Manila, Philippines, Jul 26, 2025 /
06:00 am
Ernesto Escaler, a renowned Filipino businessman and the owner of Gourmet Farms Philippines, one of the most iconic restaurant brands in the country, is described as a man of few words but remarkable action.
His staff describe him as deeply low-key — someone who avoids attention and prefers not to speak about his philanthropy. But for the sake of this story, his friends and employees have allowed CNA a glimpse into his quiet, powerful mission.
Every year, he feeds over 3,000 prisoners across three major correctional facilities in the Philippines. He offers them dignity by employing them in planting vegetables, which Gourmet Farms then buys. He also supports the sick cared for by the Missionaries of Charity and Canossian Sisters on top of supporting various other seminaries, convents, and religious communities.
In 2024, Escaler achieved the extraordinary: He persuaded no less than the leader of the Philippines himself, President Bongbong Marcos, to consecrate the entire nation — and the presidential family — to Our Lady of Guadalupe, to whom Escaler is devoted.
He organized public recollections on divine mercy and Marian consecration in four major cities across the country and was instrumental in bringing to life a clergy retreat for 800 priests and 16 bishops.
More than a philanthropist, Escaler is an evangelist in the workplace, bringing the Gospel to his own staff. His entire company — and most of his 400 employees — is consecrated to Mary. One of his biggest priorities as a business owner is to provide spiritual formation to his own staff, providing recollections, booklets, and weekly access to prayer and the sacraments.
At the heart of his company lies a sanctuary — the Sanctuary of St. Joseph — which Escalar built on his 50th birthday 25 years ago.
“We are a consecrated company to Mama Mary. The entire Escaler Group of Companies is consecrated to her,” shared Ginny de Villa, executive director of the Escaler Group.
Escaler takes no credit.
“I am simply being used by Our Lady. It’s not my doing. None of this was planned,” he said. “I am just an instrument. I cannot claim credit for anything.”
Asked if he had any specific “conversion experience,” Escaler stated: “I’ve always grown up praying to Our Lord. We grew up as a very Catholic family … but the ‘a-ha’ moment for me was when I got introduced to Marian consecration and divine mercy.”
In 2017, Father Michael Gaitley, MIC — author of the bestselling book “33 Days to Morning Glory” — came to the Philippines to give a retreat for the Catholic bishops’ conference. Due to the priest’s dietary restrictions, he was housed at Gourmet Farms, where he met Escaler. The two quickly became friends, and Gaitley introduced Escaler to Marian consecration.
“I was taken by it,” Escaler said. The priest later invited Escaler to a pilgrimage in Poland, deepening his understanding of divine mercy and Our Lady’s mission.
“Our Blessed Mother came into this world with one mission: to bring people closer to Jesus. And when you consecrate yourself to her, what you’re doing is you’re giving her permission to use you for her mission. And what is her mission? To bring people to God. So I become an instrument of bringing people to God by virtue of my Marian consecration.”
“There are many lukewarm Catholics today, each with their own struggles. But I believe Mama Mary can touch their hearts — through people like us, consecrated and willing to be used by her.”
“Look at the world today — war, terrorism, human trafficking, pedophilia — it’s clear Satan is at work. How do we fight back? With the rosary. With Marian consecration. We cannot fight evil on our own. It is Mary who will do the work, and she will use us as her instruments if we consecrate ourselves to her.”
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Consecration in the workplace
Escaler’s commitment to Marian consecration extends deeply into his company.
“It was through Escaler that I was introduced to Marian consecration. It’s powerful,” de Villa said. “If there are Catholics by convention, Marian consecration deepens that so you become Catholics by conviction.”
She added: “Mr. Escaler evangelizes not just through personal testimony but with history. He shared the story of the Battle of Lepanto and showed how Mama Mary was always there, guiding history toward Christ. Her goal is always to bring you closer to her Son and make you a saint in the process. It was gripping and life-changing.”
“The most powerful realization I had was that in Marian consecration, you let Mary take over your life. We are here in the world of business, in the world of control and managing people and situations. But consecration requires total surrender. And that surrender becomes your strength. You are now at her disposal — and it’s liberating.”
The company provides 33-day consecration booklets to staff, offers weekly Mass, First Friday devotions, and Marian feast-day celebrations.
“It’s part of the company culture espoused by Mr. Escaler — that spirituality, that God-centeredness, that devotion to Mama Mary and divine mercy,” de Villa said. “It’s in our DNA.”
A God-centered company
“Many people ask Mr. Escaler, ‘Why do you have a chapel in your business? Why a sanctuary in the middle of the farm?’” Joel Layug, head of human resources, told CNA.
“Mr. Escaler always tells us, we are a farm. Our business is organic farming. We take care of nature and the environment. To whom else should we go but to the Author of nature? We must turn to the Creator. That’s why at the heart of our farm is this sanctuary.”
“He was very deliberate in calling this the Sanctuary of St. Joseph. He chose St. Joseph because it is through silence that God speaks. St. Joseph was the silent strength. In the whole Gospel, St. Joseph did not speak a single word, and yet he did the Father’s will. That’s the spirit of this place.”
Escaler added: “I built this 25 years ago as a birthday gift to God. It’s a retreat center for people to come and talk to him. And how do you talk to God? In silence, in nature. I don’t advertise it. It’s his sanctuary. I simply built it — and he invites whom he wills.”
Nationwide efforts
Escaler translates his religious piety into concrete works of mercy.
“He feeds prisoners in three major jails, helps the sick cared for by the Missionaries of Charity, and supports many religious communities, but he’s very low-key,” de Villa added. “And he’s very active in spreading Mama Mary’s devotion across the Philippines — especially Our Lady of Guadalupe.”
His greatest passion is to spread divine mercy and Marian consecration not just among his staff but throughout the nation.
“In 2023, Mr. Escaler invited Father Chris Alar, MIC, to give a retreat to 800 priests and 16 bishops,” Layug said. “He also brought Father Chris to the president to consecrate the Philippines to divine mercy.”
What began as a clergy retreat expanded to the laity. Public demand was so overwhelming that he organized events in four major cities. Within hours of opening registration, seats were fully booked.
“When I got Father Chris to say yes, I asked — why not open it to the laity too?” Escaler recounted. “We organized retreats in Quezon City, Alabang, Baguio, and Cavite. People asked, ‘How did you organize a retreat for 5,000 people?’”
“I didn’t invite them. I created the venue, the schedule. She — Mama Mary — invites whomever she wants. I’m just an instrument.”
He also organized a 4,000-person retreat in Davao with Gaitley in the past and personally gave Marian consecration talks in seminaries, convents, dioceses, and even to a group of Franciscans in England.
At 75, does he plan to continue? “Whenever it is needed,” he said. “And she [Mary] will decide when and where. I don’t plan it.”
How does he manage to do it all? His answer is as simple as it is profound: “I just live by example. There’s no other way to speak to people. You have to show them through action.”
Valerie Joy Escalona is a journalist from the Philippines. Her work has been featured in the National Catholic Register, Catholic News Agency, and Catholic World Report. She earned a degree in Mass Communications at the University of the Philippines Diliman, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude and defended her thesis about St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. She is passionate about spreading the message of Divine Mercy and Marian Consecration, and is a cooperator of Opus Dei in the Philippines. She writes from the Philippines.
