A Member of God’s Choir of Angels (Remembering Fr. Francis Madhu, SVD)

By Letty Madriaga

Remembering Fr. Francis two years after his death is like remembering a long lost son: acutely painful. How could a young man, full of life, full of potential and hope in God’s vineyard die at such a young age and in such manner? His only fault was that he happened to be at the right place at the wrong time!

I met Fr. Francis when he came to Abra for his Ilocano lessons, during the summer of 2006. We would meet every day for two to three hours. He was very shy, he was also very simple. It seemed he was always in deep thoughts. He would not speak unless spoken to first. He had a little difficulty in guttural sounds, especially when combined with the letter “I”. He struggled with words like “aglako” (to sell), “agsakdo” (to carry water), “agklase” (to attend class), etc. But to make up for this, he did his homework well, and came to class always prepared. He was quick to follow instructions and he recognized patterns in Ilocano sentences. He would apply every rule he learned immediately. What he lacked in spoken Ilocano was complemented in his writing. In the beginning he would write short paragraphs in his faltering Ilocano, and I would check them. The following day, he would submit an almost perfect Ilocano composition. (Before he left for Kalinga, he could already write beautiful homilies in Ilocano.) He would come to class humming or singing a tune, that towards the end of his class I decided to teach him some Ilocano songs starting with Manang Biday, O Naraniag a Bulan, etc. His favorite was Ti Ayat Ti Maysa Nga Ubing. I would play the guitar and he would sing it like a genuine Ilocano would. He had a nice, soothing voice. I told him I would love to hear him sing the Canon during a High Mass. And he would smile…for he had the brightest of smiles.

During his wake at the Christ the King in Quezon City, I first saw the photographs taken of him after he was brutally shot and killed before I saw his body in his coffin. He was wearing a pale olive green polo with black prints. It was the same shirt he wore when he came to Libtec Caves in Dolores, Abra to join the graduate students for an outing. We had pictures with him in the caves. It was the same shirt he would wear to class every so often. I wondered if that was his favorite shirt…or because in his simplicity he only had a few. April 1 would be his second death anniversary. April fools. I wished then that those who called me up to break the news of his death were that – Fools! Or course I miss him, just like those who shared his short life.

There were several questions I would have liked to ask from the people who were with him before he died . Was he singing or humming on the way while walking to the school where he was to celebrate Palm Sunday? Was he wearing a pair of brown sandals? Was he wearing the cap I gave him on his birthday a year ago? He told me he would wear it when he would go to “his mission”. Did he speak to them in Ilocano?

Has God included him in his choir of angels?

I am sure the people in Lubuagan, Kalinga where he spent his short life as a missionary priest still miss him as we all do here in Abra. We sure have lost a priest and a friend, but God simply has added another angel in heaven.
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Dr. Letty Madriaga is the Dean of the Graduate School of Divine Word College of Bangued. At the same time, she teaches Ilocano to new missionaries assigned in the Northern Province before they are given parish assignments. The language studies last for six months.