Invitation: Lenten Recollection

LENTEN RECOLLECTION...
With Fr. Roderick Salazar, SVD
SVD Mission Philippines Director

Witness to the Word: Fr. Antonio Alagao, SVD

Fr. Antonio “Tony” Alagao is from Tayun, Abra. He entered Christ the King Mission Seminary in 1961, and was ordained a priest in 1972. He belonged to a batch that included the rebel priest Conrado Balweg. This period in Church history is the immediate post Vatican II time, when the Church was experiencing an aggiornamento, an updating of the church practices and redirection to adapt to the times. This was a challenging time of many changes, and the missionary had to cope with these developments.

Fr. Tony was first assigned to the SVD missions in Abra, working as assistant to then Bishop Artemio Rillera, SVD in Bangued.

In due time, he was appointed to work in the educational institutions of the SVD, and eventually became the president of Divine Word College in Vigan, Ilocos Sur. A debilitating sickness of the throat changed his mission course, and he was unable to speak. He had to use a gadget pressed to his throat to be heard. He is stationed in the SVD regional house in Bangued, and continues to serve as the supervisor the DWCB vocational/technical programs and archivist of the SVD Philippines North.

Fr. Tony, the mission continues... no physical defect or limitation can limit the zeal of a true missionary! The Witness to the Word goes on. Mabuhay ka! (Steve Villarosa)

The SVD Mission Philippines, Inc.

The SVD Mission Philippines, Inc. (TSMPI) is a non-stock non-profit corporation organized by the Society of the Divine Word (Societas Verbi Divini, or SVD) in the Philippines primarily to promote mission consciousness and animation, and to raise funds supporting SVD missionaries assigned to the foreign missions. It is an inter-Provincial agency for the missionaries of the three (3) SVD Provinces in the Philippines – the SVD Northern Province, ; the SVD Central Province, and the SVD Southern Province.

The immediate Past Director of TSMPI is Rev. Fr. Agerico Orbos, SVD, popularly known as Fr. Jerry, who served TSMPI for more than twenty (20) years. Its incumbent Director is Rev. Fr. Roderick Salazar, SVD, or Fr. Rod to his friend, who for many years was President of the University of San Carlos in Cebu City. Its premises are in Christ the King Seminary Compound at Quezon City. Fr. Rod works with Fr. Angel Magada, SVD, who is in charge of the Mission House, with quarters for around twenty (20) missionaries.

The XVD Association was tapped to be the lead group of a lay associate movement in support of TSMPI. It will extend invitation to all who are mission minded, especially people whose lives were touched by the SVDs in their mission work in parishes, schools and other apostolates, and shall be called The SVD Mission Philippines Lay Associates. The TMSPI Lay Associates is basically a movement of lay people in support of the missionary work of the Divine Word Missionaries.

In support of TSMPI’s twin objectives, social media will be used, starting with the launching of a Facebook page. TSMPI will be registered as a donee institution, so that donations to it will be tax deductible on the part of the donor. A donation campaign will be launched to support the SVD missionaries abroad. An SVD missionary newsletter will be created in soft copy for posting in the TSMPI Facebook page, and other social media. Thus thru the TSMPI, with prayers, active participation, donations and hard work, the XVDs thru the TMSPI Lay Association hope to live out in this secular world their lay response to the Call that God issued to them a long time ago, which was never revoked. (Samuel Yap, VP – The XVD Association)