Category SCJ Philippine Region

Aug 10 2013

Kasanag Daughters Foundation in a new location

Two years ago in a disastrous rainfall the mountains, the river running through Cagayan de Oro burst its boundaries and inundated a large portion of this city on the island of Mindanao, the Philippines. Many people were swept away in the raging waters. The flood also reached as high as the second floor of the Kasanag Daughters Foundation, one of the social projects of the Philippine Region. Fortunately, no one was killed. However, the water damage was extensive. After the event there was a fear that such a flood might return and threaten lives. Shortly after the flood the Foundation decided to look for another property on higher ground.

With the help of some good friends in the Philippines but around the world a new property was found and also the funds to buy the property and build on it a new house. A special help was provided by the Episcopal conference of Italy but also by SCJ Provinces and Regions. It is for this reason that so soon after the flood there is now a brand new house for the Kasanag Daughters Foundation.
On Sunday, August 4, the new house was blessed. Sixteen of the young women were present together with members of the Board of Directors, the social worker, the directress of the house, the housemothers and a good number of Dehonians, the spiritual force behind this work. The mass was presided by Fr. John van den Hengel, the vicar general of the Dehonians, who was in the Philippines to direct a retreat for the fellow SCJs. In the Eucharist he reflected on the miracle of generosity that had happened. He asked the young women: “You have been given a miracle. It is up to you now to show to others what you do with the miracle.”
After Mass the house and the grounds were abundantly blessed. Fr. Francis Pupkowski expressed the thanks of the community for all who had made this event possible. The work is the ministry of Fr. Marcial Corpuz Aquire. He had helped to organize the feast after the blessing. The young women entertained with song and dance.
The work of the Foundation receives support from a number of countries in which the Congregation is active. It is one of the crown jewels of the Philippine Region. It stands as a symbol of their commitment to follow in the footsteps of social commitment and spirituality of Fr. Founder.

Aug 9 2013

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.

Aug 4 2013

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.

Dec 3 2012

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.

Nov 14 2012

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.