HOUSTON, TX

In response to the Pope’s recent visit to Manila and his call to evangelize the Asian continent, the Spiritans are planning a new formation house in Manila to serve the order’s future priestly vocation needs from India, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Vietnam, the Philippines and Taiwan.

Presently, the students and their formators are occupying temporary quarters in Manila as a step in the overall development plan. The Spiritans own the land where the new facility will be built, and the demolition of the outdated formation house on that land will coincide with the permitting for construction of the new home.

As these students begin their discernment they move from being a part of the pre-novitiate program to the novitiate to the post-novitiate program. After their year as novices, they usually spend a year or two in a program referred to as the Pastoral Mission Experience (PME) where each lives and works in a foreign mission location providing them with an “on the ground” view of the life of pastoral mission ministry.

As of July 1, 2015 there are a total of 44 men from India, Vietnam and the Philippines in various stages of formation. Thirty are just beginning their formation as part of the pre-novitiate, two are Novices. and twelve students are part of the post-novitiate program , six of whom are currently experiencing their year in the PME, and six are studying theology in Manila.

The new formation house in Manila will allow a total of twenty-five men and confreres to reside in a singular communal environment as they participate in they study Theology at the nearby Loyola School of Theology and Maryhill School of Theology

One of the fund raising events for this project will take place Friday July 31, 2015 in Houston. The gala and auction Spiritans Beyond Boundaries is expected to attract more than 450 project supporters.