Cardinal-electors, below 80 years old, three Filipinos included, will be locked up in the Sistine Chapel to deliberate, reflect, and vote. Conclave, from Latin or Spanish “con clave (with a key),” literally states the cardinals can’t leave till they declare “Habemus...

Maria Luisa T. Camagay, professor emerita of the University of the Philippines department of history, is the scholar who led the charge for the study of women and women’s issues in Philippine history. Beginning with her 1995 book “Working Women of Manila during the...

When news of Pope Francis’ serious bout of double pneumonia was made public, the spotlight moved from him to the so-called “papabile” or Cardinals who are considered front-runners to succeed him to the Chair of Peter. Much has been said, of course, on the chances of...

Once upon a time, archbishops of Manila wielded more than spiritual power; they also had temporal power that could challenge or match that exercised by civil authorities. A visual representation of this can be seen at the National Museum of the Philippines, through a...

Found the draft of a memoir in my files. Rereading the part of my life in a cloister made me wonder when I would return and complete it. People always ask why I chose a contemplative order since I was not particularly devout. I had no connection to San Beda, the Abbey...

World War II and the Japanese occupation of the Philippines is not my area of specialization. What little I know of it is from textbook history, the work of the eminent historian Ricardo T. Jose, and last but not least, all the reminiscences of family and friends who...

FThis week, I have been browsing periodicals from 1961, the year of my birth, to see how much the Philippines has changed since. Sad to say that aside from technological advances like the internet, smartphones, electric cars, and the proliferation of motorcycle...

During my recent visit to the Netherlands, Philippine Ambassador Eduardo J. Malaya took me to see the literally palatial International Court of Justice in The Hague. We did not enter the so-called “Peace Palace” but contented ourselves with selfies by the wrought iron...

The modern museum traces its origins to the “kunstkammer” literally an “art room” that stored and displayed works of art. Another word for it was “wunderkammer” or “room of wonders.” By the 16th century, these became known in English as “Cabinets of Curiosities.”...

Brussels—It only dawned on me as I got off the plane from Manila that this is my third trip to Brussels and I have not visited the site on 38 rue Philippe de Champagne where our national hero lived from January to August 1890. Our embassy, led by Ambassador Jaime...