Philippine Dominican Province to mark 40th year in 2011

Fr. Quirico Pedregosa, OP during the thanksgiving Mass for the 39th year of DPP.

ONE YEAR shy of reaching its fourth decade, the Dominican Province of the Philippines (DPP), or the Philippine branch of the Order of Preachers, recently marked its 39th anniversary with the view to consolidating its relatively still young legacy.

The indigenous Province was founded on Dec. 8, 1971. Before that, Filipino Dominicans were part of the Holy Rosary Province, now commonly known as the Spanish Dominican Province, the original missionary province formed when the Dominicans first came to the Philippines in 1587.

The founding of the Philippine province of the Dominicans was a historic milestone in the history of one of the Church’s greatest religious orders: It recognized the Filipino religious and their capacity to contribute to the Church and her mission.

During the 39th anniversary celebrations of the DPP last Dec. 8, Feast of the Immaculate Conception, at the University of SantoTomas, the prior provincial, Fr. Quirico Pedregosa Jr., OP, urged Filipino Dominicans to go back to the original charism of Dominicans worldwide—preaching and evangelization.
“Is preaching at the heart of our province?” Pedregosa asked. “I would reply, ‘Yes.’ Thanks be to God this is clearly stated in the vision of the Province.”

“Preaching” means that the Dominicans should incarnate in themselves Christ, the Foremost Preacher, “especially to the poor through an authentically Dominican and Filipino way,” said Pedregosa, a former assistant to the Master General for the Asia-Pacific based in Rome.

Preaching should start in contemplation, in prayer and study, so that the Philippine Province is seeking a new emphasis on developing the intellectual life of the Dominican friars. Worldwide, the Permanent Commission for the Promotion of Studies has been internationally established for this.

“There is a strong recommendation for every center of studies under a province and every academic institution under the jurisdiction of the Master of the Order to engage in a SWOT (strengths-weaknesses-opportunities-threats) analysis,” Pedregosa said.

Preaching, he explained, proceeds with the Ministry of the Word, which now has six priorities: preaching to children and youth; preaching through modern means of social communication; stewardship of creation; inter-religious dialogue; justice and peace; and ministry among indigenous peoples.

Institute of preaching

Pedregosa said that in the general chapter of the Order in Rome last September (which elected French Dominican Fr. Bruno Cadoré, OP, as the new Master of the Order), preaching to the youth was given particular attention for the first time. This means Dominican emphasis on schools for basic education and for centers for children.

A testament to the DPP’s commitment to preaching and scholarship is the Institute of Preaching established in 2005. The graduate school for training in philosophy, theology and homiletics will have its own building inside the Santo Domingo compound in Quezon City next year.

“Obviously the establishment of Institute of Preaching by the Philippine Province of is on the right track. It is the only center of the Order in our region,” Pedregosa said.

The Institute (tel. 4139109; 7437760) offers certificate and Master of Arts courses for the religious, clergy and laymen.

Reorganization

The last general chapter in Rome also resolved to abolish clustering and regional and vicariate arrangements by 2016 “to energize Dominican life and mission.”

This will have a bearing on the Philipppines as well as on Dominican Provinces in Bolivia, Venezuela, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Spain, Taiwan and Japan.

Of special significance to the Filipino Dominicans is the decision of the General Chapter that UST, the oldest university of Asia, which will celebrate its 400th anniversary next year, will be passed to the jurisdiction of the DPP by 2013, according to Pedregosa.

“It is to be understood that this change will not alter the characteristics of UST as a Royal and Pontifical (institution) and as the Catholic University of the Philippines,” Pedregosa clarified. “The Master of the Order will remain, too, as Grand Chancellor, and matters to be dealt with the (Vatican’s Sacred) Congregation of Catholic Education will still be processed through the General Curia of the Order.”

The top Filipino Dominican explained the transfer would mean DPP control over the membership in the UST corporation, at present exercised by the Master of the Order. It will be given instead to the authority of the Philippine Province.

Today, the Filipino Dominicans have several convents and houses (including two houses in Indonesia and Sri Lanka), formation houses, center of studies, educational institutions, parishes, missions, shrines, and retreat centers.

Film producer

The Philippine Province, too, has also entered into international film production.

It has produced “Dominic: Light of the Church,” the newest feature film on the life of St. Dominic de Guzman, founder of the Order of Preachers.

The Philippine Province produced the film biopic in connection with the 800th anniversary in 2016 of the whole Dominican Order.

Philippine Daily Inquirer

Date First Posted 22:05:00 12/27/2010

Photo courtesy of the DPP-Provincial Media Board