Intramuros Learning Sessions episode no. 51
Overview
While the Catholic Church has manifestly identified its tangible cultural heritage, it has not officially defined what constitutes its intangible cultural heritage nor has it formally indicated their existence. Of what is understood by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage, the Church expresses it in the language of popular piety conveyed through pious exercises and popular devotions. Our short talk attempts to explain popular piety and its relation with the liturgy and gives an overview of what could be considered the Church’s intangible living cultural heritage understood in the context of UNESCO’s operative definition. The talk ends with a reflection on whether or not these popular piety ensemble specific to the Catholic Church in the Philippines be inscribed in the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and what would its implications be for the renewed evangelisation, catechesis, and faith-based tourism practices that are distinctive of the Catholic Church.
- Guest speaker: Milan Ted Torralba
- Moderator: Jeffrey Yap
About the speaker: Milan Ted Torralba
Fr. Milan Ted D. TORRALBA, a Catholic priest for 28 years, is an Associate Judge of the Tribunal of First Instance and the Chair of the Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church, of the Diocese of Tagbilaran, Bohol. Since 1996, Father is the executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ (CBCP) Episcopal Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church (ECCHC). A canon lawyer by training, Father was secretary of the Apostolic Nunciature in the Philippines, 2005-2008.
Father Torralba was founding chair of the Bohol Arts and Cultural Heritage (BACH) Council, 2002-2005. He once served as vice-head of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts’ (NCCA) National Committee on Monuments and Sites (NCMS). He was co-recipient of the 3rd Guhit Awards for Cultural Heritage Preservation given by the Design and Architecture magazine in 2000.
Father Ted trained in world heritage sites management at the United Nations’ Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), Hiroshima, Japan, in 2008. He obtained degrees in philosophy (PhB, AB Classical, PhL), theology (SThB), and canon law (JCB, JCL, JCD [cand.]), earned his master’s degree in cultural heritage studies (MCHS), pursued MA Linguistics degree, and gained academic units in music, all from the University of Santo Tomás, Manila.
About the Intramuros Learning Sessions
The Intramuros Learning Sessions (ILS) is the educational webinar series of the Intramuros Administration (IA). The IA is an attached national government agency under the Department of Tourism.
Topics are interdisciplinary and cover themes related to Intramuros and Manila studies, Philippine studies, as well as cultural heritage studies. Pursuant to IA’s charter, the ILS aims to contribute to the strengthening of the Filipino’s national identity and sense of belonging and pride.
For inquiries contact us at [email protected]
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