An award-winning missionary magazine

Filipino Focus

The large archipelago of the Philippines, in its richness of peoples and cultures, offers varied and challenging situations for mission.

A Home for Children with Special Needs

The Servants of Charity in the Philippines have been providing a home to indigent and abandoned children and young adults with intellectual disabilities. The Guanella community in Quezon City is also…

A Challenge to the Church and Democracy

50 years after Ferdinand Marcos Sr. made himself a dictator by declaring Martial Law, his only son was formally inaugurated as the 17th President of the Philippines, after 31 million-plus Filipinos…

Just Do It: Julianne Torres

A stay-at-home mother pursues her dream of joining a noontime contest Reina ng Tahanan. She shares how she has overcome the virus and continues to raise faith-driven kids.

Mission To The World

The more than ten million Filipinos abroad carry around their Catholic faith with their special way of praying and celebrating. In this way, everywhere, they are reviving the local churches where they…

Christianity And The Filipino Identity

The fact that Christianity arrived and developed together with the colonial domination of the Spaniards has constituted a problem for the identity of the Filipino people.

Holy Rebellions

In the 19th century, violent rebellions against the colonial government involving Church personnel broke out. They were motivated not by insubordination but by strong, legitimate demand for equal…

Tough Love

Popular devotion in the Philippines presents some features which demand bodily suffering that can reach an extreme extent like flagellations, the yearly "transfer" of the Black Nazarene of Quiapo in…

Common Joy

The life of the Filipino villages and parishes is built around the “Fiesta”, a yearly celebration of the Patron Saint which includes the preparations, the solemn Mass, the procession with the images…

Salamat, Mama Mary!

The love of the Filipino people for the Blessed Virgin Mary is well-known and gives origin to devotional practices like “Simbang Gabi” and “Flores de Mayo”. But the most evident feature is the…

The Most Distinguished Legacy

Christianity has spread education everywhere. The University of Santo Tomas (UST), the first university of its kind in Asia, the Ateneo de Manila, La Salle, San Beda and many others, have been and are…

Religion and Folklore

The acceptance of Christianity is evident in the festivals which show the popular response to it as an invitation to joy and celebration. In them, faith becomes culture.

A Story of Intelligence and Sacrifice

The second wave of pioneers saw the arrival of the Jesuits, the Dominicans, and the Recollects. On the whole, the population accepted Catholicism, settled down, and engaged in agriculture, trade, and…

The Leaven of the Gospel

The evangelization of the Philippines came together with the Spanish occupation as the proclaimed purpose of the colonizers. The pioneers of the Gospel in the country were five religious orders.

The Fascination of the “Little Boy”

On March 16, 1521, Magellan and his Spanish fleet arrived in the Philippines. The first Mass was celebrated at Limasawa. The newly baptized Queen Juana received the statue of the Santo Niño, like the…

Limasawa, Site of First Mass in PH

A few months before the 500th anniversary of Christianity in the country, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) has determined that Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and…

Priest Endeavors To Save Planet

When he is not busy in his ministry, Fr. Roneil Canillas travels around Eastern Samar to take photos of birds, which he calls “indicators of our environment’s integrity.”

Tagle’s New Job Could Transform the Church

Cardinal Tagle is at the helm of the “superdicastery” responsible for all missionary activity. It’s a challenging task that could, nevertheless, transform the Church inside and out.

“I Interact with Different Cultures”

Avegail Sison is a cabin crew member of Philippine Airlines, the country’s national flag carrier. She concedes that “God is a priority” in her life, and therefore, is able to reconcile a demanding…

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