Annual Retreat in Malaybalay

VDH-L

Fr. John van den Hengel, SCJ

From August 5 – 9, 2013, all SCJs from the Philippine Region took part in spiritual exercises conducted by Fr. John van den Hengel, the vicar general of the Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The focus of the retreat was on Dehonian charism and spirituality. Using the examples of two founding fathers Fr. Leo Dehon and Fr. Andre Prevot, the proper founder of the congregation and the first novice master, Fr. John showed the concepts and principal ideas  that were lying behind the creation of a new religious institute. The participants had an opportunity to find out many interesting and commonly unknown facts that shaped the beginnings of the congregation. The retreat was held at the Jesuit Retreat House in Malaybalay, the capital city of the Bukidnon Province.

Resume of the Web Page

advisoryservicesWe are happy to resume in a new form our presence on the web. At the same time we are sorry for the long time of silence about the Philippine Region. To make it clearer and more manageable we had to move to WordPress. Hopefully you will like this new look of our site.

Ordination to the Priesthood

November 30, 2012, Feast of St Andrew Apostol and Bonifacio Day in the Philippines, was a very special day for the SCJ Philippine Region. Four of our confreres: Patrick, Thai, Khoa and Loc received the Holy Order of Priesthood. Patrick is a Filipino while the three others come from Vietnam. The celebration was held at San Lorenzo Ruiz Parsh in Quezon City, a walking distance from the Dehon House where our scholastics live. The ordaining bishop was his Excellency Antonio Tobias, DD, the bishop of Novaliches, our old-time friend from Pagadian Diocese. The celebration was very nice and was attended by more less 500 people. Majority of them were Vietnamese, members of different religious congregations and friends of the new priests.

Asian Formators Conference

From November 13 to 19, 2012, a total of 16 SCJs representing the different Dehonian formation entities in the Asian Zone, namely, Indonesia (4), the Philippines (7), Vietnam (2) and India (3), are gathered in the Philippines for the 2012 Asian Formators Conference.

The first 3 days of the conference, that is, from November 13-15, is the THEORETICAL aspect. The venue is in Dehon House, Quezon City, which is the Theologate and Scholasticate formation center of the Philippine Region. These days will be devoted to the plenary sessions, inputs and discussions. There are 3 themes for this year’s conference: (1) Sint Unum; (2) contemporary issues in formation; and (3) the Dehonian way of doing formation. Significantly, during the first day of the conference the delegates will discuss the implementation of the 2011 Asian Conference in Yogyakarta concerning the three-fold dialogue pertaining to the SCJ Formation Program.

Participants of Asian Formators Conference

The rest of the week will be spent in the Island of Mindanao, specifically, from November 16-19, which is the PRACTICAL aspect of the conference. The delegates will have the chance to visit the different formation houses of the Philippine Region, specifically, the Sacred Heart Formation House in Cagayan de Oro and Novitiate Fr. Dehon in Dumalinao, Zamboanga del Sur, and the parishes managed by the SCJs.

Ordination to the Diaconate of 1 Filipino and 3 Vietnamese Confreres

IMG_3311On June 12, 2012, the Independence Day in the Philippines – one Filipino and 3 Vietnamese confreres (Patrick, Thai, Khoa and Loc) were ordained as Deacons. The ordination took place at the San Lorenzo Ruiz Parish in Quezon City, Diocese of Novaliches.

The ordaining bishop Most Rev. Antonio Tobias, DD, long time friend of the SCJs in the Philippines, reminded the candidates about their role as servants recalling the words of Jesus ” The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve” (Mk 10:45). This was also the motto chosen by the newly ordained deacons.

The ceremony was attended by SCJs from different communities, many Vietnamese priests, religious from different congregations, family members and friends of new deacons.