East Asian Pastoral Institute celebrates 60 years in Manila
Run by the Jesuit Conference of Asia-Pacific as a fruit of the Second Vatican Council, the EAPI promotes continuing education by welcoming priests, religious sisters, and lay people from various countries each semester. Its courses are a valuable tool for inculturating the faith in local contexts. FABC Chairman Cardinal Ferrao thanked the institute for its contribution to the missionary work of the Church.
Manila (AsiaNews) – The East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) celebrated its 60th anniversary on 15 August with a solemn Eucharistic celebration followed by a seminar held the following days.
Run by the Jesuit Conference of Asia-Pacific, the international organisation is headquartered on the campus of the Ateneo de Manila University.
The meeting was conceived as an opportunity to reflect on EAPI's journey in light of the call to become a more synodal Church and to follow the direction indicated by the Spirit. Some 170 EAPI alumni, Church leaders, faculty members, benefactors, and collaborators attended the event.
The opening Mass was led by Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão, archbishop of Goa and Daman (India), president of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC), and a member of the Vatican Synodal Council.
The Eucharist was a colourful and an inculturated celebration, featuring local dances, songs, processions, and the offering of incense, testimony to EAPI’s multicultural diversity.
In his homily, Cardinal Ferrão stressed the contribution the institute makes to the training and continuing education of Catholic priests, nuns, and lay people for missionary and pastoral work in Asia and beyond.
He thanked the Jesuits who run the EAPI for their attentive leadership and commitment to evangelisation.
A fruit of the Second Vatican Council, the EAPI began offering training programmes 60 years ago to promote the renewal of the Church in light of Vatican II.
Currently, at each semester, it hosts more than 60 priests, religious, and lay people from more than 20 countries in Asia, Oceania, and Africa for a sabbatical of renewal, pastoral development, and ongoing education.
Its programmes encompass a rich array of spiritual, pastoral, theological, and human development topics, and its pedagogy emphasises not only theoretical learning but also the integration of context, experience, and practical application.
The seminar held on 16 and 17 August featured speakers like Sister Nathalie Becquart, undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops at the Vatican, and Charles Bertille, former executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Malaysia-Singapore-Brunei (CBCMSB).
Their presentations focused on emerging opportunities and challenges in the Church's mission and pastoral leadership and on the call to synodality.
Participants had a chance to engage with them on strategic issues facing the Church and the implications for institutions like EAPI, which play a crucial role in the education and training.
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