The 14th General Assembly of the Philippine Federation of Discalced Carmelite Nuns held last November 8-12, 2022 in Iloilo City, coincided with the launching of the centennial celebration of Jaro Carmel, the first Carmelite community in the country. Here, Carmel began on November 9, 1923 when the four French Carmelites from Hue (Vietnam) responded to the invitation of Bishop James P. McCloskey, Bishop of Jaro.
The centennial celebration was launched with a concelebrated mass presided by Archbishop Jose Romeo Lazo. In his homily, Fr. Chris Surinono, OCD, Definitor General invited the nuns to “feel with the Church, in the Church and for the Church and to learn from St. Therese of the Child Jesus the healing power of prayer.”
This assembly heightened our awareness of the need for vocation promotion. Fr. Danilo Lim, OCD, Provincial and Religious Assistant, presented some guide questions on the use of information technology and its role in vocation promotion, on our need for an integral human formation. The nuns also met Fr. Chris Surinono, OCD, Definitor General, who spoke to them on ‘Fraternal Life According to St. Teresa’.
