PHS

The Southern Philippine Province, came into existence with the re-division of the Philippine SVD in 1982 and is dedicated to Bl. Joseph Freinademetz. It covers the regions of the Visayas and Mindanao.

In the Visayas, we are active on the islands of Cebu (University of San Carlos, Divine Word Formation Center, Blessed Freinademetz Formation House, Bl. Arnold Janssen Parish, Radio Stations DYRF AM and DYDW FM, and Divine Word Social Communications Center in Cebu City), Bohol (Divine Word College in Tagbilaran City), and Leyte (Divine Word University). In Mindanao, we are present in the Diocese of Surigao in northeastern Mindanao (Surigao District), the Diocese of Butuan in central Mindanao (Agusan District), and the Archdiocese of Davao in south eastern Mindanao (Regional Major Seminary and DW Formation Center in Davao City).

The Philippine Southern Province has 106 members in perpetual vows who hale from eight different nations. The Province is quite young, with an average age of 46.0 years. The apostolic or missionary involvement of the province can be categorized into four areas:

1. School Apostolate

The province runs two universities and one sizeable college - The University of San Carlos (USC) in Cebu, the Divine Word University (DWU) in Tacloban [closed at present due to labor problems], and the Divine Word College (DWC) in Tagbilaran City. Thirty-three confreres are working in these different educational institutions.

 2. Formation Apostolate

The Province also runs four formation centers. Three are for candidates to the SVD who are on the College level of formation, and one is the Regional Major Seminary of Mindanao Sulu for diocesan priests. The three SVD Formation centers are: in Cebu, the Divine Word Formation Center with 34 clerical seminarians; also in Cebu, the Blessed Freinademetz Formation House with college candidates for Brotherhood and Junior Brothers in temporary vows; and in Mindanao, the Divine Word Formation Center in Davao City, with clerical seminarians. In the same Davao City, two confreres are still involved with the Regional Major Seminary of Mindanao Sulu.

3. Parish Apostolate

 

The Province has two mission districts in the region of Mindanao. In the Surigao district, we serve eight parishes on the islands of Dinagat and Siargao. On the mainland we also serve one parish in a slum area of Surigao city. In the Agusan district we serve seven parishes. Thirty confreres work in the parishes of both districts under rather difficult conditions. In Cebu, we recently accepted an offer of the Cardinal to take care of a parish in the city's depressed area. It was carved out of an existing parish to become the Bl. Arnold Janssen Parish.

4. Specialized Apostolates

4.1. Communications

In Cebu City, we run a Social Communications Center and two radio stations (DYRF AM and DYDW FM). In Ormoc City, we have another radio station (DYDW AM). A confrere coordinates the entire social communications apostolate of the province.

 4.2. Justice and Peace

Since two or three years ago, a confrere was assigned, full time, as provincial coordinator of the province's JPIC concerns. He resides at the Provincialate and coordinates the JPIC concerns of each community and District through their respective coordinators.

  4.3. Tribal Filipino Apostolate

The confrere assigned full time for the Tribal Apostolate in the District of Agusan ventured into a new approach in this special apostolate. He has concentrated his attention and effort on training and educating the young among the tribal Filipinos in the diocese of Butuan. After painstaking research and initial exposure, he has arrived at the conclusion that this was the best and the most realistic help we can offer.

 5. Challenges and Possibilities

The  most important challenge is that of constant, daily, personal and communal renewal to remain faithful to the call to follow Jesus' vision and mission. This faithfulness to follow Jesus in the context of the charism bequeathed to us by our Founder is the sole guarantee that that gift which God gave to the world and to the Church in and through the charism of our Founder may continue to be a gift, even today, through us. This is what matters and what is of consequence. "Unless the Lord builds the house the work of the builders is useless." (Ps. 127:1)

Our presence and the kind of work we are doing in the parishes in the dioceses of Butuan and Surigao should be the subject of reexamination. As more and more diocesan priests are ordained, we should encourage and even push the bishops to take over parishes presently under our care. As we are freed from traditional parish work we may, even remaining in the above mentioned dioceses, go into ministries that are more in line with our charism (e.g. biblical apostolate, mission animation, tribal Filipinos).

Another issue that needs to be faced squarely is the missionary dimension of our schools. What does this mean? The answer we give to this question should not remain in official statements and documents. It needs to be sincerely discussed, clarified, and clearly stated so that it can give justification to our presence in and commitment to the school apostolate. Apropos to our school apostolate is the question of our "option for the poor". Are the Community Extension Services of our schools enough to show that we are doing something for the poor or can our schools do more in terms of the option for the poor?

Last but not least is the issue of professionalism in our work. The Province urgently needs to develop a pool of professionally trained confreres particularly for the school and formation apostolate.