A whole story of gratitude, renewal and hope

“There are a lot of stories we can tell about these two institutions, but they are a whole story of gratitude, renewal and hope”.

The two institutions are Loyola House of Studies (LHS) and the Loyola School of Theology (LST) which this month concluded their yearlong golden jubilee celebration. At the closing dinner on September 11, Fr Antonio Moreno SJ, Philippine Jesuit Provincial and Loyola School of Theology Vice-Chancellor, described the story of LHS and LST as a tale of appreciation and optimism.

“We’re really thankful to the Lord for His graciousness in accompanying us. It’s awesome to see how we’ve developed from a relatively small number of about 100 students in the first year of LST to the 426 students we have now, a third of them coming from overseas.”

The Loyola School of Theology is the primary Jesuit theologate teaching in the English language within the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific. It offers an Asian Theological Programme that seeks to respond more effectively to contemporary evangelical challenges by promoting a contextual approach to theology for the service of the Church in Asia and beyond. Loyola House of Studies is the house of formation for Jesuits in the Philippine Province.

The golden jubilee celebration began on September 12, 2015, exactly 50 years from the day Loyola House of Studies and Loyola School of Theology were inaugurated by His Eminence Rufino Cardinal Santos in 1965.

For LST President Fr Joe Quilongquilong SJ, the jubilee celebration was “a graced time for us to remember, to rejoice and to respond”.

“We remember with grateful love all the persons – faculty, formators, staff, employees, alumni, alumnae, scholastics, seminarians, students, benefactors and other collaborators – who were involved in LHS-LST over these 50 years.” he said. “We rejoice with deep faith as we directed the communal encounters of the various golden jubilee events through the Eucharistic celebrations and theological-pastoral-spiritual renewal programmes and we respond with hopeful commitment as we look forward to the next 50 years and the challenges of new evangelisation on how best to bring the Gospel message to different cultural contexts and groups.”

Among the activities and events organised to mark the golden jubilee were an exhibition on important events and persons in the history of LHS and LST, a grand alumni homecoming, a benefactors’ night and an international symposium on “Leading and Serving through Theology: 50 Years After Vatican II” which featured a keynote address by Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi DD, Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education of the Holy See. In addition, the 50+50 Endowment Fund Drive was launched to raise Php 100 million for both LST and LHS.

The year-long celebration closed with a prayer concert led by Philippine Jesuit music ministry group Himig Heswita on September 10, followed the next day by a mass celebrated by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle and a dinner reception.

As LST and LHS remember with gratitude the milestones and graces of the last 50 years, these two institutions of formation and learning look forward with hope and confidence to a future filled with new opportunities to serve the Church in the Philippines, Asia and the world.