Tag Archives: cagayan de oro city

Mar 19 2010

New SCJ Bishop from the Philippines

Vilsom3Today, on March 19, 2010, on the Feast of St. Joseph, the Holy See has announced the good news regarding episcopal nomination of our SCJ confrere Rev. Fr. Vilsom Basso, scj. Fr. Vilsom Basso belongs to the SCJ Philippine District and until now was assigned as formator in Cagayan de Oro City and Pastor in charge in Dansolihon Chaplaincy. His new assignment will be as a bishop in diocese Caxias in Maranhão (Brazil).

Fr. Vilsom Basso, scj was born on February 16, 1960 in Cinquentenário Tuparendi, in the diocese of Santo Ângelo, in the province of Rio Grande do Sul. After his elementary studies in his native city, he entered the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Dehonians). He received his title of Bachelor in Philosophy in Brusque (1979-1981) and one in theology in Taubaté (1982-1985). On 25 February 1985 he made the Final Profession in the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart and on December 28th 1985 he was ordained a priest. In 1991, he followed a postgraduate course in pastoral theology at the University Javeriana in Bogota, Colombia.

In the Diocese of Viana, State of Maranhão, he was assigned as parochial vicar in the parish of “Santa Inês” (1986-1987) and Alto Alegre (1993) and as a Pastor of the Parish of “Santa Luzia” (1998-2003). In the Archdiocese of São Luís do Maranhão, he was a parochial vicar (1988-1992) and then the parish priest (2004-2005) of the Sanctuary “Nossa Senhora da Conceição”. In addition, he was coordinator of youth ministry in the State of Maranhão (1988-1992) and Councilor of the National Pastoral Youth of the Brazilian Bishops’ Conference (1994-1997). In 2006 he was assistant priest of the shrine “São Judas Tadeu” in São Paulo. Since 2007 he is one of the formators of the Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines.

Dec 29 2007

Search-in Seminar in Cagayan de Oro

Forty four young men searching for their way of life attended the “Search-in Seminar” in Cagayan de Oro City. The seminar was held from December 26 – 29, 2007, in the Sacred Heart Formation House in Aluba, and it was organized by the Vocation Promotion Team led by Fr. Indra Pamungkas, scj.

The participants came from different parts of Mindanao representing seven dioceses. Thirty five of the participants expressed their interest in the Congregation and wrote an application letter. Finally, after the interview conducted by members of the team, nineteen of them were approved as candidates.

Dec 2 2006

Visit of the Archbishop in the Seminary

On November 30, 2006, the Archbishop Antonio Ledesma, DD, SJ paid a short visit to the Sacred Heart Formation House in Cagayan de Oro City.

Besides his busy schedule, the Archbishop was able to find a time to visit the SCJ community and to have a supper together. The visit was friendly and very promising regarding the pastoral involvement of SCJs in the diocese. For the seminarians it gave an opportunity to know better their bishop.

Jun 21 2006

New SCJ Filipino Priest

On June 20,2006, Deacon Arthur Palamine Guevara was ordained a priest. He received the sacrament of Holy Order from the hands of Most Reverend Emmanuel Cabajar, CSSR, DD, the bishop of the Diocese of Pagadian. The Ceremony was held in the Sacred Heart Parish in Cagayan de Oro City, the parish of Fr. Arthur and was attended by all SCJs, his relatives, friends and many priests and religious from different dioceses and congregations. Fr. Arthur P. Guevara, “Tong”, is the second SCJ Filipino priest.

Fr. Arthur, was born on January 22, 1972 in Cagayan de Oro City. He is the second of three children of Benjamin Guevara and Ophelia Palamine. After finishing his elementary school at Camp Evangelista in Cagayan de Oro City and high school at Liceo de Cagayan University, he went to Marawi City, where at the Mindanao State University, he graduated as Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, major in Accounting. It was a time when he got deeply involved in the activities of Singles for Christ, a Catholic, charismatic movement widely spread in the Philippines, and when he started to think seriously about the priesthood, giving up his dream from his early childhood to become a military man like his father.

After completing his studies, for two years he worked in the Philippine National Bank in Cagayan de Oro City. During this time he met an SCJ members working in that area. As a result of these contacts, on April 16, 1996, he joined our SCJ Congregation.
First, he finished his philosophical studies at Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro, after which in 1998 he started his 14 months Novitiate in Dimataling, Zamboanga del Sur. After taking his first vows, he went back to Cagayan de Oro to study theology at St. Vianney Theological Seminary, which he finished in March 2003. At the moment he is assigned in San Isidro Parish in Dumalinao, Zamboanga del Sur.