As part of its Ignatiana 2024 Commemoration, the Ateneo de Naga University held its University Service Awards on July 26, 2024, to recognize and celebrate their employees and retirees. The theme of the event was “Collaborators in Jesuit Mission: Gratitude for the Past, Grace for the Future.” This speech was the Final Address to the Ateneo de Naga University Community delivered by Fr. Roberto E. N. Rivera, SJ, as he passed the torch to University President elect, Fr. Aristotle “Ari” Dy SJ.
To our University President elect, Fr. Aristotle “Ari” Dy SJ; to the esteemed members of our University Board of Trustees; to our dear students, staff, faculty, and administrators, and to my Jesuit brothers; to the beloved family members, friends, and guests of our University awardees; and above all to you, our most honored University awardees and retirees, Dios marhay na hapon po sa saindo gabos.
What a beautiful ceremony this has been, and what a grace filled experience it is for us to have this opportunity to honor our colleagues in these service awards. Today, I would like to say again what I have always held to be true. The best of what the Ateneo has been, the best of what the Ateneo is, and the best of what the Ateneo can be is most profoundly seen in the people who have so generously given of their lives for the Ateneo mission. It is on days like today that we are truly proud not only of our awardees and retirees. Today we are also immensely proud of the gift and the legacy that is the Ateneo de Naga.
And so, to our awardees and retirees I would like to say, on behalf of a grateful University, salamat na marhay po. Thank you for showing us what is possible when we take to heart the call of Fr. Pedro Arrupe to be women and men for others. Thank you for being exemplars of what it means to live out St. Ignatius of Loyola’s “Prayer of Generosity” each and every day, to serve the Lord as He deserves, to do His most holy will. Thank you for showing us what it means to be living testaments of St. Ignatius’ Sume et Suscipe, allowing the Lord to “Take and Receive” your witness of faithful service in this precious corner of God’s Kingdom that we call the Ateneo de Naga. Truly, Primum Regnum Dei.
We celebrate this year’s Service Awards against the backdrop of our 25th year as a University, and the 25th year since the passing of our beloved first University President, Fr. Raul Bonoan SJ, whose life was given over as we all know to bringing Ateneo de Naga to the cherished milestone of University status. For those of you who are part of the “GG,” the “Gurang Generation” like me, surely, we remember with fondness what Fr. Rolly Bonoan would exclaim each time he would struggle for words, in the depths of frustration, but also in the heights of joy and elation. Falling short of words, Fr. Rolly would always say, “My golly!” And on this happy day, as I behold our amazing awardees and retirees, I find myself grasping for words and ending up in a “Fr. Rolly my golly moment”. “My golly, what a job well done! My golly, what an amazing group of people! My golly! What inspiration and honor you bring to the Ateneo!”
My heart today is overflowing with genuine gratitude, not only for our awardees and retirees, but also for all that we have done as a community these past seven years. As you well know, in a little over two weeks from now our new President, Fr. Ari will be taking over. If the Ateneo de Naga were a big sailing ship, we would now reach port and dock for a moment to see a change of captains, a change of leaders.
As we moor momentarily at harbor to end one journey and to begin another, I invite you to behold the good ship that is Ateneo de Naga. Over the past years it has braved and survived squalls and storms comparable to the worst the school has endured since its founding. The ship is listing from side to side. It has endured a terrible beating. There are some gaping holes at the hull and not a few leaks. For all this damage our good ship has sustained, all blame falls on me and me alone.
And yet, despite all the trials and tribulations we have gone through, it is a moment of pride and joy for me. Pride not for anything I have accomplished, but pride for the people who have allowed the good ship Ateneo to survive and stay seaworthy, and in these past several years, to flourish. First and foremost, among these are our friends whom we honor today in these Service Awards. But truth be told we celebrate today our entire community, all of you who have faithfully manned the ship and allowed it to continue the perilous journey, bringing us safely to shore.
We have gone through difficult times, and in the process difficult decisions had to be made. In the heat of crisis, I had to pass many contentious judgments. In the midst of my own impatience and impulsiveness, I have uttered and written hurtful words. For all this I can only beg for your understanding, as I made these difficult decisions with only the good of the University in mind. For all whom I have hurt and offended, I can only beg for your pardon. And yet even now I humbly realize that for some of you, painful wounds and bad memories may still be fresh, and understanding and pardon are still difficult to offer. I can only hope that sometime before our lives end, before we leave this earth and face Our God, you will have it in your heart to forgive me.
But in the end, above all this, it is a moment of joy as well. Immense joy for me and for all of us, as we honor our new captain who brings with him the tremendous energies of youth and a wealth of talents and experiences. All these will surely serve him in good stead as he steers our good ship the Ateneo to brave new horizons. And so, on this my final address to the University community, my last words are for our new University President. Fr. Ari, I hand over to you the wheel of this great ship the Ateneo de Naga. But before you take the helm, look behind you. Behold your crew. No captain can have a finer crew, no leader can hope for more committed and faithful people under his command. I have every confidence that you will lead them much more worthily than I have. Lead them with pride and with joy, Fr. Ari. Lead them with love.
To all our awardees, once again thank you and congratulations. God bless all of us! God bless the Ateneo! Sa gabos, salamat po asin Dios mabalos.
Featured header photo: Fr. Robert with the Ateneo de Naga University contingent at the Peñafrancia parade in 2019.
About Fr. Robert E. N. Rivera, S.J.
Presently, the President of Ateneo de Naga University. 32 years fulfilling the Jesuit mission through teaching, administration, formation, parochial work, research, and publication. Current President of Ateneo de Naga and Member of the Boards of Trustees of the Ateneo Schools in Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Manila, Naga; and the Boards of Loyola College of Culion and Consuelo Madrigal Foundation. Previous leadership roles included Director, SEARSOLIN; Founding Rector, Instituto São João de Brito, Dili, Timor-Leste; Chairman of the Board, Jesuit Social Service, Timor-Leste; Member of Boards of Environmental Science for Social Change, Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan; John Carroll Institute on Church and Social Issues; and Institute for Social Order. Education: PhD in Sociology, University of Notre Dame, Indiana, USA; Kellogg Fellowship, Kellogg Center for International Studies, University of Notre Dame, Indiana, USA, Philip Moore Fellowship, University of Notre Dame Graduate School, Indiana, USA; MA in Theology, Loyola School of Theology, MA in Sociology; BS in Legal Management, Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City, Philippines. (Reference: Board of Trustees Information, Xavier University, Ateneo de Cagayan)