of Formation (LOPF), and in 2006, he was appointed a member of the Executive Committee of the Secretariat of Spirituality. These roles highlighted his commitment to promoting the core values of the Order and promoting vocations to the religious and priestly life.

In 2008, Father Cris and three of his fellow priests commemorated their silver anniversary in religious life with a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. This journey deepened their love for Jesus and the Church, renewing their passion for their calling. Four years later, in 2012, he celebrated his 25th anniversary as a priest with a special mission of evangelization in Milpitas, California. The funds raised from this trip were used to construct church structures in Inagawan, Puerto Princesa, and on Casian Island, Palawan.

After his service at Recoletos de Manila, Father Cris was appointed Vice-Prior and later elected President of San Sebastian College-Recoletos de Cavite. A major achievement during his presidency was the approval of the Revised Administrative Manual in 2014. The following year, in 2015, he chaired the Executive Committee for the 400th anniversary of the Augustinian Recollect presence in Cavite, a testament to his trusted leadership and organizational skills.

In 2018, Father Cris was appointed Vice-Prior of the Recollect community at the University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos in Bacolod City. It was here that the first signs of his declining health appeared. Despite this, he continued his duties without complaint, even adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic by celebrating daily Mass online for students.

From 2022 to 2025, his responsibilities included serving as the community’s Third Councilor, Chaplain of the San Nicolas de Tolentino Oratory, and Spiritual Director for the OAR Nuns in Bacolod City. As his health worsened, he followed the advice of his classmate, who is the prior provincial, and he sought medical attention. On 3 February 2023, he went to Manila to undergo tests. A series of laboratory tests that began on 14 February 2023 revealed advanced prostate cancer.

Even with this devastating diagnosis, Father Cris continued his ministry, finding strength in faith and community. When his condition deteriorated, he was advised to reduce his travels and stay at the Provincial Center for better care. With his characteristic obedience and humility, he accepted the recommendation and was assigned to the community of Recoletos de Provincialate in 2025.

Father Cris was known for his generous heart, a trait that defined his entire life. Despite his limited possessions, he was always ready to help others, especially his family. He provided financial assistance for his nieces and nephews’ education, and even as a theology student in Spain, he would send small sums of money home. He consistently put the needs of others before his own, embodying a life of selflessness.

In his final years, even when his pain was unbearable and he could barely walk, Father Cris was determined to celebrate the Holy Mass. Accompanied by his caregiver, he would make his way to the community chapel of the Recoletos de Provincialate. There, in front of the miraculous image of Nuestra Señora de La Salud, he would spend his time praying the Holy Rosary. This deep-seated love in Mary gave him the strength he needed to face his suffering. His love for the Blessed Mother was so profound that whenever he saw the image of “Inay Salud,” tears would stream down his face, a silent plea for comfort during his agony.

The very same Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist, whom he had served for so many years as a priest, became his ultimate source of comfort. When he was no longer able to leave his room, a brother would bring the Blessed Sacrament to him daily, a spiritual medicine for his body and a drink for his thirsting soul.

When his doctors decided to stop his cancer treatments because his body was no longer responding, Father Cris calmly and silently accepted God’s will. He welcomed death not as an end, but as a friend that would allow him to go home—not to his native place in Bindoy, Negros Oriental, but a journey to his eternal home in heaven.

In the final days before his passing, Father Cris was surrounded by a community of love and support. His brothers from the Recoletos de Provincialate community, along with his friends and other religious brothers and sisters from nearby communities, visited him at the hospital. Their presence was a source of comfort and reassurance that he was not alone in his suffering. When he took his final breath, his loving sister and his caregiver were by his side.

A deeply significant detail marked his passing: around his neck, he wore the Scapular of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Mount Carmel. This powerful symbol connected him to the Blessed Mother, a figure of importance in his life since his ordination as a priest 37 years ago. According to the tradition of the brown scapular, those who wear it faithfully are granted the Sabbatine Privilege, a promise that Mary herself will intercede and descend on the first Saturday after their death to bring their soul to heaven.

The death of Father Cris on the first Saturday of August, a month dedicated to many Augustinian saints and blesseds, was seen as a fulfillment of this promise. It was a testament to a life of faith and devotion, culminating in a passing surrounded by love and the enduring symbols of his lifelong spiritual commitment.

We commend our dear brother, Father Cris, to God, the fount of all being and every blessing. May the Lord, in His boundless mercy, along with all the angels and saints, graciously receive him into Paradise.

In St. Ezekiel Moreno,

Fray Bernard C. Amparado, OAR
Prior Provincial

Fray Robin Ross S. Plata, OAR
Provincial Secretary