The East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI), a work of the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific, marked its 60th year on 15 August in Manila. Established in the wake of Vatican II to offer formation programmes for the renewal of the Church, EAPI has grown into a leading centre for pastoral ministry and leadership. Today, some six decades later, more than 60 clergy, religious, and laypersons from countries around Asia, Oceania, Africa and elsewhere come to the Institute each semester for sabbatical renewal, pastoral updating, and ongoing formation.
Participants from past and present, current leadership, former staff members, friends, benefactors, and supporters gathered at the Church of the Gesù on the Ateneo de Manila University campus for an opening Eucharist celebrated by Cardinal Felipe Neri António Sebastião do Rosário Ferrão, President of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences and Member of the Vatican Synod Council. EAPI Director Fr John Chechon Chong SJ and JCAP President Fr Primitivo Viray Jr SJ concelebrated.
The intercultural Mass opened with a procession of EAPI participants dressed in national costume bearing their countries’ flags. Throughout the celebration, cultural elements enriched the solemnity, making the occasion both memorable and joyful.
Following the Mass, Fr Chong delivered words of gratitude, followed by two charming cultural performances from Vietnamese and Korean groups, the latter featuring Fr Chong himself. Dinner in the capacious EAPI dining hall and adjoining areas brought together a chorus of voices in many languages, reflecting the international character of EAPI.
The anniversary commemoration continued over the weekend of 16 to 17 August with the Strategic Futures Seminar, themed “Discerning the Spirit, Listening to the People of God: 60 Years of Pastoral Leadership Formation in EAPI”. Keynote addresses by Sr Nathalie Becquart XMCJ, 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), explored emerging opportunities and challenges in the Church’s mission and pastoral leadership, and the call to synodality. These presentations were livestreamed on Facebook, and a dialogue between participants and speakers on strategic issues facing the Church proved a highlight of the seminar.
EAPI’s 60th anniversary celebrations will run until September 2026, culminating in a Grand Alumni Homecoming.
For more details on upcoming events and activities, follow EAPI on Facebook.
Photos taken from EAPI Facebook Page
Related story: EAPI celebrates 60 years of ongoing formation for a synodal Church
