REPORT OF PHILIPPINES

DELEGATION OF THE PHILIPPINES REPORT

The Xaverian Missionaries have been in the Philippines for 21 years and Fr. Piergiorgio Venturini was the first of our confreres to arrive in the archipelago in 1991. We can surely say that our Delegation owes its existence to the keenly-felt need to intensify our Xaverian presence in Asia, but also to the establishment of our International Theologate, which was the fruit of a deliberation of the XII General Chapter (1989), when it entrusted the new General Direction with the task of opening “at least another Theology Community in a mission area, preferably in Asia…where students from different nationalities could learn how to overcome their cultural parameters and adapt to other cultures” (XII General Chapter, 83). The choice of the Philippine capital is due to the fact that Manila offers more than enough suitable elements to foster a style of presence that is typically missionary. Namely: the presence of several good theological institutions; a teaching that takes into account the Asian context of a Church vis-à-vis the great religions; the socio-cultural environment of a metropolis overflowing with urban poor; proximity to Japan, China, Indonesia…which already have a Xaverian presence and a simple process for obtaining an entry visa.