35th Year Anniversary Celebration and Lenten Recollection: Calabrian Religious Venture for Renewal

Cagayan de Oro City – On the day that the Mary, Mother of the Poor Delegation celebrates its 35th anniversary of presence in the Philippines, that is 26th of March 2025, the religious of the Congregation of the Poor Servants of Divine Providence (PSDP), otherwise known as ‘Calabrians’, gathered at Fr. Luigi Pedrollo Formation House, Brgy. Lumbia, CDO for their Lenten recollection. They reflected on the theme: “A Journey of Hope”  

Br. Arnel Gawonay, PSDP, a junior professed Calabrian religious and a 1st year theology student at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary, facilitated the said spiritual exercise. He drew his topic from the theme of this Jubilee Year of Hope opened by Pope Francis since December of last year. In his talk, he said: “This lent, as we share in the grace of the Jubilee Year, I propose reflections on what it means to journey together in hope, and on the summons to conversion that God in his mercy addresses to all of us, as individuals and as a community.”  

This spiritual exercise is done regularly by the Calabrians. According to the Constitutions and Directory no. 70, “The monthly recollection and the annual retreats are indispensable means of spiritual renewal that the Poor Servants resort to with earnestness and joy, especially if they are fully involved in the apostolate.”

This moment of silence and reflection is also very timely since today marks the 35th year since the coming of the PSDP congregation in the Philippines. Fr. Giusto Squizatto, PSDP (+), Fr. Miguel Pacheco, PSDP, and Br. Olinto Bet, PSDP – the three first PSDP missionaries – departed from Italy on March 25, 1990 – the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord – to embark on a new mission. Ablaze with a zeal for God's Kingdom and the words of encouragement from then Casante, Fr. Peter Cunegatti (+), they sowed the seeds of the Calabrian spirituality in the Philippines.

In his diary, Fr. Squizatto (+) narrated their arrival and their first day in the Philippines, “The trip was fearful. We had a quite long stopover in Karachi (Pakistan), and a shorter one in Bangkok (Thailand). We read, slept, ate a bit and chatted among ourselves regarding the English language, totally unknown by all of us. The arrival was on time; at 5:30 p.m. (Manila time) the airplane landed in the Philippines… Fr. Pietro Ferri [an Italian Camillian] was waiting for us and brought us home [the theologians house of studied in Quezon City]. There we had our shower, dinner and rest.”

Many years passed, but then the fire of mission lives on. The seeds they planted are already growing, and, are hopefully bearing fruits.