Reverend Father Luciano Pili, affectionately referred to as Father Nonong, was honoured with the Bishop Julio X. Labayen Memorial Award on Saturday, August 27, 2022. The ceremony took place at the Saint Joseph Formation House, located at 36 Matatag Street, Barangay Pinyahan, Diliman, Quezon City. This award recognizes Father Pili’s embodiment of the vision and spirituality of the late Carmelite Bishop Julio X. Labayen.
Father Nonong was assigned as the inaugural parish priest of the newly established Saints Anne and Joachim Parish in General Nakar, Quezon, under the Prelature of Infanta. This position served as his internship and discipleship under the guidance and mentorship of Bishop Labayen, known for his profound concern and love for the poor. In addition to his duties as a parish priest, Father Nonong developed and implemented the Yapak ng Panginoon (Footsteps of the Lord), a formation program for lay leaders within the Prelature. He also established the Basic Ecclesial Communities, which represent a “new way of being church” in the Prelature. Furthermore, he contributed to the St. Joseph Formation House in various roles, including formator, rector, and spiritual director.
Fr. Nonong served as executive secretary for various organizations, including the Luzon Secretariat for Social Action, chaired by Bishop Julio X. Labayen. He established social action centers focusing on relief rehabilitation, human rights, justice and peace, women’s rights, youth formation, and more. In 2001, as Executive Director of the Socio Pastoral Institute, he learned about stewardship from Saint Thomas More Parish in Denver, under the leadership of Father Andrew Kemberling and Mila Glodava, who implemented stewardship practices in the parish. Fr. Nonong identified stewardship as significant for the sustainability of the Church of the Poor.
Following a presentation by Mila Glodava, Bishop Labayen introduced it to Cardinal Ricardo J. Vidal and other bishops, clergy, and lay leaders in 2003, and it was eventually presented to the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) in 2005. In 2021, the CBCP issued a statement on stewardship, aiming for education and the gradual phase-out of the arancel. An Episcopal Office of Stewardship was created with the Socio Pastoral Institute as its secretariat.
Indeed, Father Nonong was guided by Bishop Labayen’s vision of a church that supports the poor and promotes their rights.
