A Filipino priest known for building Basic Ecclesial Communities (BEC) and promoting stewardship as a way of life has received a national Catholic award recognizing his role in grassroots Church renewal.
Fr. Manuel Vicente T. Catral of the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao received the 2026 Cardinal Ricardo J. Vidal Memorial Award for Stewardship from the Metro Infanta Foundation.
Named after the late Cardinal Ricardo J. Vidal of Cebu, the award honors individuals whose lives and ministries have inspired others to offer their time, talents, and resources in the service of God and neighbor.
Catral currently serves as pastoral director of the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao, where he helps guide diocesan efforts toward missionary conversion, accompanying parishes as they strengthen BECs, deepen lay participation and stewardship, and build more responsive and mission-oriented faith communities.
The foundation recognized him for reinforcing Catholic communities and helping parishes become places where clergy and laypeople work together in participation, service, and accountability, particularly among marginalized communities.
“We honor Father Manuel ‘Manny’ Catral for his pastoral care, wisdom, and devotion to nurturing the faith of the people he served,” said Metro Infanta Foundation President Mila Garcia Glodava.
“Through his gentle presence, generous spirit, and faithful stewardship, he has touched many lives with grace and compassion,” she added.
Archbishop Ricardo L. Baccay of Tuguegarao said the recognition reflected both Catral’s accomplishments and the spirit that has guided his ministry.
“This honor recognizes not only what he has accomplished, but who he is: a priest with zeal, vision, and a heart fully given to God’s people,” Baccay said.
“Through stewardship, he has shown us a powerful truth: that the Church grows strongest not by depending on outside help, but by awakening the generosity and faith of ordinary people,” the prelate added.
As part of parish formation, Catral has been involved in social and environmental initiatives in the Cagayan Valley region. Over the years, he has supported Church-backed campaigns defending communities affected by environmental degradation, including opposition to black sand mining in coastal areas of the region.
As a young priest, he also helped spearhead an integrated farming program in the archdiocese aimed at strengthening food security and sustainable livelihoods among rural families.
The initiative reflected a pastoral approach that linked faith formation with community empowerment and care for creation.
Archbishop Baccay said Catral’s ministry has helped build “living, thriving parishes” and continues to guide the local Church toward missionary renewal, helping communities take “concrete steps toward becoming a truly synodal Church.”
Retired Archbishop Sergio L. Utleg said Catral’s stewardship work has become deeply integrated into the archdiocese’s BEC program.
“The approach of Fr. Manny towards the Stewardship Program of the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao is impactful though unfortunately not openly trumpeted,” Utleg said.
“Stewardship is encompassed within the wider Basic Ecclesial Communities Pastoral Program of the Archdiocese, and his approach is uniquely his own. It has been highly effective.”
Utleg described Catral’s pastoral method as systematic and rooted in community participation.
“Fr. Manny’s modus operandi is systematic and relentless. From the planning phase to the implementation until the evaluation phase, his strategy is data and research-based,” he said.
The retired prelate said Catral helped communities understand stewardship not simply as a parish program but as a way of living one’s vocation.
“Farmers don’t just farm but are ‘stewards of the earth’ and fishermen don’t just fish but are ‘stewards of the seas and rivers’,” Utleg said.
In his acceptance speech, Catral said the award ultimately pointed beyond the recipient and toward the legacy of Church leaders who inspired his ministry.
He recalled that Archbishop Baccay helped him understand “that this award is not mainly about the recipient. It is about the witness, and the legacy of the persons after whom this award is named.”
Catral paid tribute to Cardinal Vidal and Bishop Julio X. Labayen, whose example helped shape his pastoral vision.
“Without their inspiration, their courage, and their love for the Church, I would not be standing here tonight,” he said.
He also reflected on his years helping establish Holy Family Parish in Solana, where he lived in a simple rural home while accompanying the community.
“For the first six years of preparing the Holy Family Parish, I lived in a bahay kubo (nipa hut),” he said.
“That simple home became for me a school of faith, a school of poverty and closeness to the people — a school of stewardship,” he added.
The priest said the experience “taught me that the Church becomes most beautiful when she lives simply, walks humbly, and serves generously.”
Looking back on the communities he served in the towns of Solana, Baggao, and Aparri, Catral credited Basic Ecclesial Communities for bringing stewardship into the daily lives of families.
“Through your Basic Ecclesial Communities, stewardship entered the homes, families, and ordinary lives of our people,” he said.
Also recognized during the ceremony were Cardinal Orlando B. Quevedo, OMI, recipient of the 2026 Bishop Julio X. Labayen Memorial Award, and the late Sr. Angelica Donado, O.Carm., a pioneering advocate of stewardship in the Philippines whose formation work helped generations of Church leaders understand stewardship as a spirituality rooted in gratitude and discipleship.
Catral called on Catholics to embrace stewardship not merely as a program or campaign but as a way of life.
“May Stewardship become not only a program or a campaign, and not only a language we use. May Stewardship become a total way of life,” he said.
