Pope Francis has appointed Fr Jose VC Quilongquilong SJ as a consultor to the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education, which oversees Catholic schools, universities, and institutes of higher education around the world.
Fr Quilongquilong served as President of the Loyola School of Theology, the theologate of the Philippine Jesuit Province, from 2013 until 2019. Earlier on, he served as the Jesuit Superior General’s Regional Secretary of then East Asia and Oceania, now Asia Pacific, at the General Curia in Rome from 2005 to 2011.
He is currently the Rector of Ateneo de Manila University’s Jesuit Community. Aside from his additional assignment as professor of theology and spirituality at the Loyola School of Theology in Manila, he also supervises the Ignatian Spirituality Formation and Retreat Centers in Mirador-Baguio, Angono-Rizal, and Cebu.
“I am deeply humbled by this appointment from the Holy Father,” said Fr Quilongquilong. “The work of consultor is simply to assist in any way the apostolic work of the Congregation for Catholic Education to promote the catholic identity of our schools, since the work of education is always tied to the Church’s evangelical mission in the world.”
The Congregation for Catholic Education is tasked with deepening, developing, and promoting the fundamental principles of Catholic education, ensuring that the integrity of the Catholic faith is preserved in teaching doctrine. It establishes guidelines for Catholic schools, and assists bishops in overseeing the quality of service these schools provide, as well as in the training of formators, religious education, and the pastoral care of students.