Marciano Malvar Guzman was a Filipino

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

certified public accountant Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United Stat ...

. He is also a best-selling author of Catholic books, a winner of the Catholic Mass Media Award. He was also a member of the governing body of

Opus Dei is an institution of the Catholic Church that was founded in Spain in 1928 by Josemaría Escrivá. Its stated mission is to help its lay and clerical members seek holiness in their everyday occupations and societies. Opus Dei is officially r ...

in the Philippines from 1992 until his death on 28 May 2009. He has a doctorate in Journalism and Philosophy from universities in Spain and Italy. ''Breaking into Light'', his collection of 100 selected poems, was published by the

University of Asia and the Pacific The University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P; ) is a private university in the Philippines. It traces its beginnings to the Center for Research and Communication (CRC), which was established on August 15, 1967, as a private think-tank that cond ...

in Manila. His poetry has appeared mostly in Philippine national print publications like

Philippines Free Press The ''Philippines Free Press'' was a weekly English language news magazine which was founded in 1908, which makes it the Philippines' oldest weekly English language periodical no longer in print. It is known for being one of the publications tha ...

, Solidarity and Philippine Graphic, among others. More recent credits include U.S. online magazines like Flutter Poetry Journal, Static Movement, The Monongahela Review, and Slow Trains Literary Journal. He used his literary talents most by writing some best-selling Catechisms, the most popular of which was ''Guide to Christian Living''. He wrote many columns for newspapers on Catholic doctrine in language understandable to the ordinary person in the street. Many of these columns found their ways into books used in Religion classes in schools. He was the first chaplain of the PAREF Woodrose School, the first school of Parents for Education Foundation. Bishop Javier Echevarria, Prelate of Opus Dei, appointed him on 2 November 1992 as Regional Vice Priest Secretary of Opus Dei in the Philippines, a leading member of the governing body in the entire country, in charge of the apostolate with women. He is the great grandnephew of the Philippine national hero,

Jose Rizal Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. Given name Mishnaic and Talmudic periods * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galilean * Jose ben Halaft ...

, because the mother of his maternal grandmother was Soledad, a sister of Rizal. His full name is Marciano Malvar Guzman, since he is also a descendant of General

Miguel Malvar Miguel Malvar y Carpio (September 27, 1865 – October 13, 1911) was a Filipino general who served during the Philippine Revolution and, subsequently, during the Philippine–American War. He assumed command of the Philippine revolutionary forc ...

, the last Filipino general to surrender to the American forces during the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War, known alternatively as the Philippine Insurrection, Filipino–American War, or Tagalog Insurgency, emerged following the conclusion of the Spanish–American War in December 1898 when the United States annexed th ...

. His mother is Josefina Malvar Guzman, daughter of Bernabe Malvar, son of the general. He wrote papers, articles and a book about Jose Rizal, specially dealing with Rizal's Retraction, entitled
Hard Facts About Rizal's Conversion
'.Guzman, Marciano, Hard Facts About Rizal's Conversion, Sinagtala 1988
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Works

*Breaking into Light *Question and Answer Catechism *Guide to Christian Belief *Guide to Christian Sanctification *Transforming hearts and structures : current and perennial issues on social ethics *Light for Lives: Current Issues on Moral Values Queries and Replies on Love, Life, and Religion *Hard Facts About Rizal's Conversion

References

Serving the Church as it wants
- article about Marciano Guzman in

Manila Bulletin The ''Manila Bulletin'' () (also known as the ''Bulletin'' and previously known as the ''Manila Daily Bulletin'' from 1906 to September 23, 1972, and the ''Bulletin Today'' from November 22, 1972, to March 10, 1986) is the Philippines' largest ...

Poems in the Houston Literary ReviewHard Facts About Rizal's ConversionOpus Dei prelature in the PhilippinesAppointment as Regional Vice Priest Secretary

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guzman, Marciano Year of birth missing 2009 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholics 21st-century Roman Catholics Catholic poets English-language poets Filipino Roman Catholic writers