Angel Lagdameo

Ecclesial background

From 1994-98, he was chairman of the Office of Laity of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences. During his term he gave conferences and participated in conventions of the Catholic laity in various countries of Asia. From 1990 to January 2000 he served as chairman of the CBCP Episcopal Commission for the Laity and chairman of the National Committee for the Great Jubilee Year 2000. As of 2014 he was concurrently the Global Spiritual Director of Bukas Loob sa Diyos, National Spiritual Director of the Mother Butler Guild and the World Apostolate of Fatima.

On 11 March 2000 the Bishop of Dumaguete was appointed by Pope John Paul II as the twelfth prelate and fifth Archbishop of Jaro. He was installed in the Cathedral of Jaro on 9 May 2000. In 2004 Blessed Hannibal di Francia, founder of the Rogationist Congregation, was approved for canonization on account of a miracle he performed on a child from Jaro who was suffering from severe meningitis. The Archbishop presided at the investigation, which lasted for three years. From 1 December 2005 to 1 December 2009 he served as president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), a maximum of two terms.

On 14 February 2011 he made his ad limina visit to Pope Benedict XVI, wherein he updated the Pope regarding the situation in the Archdiocese of Jaro. Specifically, he pointed out the implementation phase of the 3rd Diocesan Synod of Jaro. During the preparation for the Canonization of St Pedro Calungsod, he presided during the second day of the Triduum Mass in Rome on 19 October 2012.

He participated in the Light of Peace Prayer Event in the University of the Philippines Campus in Miag-ao, Iloilo on 24 May 2013. The event was organized by the Middle Way Meditation Institute and was included in the Guinness Book of World Record for flying 15,185 sky lanterns, each with a message “World Peace through Inner Peace”.

Coat of arms

Lagdameo's personal coat of arms is divided vertically into two major parts; on the left side is the Arms of the Archdiocese and on the right is Archbishop Lagdameo's personal Arms. Horizontally they divided into the Chief and the Base.

The Dexter or Right: Arm of the See of Jaro The black eagle and the three red roses on the sinister bend undoubtedly refer to St Elizabeth of Hungary, the patroness of the Archdiocese of Jaro. Saint Elizabeth is the daughter of the King of Hungary and the wife of a Landgrave (Count) of Thurgingia, Germany. The black eagle is said to be the bravest bird, the emblem of magninimity and fortitude of mind. And of such color was the eagle of the Roman Emperors, now used by the Germans because the color and appears at a great distance. The three red roses remind us of the legend narrated in the biography of St Elizabeth. She is generally represented as a princess graciously giving alms to the poor or holding roses in her lap; in the latter case, she is portrayed as surprised by her husband who met her unexpectedly as she went secretly on an errand of mercy, and so, the story runs, the bread she as trying to conceal suddenly turned into rose, the coconut palms on a green knoll represent Jaro.

The Sinister or Left: Personal Arms of Archbishop Lagdameo: Occupying the prominent place of the Christ is the monogram of the Blessed Virgin, A and M, on the top of which is the Jesuit monogram IHS mounted on the San Jose Seminary Seal. This shows the Archbishop's loyalty to his alma mater where he had his priestly formation under the Jesuit Fathers. The wings on the side of the monogram of Our Lady completes the symbolism to represent Our Lady of the Angels on whose feast day (2 August) Archbishop Lagdameo was born.

Lucban, the birthplace of the Archbishop is represented on the lower portion of the Arm by a fruit of a citrus family called "Lucban" (Citrus Maxima) from which the town got its name. The mountain represents the scenic Mount Banahaw at the foot of which lies serenely the town of Lucban. At the bottom is the Franciscan Symbol - the hand of Christ nailed to the cross and the hand of St Francis bearing the stigma. The symbol indicates Archbishop Lagdameo's affiliation to the order of Franciscan Secular. It is also a reminder of the Patron Saint of Lucban, St. Louis, Bishop of Tolouse, a Franciscan bishop of the 13th century to whose intercession the big number of priests coming from Lucban is attributed.

The Motto: Your presence, O Lord, I seek (Ps. 27:8) Faciem tuam; Domine, Requiram. I long to see your face, O Lord, Archbishop Lagdameo believes that union with God achieved through prayer is the beginning, terminus a quo, and end, terminus ad quem, of priestly or missionary activity. It was also the motto of Bishop Alfredo Ma. Obviar of Lucena, whom Lagdameo served as secretary.

2008 NBN ZTE Crisis

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, due to the Filipino people's clamor for a united political stance, called an emergency meeting on 25 February 2008. Under his CBCP presidency, Archbishop Leonard Legaspi of Caceres announced the Bishops' statement: "They refused to call for her resignation saying they wanted her, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, to be part of the moral reform process.