Teofilo Camomot

After his ordination, Father Camomot exercised his ministry as a vicar, then as parish priest of the Santa Teresa parish in Talisay in 1943, where he led a simple and austere life. On March 23, 1955, he was appointed auxiliary bishop of Jaro and titular bishop of Clysma. On June 10, 1958, he became coadjutor archbishop of Cagayan de Oro and received the titular see of Marcianopolis. In November 1959, he founded the Carmelite Tertiaries of the Blessed Eucharist, which would later become the congregation of the Daughters of Saint Teresa. He actively participated in the Second Vatican Council between 1962 and 1965. Suffering from serious health problems, he resigned in 1970 and returned to Cebu, where he served as an auxiliary, parish priest of El Pardo, then parish priest of Carcar and vicar general.

Msgr. Teofilo Camomot died tragically on September 27, 1988, in a road accident at Sitio Magtalisay, Barangay Sangat, in the municipality of San Fernando, at the age of 74. His car was struck by a bus while he was returning to Carcar. Due to his reputation for holiness, his body was exhumed in 2009 to be transferred to the motherhouse of the Daughters of Saint Teresa in Valladolid, Carcar. A second exhumation in January 2018, as part of the canonical process, revealed that his bones and clothing were in a remarkable state of preservation. His remains are now housed in the "Domus Teofilo" museum, which has become a major place of pilgrimage.

The cause for the beatification and canonization of Teofilo Camomot was officially opened at the diocesan level on October 15, 2010, by Cardinal Ricardo Vidal, after receiving the Nihil Obstat from the Holy See on August 20, 2010. The diocesan inquiry closed on March 2, 2017, and its validity was decreed by Rome on November 9, 2017. The Positio on his heroic virtues was submitted in 2020. On May 21, 2022, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic virtues of Teofilo Camomot, thereby conferring upon him the title of Venerable. The official recognition of a miracle is now required for his beatification.

The spirituality of Bishop Teofilo Camomot was characterized by profound humility, radical evangelical poverty, and unconditional love for the poor. Drawing inspiration from Carmelite spirituality, he led a life of intense prayer. His generosity was legendary: he did not hesitate to pawn his episcopal ring and pectoral cross to help the needy. Numerous testimonies report extraordinary mystical gifts during his lifetime, notably phenomena of bilocation (including one case authenticated by Cardinal Vidal), levitation, and spiritual healing. His legacy endures through the congregation of the Daughters of Saint Teresa (DST) and the fervent popular devotion that surrounds his tomb.