​    As Parish Priest of Malvar, Batangas, he displayed an extraordinary charism for organizing catechists as well as for teaching catechism most especially to the old folks. In Lipa City, where he became also the Parish Priest, he established many catechetical centers in the poblacion and in the barrios. According to old folks in Lipa, some 300 catechists would teach the children every Sunday – a prophetic preparation for what he would do in the coming years. Because of his zeal, dedication to study and priestly holiness, Bishop Alfredo Ma. Versoza made him Vicar General of the Diocese of which at that time covered the provinces of Batangas, Quezon, Laguna and Marinduque. In addition, he was also the chaplain of the Carmelite Nuns in the Monastery of Lipa.





  On June 29, 1944, he became Auxiliary Bishop of Lipa making the formation of rural volunteer catechists the main thrust of his ministry. It was about the period between 1948 and 1950 that Our Lady was said to be appearing to a young nun in the Carmelite Monastery of Lipa and that there were allegedly miraculous showers of roses. It has not yet been ascertained what the late Bishop Obviar’s role in the incident was. He was a matter of fact the chaplain and confessor of the nuns in the Monastery.





  However, in compliance with a declaration of non-approval by a six member panel of Bishops representing the former Catholic Welfare Organization, both Bishop Versoza and Bishop Obviar followed with magnanimous prudence the line of keeping quiet about the alleged incidents. Some nuns in the monastery were consequently distributed to different monasteries of the Order. With early resignation of Bishop Versoza, Bishop Obviar received from the Holy See a new assignment – that of Apostolic Adminisrtation of the newly created Diocese of Lucena. He occupied this position from March 15, 1951 to July 19, 1969, when he, at the recommendation of the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Carmine Rocco, became the first Bishop of Lucena.





  The unexpected transfer of Bishop Obviar to the fledging Diocese of Lucena was in some sense providential. Miracle or no miracle, he continued his pastoral ministry with Carmelite humility and dedication. He heroically kept to himself what has transpired in the Monastery of Lipa.

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   He started to build a new Diocese with the help of only 30 priests. He saw the need of collaborators who would help the priests catechize their flock. It was not enough to have only a handful of catechists. They must be multiplied. But the big project must start small. Thus, the Missionary Catechists of St. Therese of the Infant Jesus was founded on August 12, 1958. The MCST Sisters faithfully keep alive the zeal and diligence of Bishop Obviar in carrying out the task of Evangelization.





   With the establishment of Mount Carmel Seminary and later St. Alphonsus School of Theology, the number of priests increased to more than one hundred between 1951 and 1975, the year of his retirement. One of the spiritual exercises which he strongly encouraged the priests to practice was the keeping of the Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament or at least an hour prayer. Such was expected from one who was a man of prayer himself. He was a priest whose solitude was as eloquent as his preaching.





  Transparently as priest, he led the common life of a Bishop of the Church animating the priests with his Spirit-filled monthly conferences and meticulously prepared circulars and letters. In addition to Pastoral Visitations, in which he himself tried to feel the pulse of the lay faithful, he likewise organized diocesan conventions and diocesan congresses on the various areas of the apostolate. Above all, he kept with great regularity and dedication the yearly catechetical convention.





   The catechist in Bishop Obviar did not wane in his advance age of 80. He would still gather a handful of “catechists oradores” at the sacristy of the cathedral or at his residence to review the “doctrina” with them in prayerful fashion. He encouraged the priests to give at least once a week “conferencilla” to adults whenever they could be gathered, such as in street corners and unused public places. The Word of God must be preached from the housetops.



     When sickness and advancing age have become very apparent, Bishop Obviar was given a Coadjutor in the person of Bishop Jose T. Sanchez. He considered his eventual retirement from the government of the diocese as a change of mission in the Church to pray more for the Church and to offer his sickness in union with Jesus for his beloved catechists. He spent the last three years of his life in the Covenant of the Missionary Catechists of St. Therese in Tayabas, Quezon. Nothing gave him more joy as when the Sisters would gather around him to share with him their little stories and experiences in the field. He would always remind them to give the lessons with simplicity, humility and one point at a time.

 

He died peacefully in the Lord on October 1, 1978 in the hospital which he founded, the Mount Carmel Clinic. His remains are buried in the Compound of the MCST in Tayabas, awaiting for the glorious resurrection and justification.