Biodata Fr. Amado L. Picardal, C.Ss.R. or Picx to his friends, was born in 1954 in Iligan City, Northern Mindanao, Southern Philippines. He entered the Redemptorist Minor Seminary in Cebu in 1968. In 1971, he began his studies in AB Philosophy at the University of San Carlos, Cebu. During this period he got involved in student activism. In 1973, a year after the declaration of Martial Law, he was arrested by military intelligence operatives.He survived a week of torture and seven months of imprisonment. After his release he continued his studies and graduated in 1975. Before entering the Redemptorist novitiate he lived and worked among the urban poor for six months in a slum area in Cebu where he was trained as a community organizer. After his religious profession in 1977 he was sent to Davao to study theology at the St. Francis Xavier Regional Major Seminary. After his ordination in 1981 he worked for more than eight years with the Redemptorist Mission Team helping form BECs in the different parts of Mindanao: in Jimenez (Misamis Oriental), Hinatuan (Surigao), Iligan, Arakan Valley (North Cotabato) and in San Fernando, Bukidnon. During these years he lived with the poor in remote barrios, in fishing villages, in militarized areas and in guerrilla zones. His last assignment with the mission team was the San Fernando Mission where he and the team helped the BECs in their struggle to defend the forests against the logging companies. After two years of struggle the government gave in to the demand to declare a total log ban in the whole province of Bukidnon. In 1989, he was sent to Berkeley, California for higher studies. He joined the Pax Christi and made a vow of non-violence. After receiving his Licentiate in Systematic Theology in 1991, he was sent to Rome for further studies. He received his Doctorate in Sacred Theology, magna cum laude, from the Gregorian University in March 1995. Since 1995 Fr. Picx has been a member of the Redemptorist community in Davao. He is also prefect of studies of St. Alphonsus' Theologate and professor of systematic theology. Besides teaching, he is actively involved in the formation of BECs in the Redemptorist Parish. He also goes all over the country giving seminars and talks to various groups and dioceses. He is the director of the Redemptorist Pastoral Resource Center.  He has published several books and articles on Basic Ecclesial Communities. In 2000, Fr. Picx went on a cycling pilgrimage for peace across the country – from Davao to Pagudpod, Ilocos Norte, convering 2,083 km. Since then he has been involved in several peace initiatives in Mindanao. He was also active in the anti-Estrada campaign that led to People Power II. He is a member of the Council of Leaders of the Coalition Against Summary Execution (CASE).