On July 25, 2016, new SCJ Community in Talisay, Hilongos in the Diocese of Maasin celebrated the Feast of St. James, the Patron Saint of the main chapel where the community at the moment is residing. The concelebrated Mass was presided by Fr. Conrado “Dodong” Saavedra, who also delivered the homily presenting St. James, the Apostle as a model of faith and commitment.
The Eucharist was followed by the Blessing of the Community House done by the Regional Superior Fr. Francis Pupkowski, SCJ. The celebration was well organized and attended by members of the “St. Pope John Paul II, Mission Territory.” The SCJs were represented by Fr. Francis Pupkowski, SCJ and Fr. Patrick Gutib, SCJ, who came all the way from Cagayan de Oro City.
All of the pilgrims from different SCJ parishes around the world are already in Poland. Prior to the main celebration of the World Youth Day in Krakow they met together in Pliszczyn.
One of the first groups of young people, that arrived in Pliszczyn, were the Canadians from Toronto. They were followed by the young people from Brazil, Indonesia, Spain, Germany, Philippines, Slovakia and from the SCJ parish in Houston in the United States.
In Pliszczyn there were: warm welcome of the delegates, presentations, prayer and the Eucharist, fun, shared meals and tours. Most of the young people from Spain, Italy, Albania and Portugal, were accommodated by foster families from the Good Shepherd Parish in Lublin.
In Lublin, they have learned about the history of the city and visited the former concentration camp at Majdanek.
Most of them visited the open-air Village Museum and the Catholic University of Lublin, where once a lecturer was Cardinal Karol Wojtyla. They listened to the story of Professor Fr. Andrzej Szostak about the history of the university and its relationship with the Pope from Krakow. They also met at the roadside shrines located in the area of Pliszczyn with the local population and together they participated in the Holy Mass.
On Saturday, July 23, 2016, the young people took part in the central event of World Youth Day of the Diocese of Lublin at the Arena Stadium under the slogan: “Kraków begins in Lublin.” They arrived at the stadium through the city streets in a grand and colorful parade. On the site they saw the presentation about Abraham and the staging of the history of Lublin, which seven hundred year foundation falls next year. The main point of this Prayer and Art event was the solemn Eucharist presided by the Ordinary of the Diocese of Lublin, Archbishop Stanislaw Budzik.
On Sunday, the youth from Pliszczyn and Lublin went to Stadniki, where the Sacred Heart Seminary is located and where they were joined by other delegations, namely from Moldova, Finland and France.
On July 25, 2016, the young people met with the General Superior of the Congregation of the Priests of the sacred Heart of Jesus, Very Rev. Fr. Heiner Wilmer, SCJ.
The Philippine group is being accompanied by Fr. Andrzej Sudoł, SCJ, a former missionary in the Philippines and in charge of the Dehonian Youth, who designed the program of their visit and took care about all details including transportation, accommodation and sightseeing trips.
World Youth Day is a youth-oriented International event that takes place every two to three years. The event itself is a celebration of Catholic Faith among the world’s youth, but the invitation is extended to youth of all the world regardless of religious convictions. World Youth Day was initiated by St. Pope John Paul II in 1985 with the first encounter being held in Rome in 1986.
Each international World Youth Day attracts thousands of young people from around the world to gather in a festival of unity and color. World Youth Day is not just a day, but a week of festival, celebrating the faith of young people. World Youth Day presents an opportunity for young people of different cultures and backgrounds to come together and share in the faith and culture of others. It has become tradition that the groups of young people carry various colors, flags and symbols to distinguish who they are and where they come from. This is also done through songs, chants and music. Throughout the course of the event, young people trade these symbols, flags and colors to keep as souvenirs of their time at World Youth Day and as memories of the people they met.
History of World Youth Day
Although World Youth Day has become a week of celebration, the pinnacle of the festival is the open air mass held by the Pope on the last day. This is officially ‘The World Youth Day’. All the other activities are a build up to this event. The smiles and joy, singing and dancing, culture upon culture and nation upon nation, proudly holding flags high, greeting one another, trading tokens, humbly realizing how small we are in a world of people, and strengthened to witness so many who share our faith with all its difficulties and challenges, is all part of the build up to this massive International Mass, celebrating youth with their enthusiasm and joy.
There have been a total of 12 International World Youth Days since 1986. The most recent World Youth Day was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 2013.
Buenos Aires (1987)
Santiago de Compostela (1989)
Częstochowa (1991)
Denver (1993)
Manila (1995)
Paris (1997)
Rome (2000)
Toronto (2002)
Cologne (2005)
Sydney (2008)
Madrid (2011)
Rio de Janeiro (2013)
Dehonian Youth Encounter
Since the WYD in Cologne in 2005, the Dehonian Youth from around the world meets together to share the richness of the spirituality of Venerable Fr. Leo Dehon and simply to celebrate. As this year, the World Youth Day is held in Krakow, Poland, the representatives from different countries are gathered around the centers of SCJ presence in different parts of the country. The youth connected with the SCJ Philippine Region is composed of 17 young people plus 3 priests and 1 SCJ seminarian. After arrival in Warsaw on July 20, 2016 and visiting some interesting places there, the group moved to Pliszczyn, Diocese of Lublin, where the SCJs have their parish and Postulancy house. After some common activities and visiting countryside they will move to Stadniki and then to Krakow to participate in the Vigil and the Mass with Pope Francis on July 30-31, 2016. The participants from the Philippines will also have an opportunity to visit some important places before their departure for the Philippines on August 9, 2016.
On July 23, 2016, the Bishop of Diocese of Ipil, Most. Rev. Julius S. Tonel, DD, has installed Fr. John Karl Cabaluna, SCJ, as new Parish Priest in San Isidro Labrador Parish in Kumalarang. Fr. John Karl, also known as “Fr. Nonong”, comes from the former SCJ parish in Margosatubig in the Province of Zamboanga del Sur. He is the first SCJ Filipino priest and was ordained on February 24, 2004. Among his different assignments were: assistant parish priest in Dumalinao, formator in Cagayan de Oro, in-charge of the Chaplaincy in Dansolihon, formator in Manila and most recently parish priest in Bagong Silang, Caloocan City.
Kumalarang Parish is one of the three parishes offered to the SCJs upon their arrival in the Philippines in 1989. The other two parishes: Margosatubig and Dimataling were turned back to the Diocese of Pagadian in 2003.
Fr. John Karl is the eighth SCJ and second SCJ Filipino parish priest in Kumalarang.
The ceremony of installation was attended by the parishioners from different zones of the parish, SCJ confreres, members of his family and friends.
On July 14, 2016, Fr. Patrick L. Gutib, SCJ, the Master of Postulants, was installed as a new superior of the Cagayan de Oro Formation Community. He replaced Fr. Donald S. Longno, SCJ, who was sent to study in Manila. As of now the Cagayan de Oro Community is composed of 5 priests, 12 postulants and 24 aspirants.
The ceremony of installation took place during the Holy Eucharist presided by the Regional Superior Fr. Francis Pupkowski, SCJ.
World Youth Day is a youth-oriented International event that takes place every two to three years. The event itself is a celebration of Catholic Faith among the world’s youth, but the invitation is extended to youth of all the world regardless of religious convictions. World Youth Day was initiated by St. Pope John Paul II in 1985 with the first encounter being held in Rome in 1986.
SCJ Philippines Region 