(Nov. 4-8) Fr. John Joffer Lucas, RCJ, Provincial Vicar and Councilor on the Sector on Parishes, Laity and Youth Ministry, organized and facilitated the Meeting of the Priests of the St. Matthew Province (SMP) who are assigned in Parishes, held partly in Iloilo and in Guimaras.
The gathering included moment of common prayers and sharing of experiences. There also were guided rolling tours around neighboring districts of Iloilo City and moments of relaxation and bonding in Guimaras. The group even met with Fr. Aris James Java, a Priest Team Ministry Member at the National Shrine of the Our Lady of Candles, also known as the Jaro’s Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, and also with Fr. Reynante Salabe, Parish Priest of Jordan, Guimaras’ St. Micheal the Archangel Parish, who both welcomed the pastors for spontaneous exchange of impressions, learnings and best practices in parish ministry. At the Rogate Center of Pastoral Care for Vocations (Camp Alfredo), in prolonged discussions, they deepened on the opportunities and challenges they face in their respective pastoral assignments, as they reviewed, in attempt to draft a contextualized adaptation of the 2022 guidelines, “The Rogationist Mission in Parishes and Shrines”, making it more responsive to the parochial circumstances confronted by Province.
The following priests participated: Fr. Henry Ramos , RCJ (St. Lawrence the Deacon Parish, Ilocos Norte), Fr. Dexter Prudenciano, RCJ (St. Catherine of Siena Parish, Pangasinan), Fr. Ricardo Caperiña, RCJ (St. Francis Xavier Parish, Bataan), Fr. Jorem Bellen, RCJ (University of Perpetual Help System DALTA Chaplaincy, Las Piñas), Fr. Chris Melvic Floralde, RCJ (Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Parish, Parañaque), Fr. Ronie Gumagay, RCJ (Palawan) and Fr. Julius Descartin, RCJ (St. John Paul II Sub Parish, Davao). The St. Hannibal Mary Discernment Center (RogaMina) and at the Rogate Center of Pastoral Care for Vocations (Camp Alfredo) hosted the confreres.
