Pope Francis greeted the Archdiocese of Davao in southern Philippines on Saturday as it marked its 75th anniversary as a local Church.
In a letter to Archbishop Romulo Valles of Davao, the pope expressed his “spiritual closeness” to him, the clergy, consecrated persons, and the lay faithful of the archdiocese.
He prayed that the occasion “will inspire a deeper conversion, spiritual renewal and seal to preach the saving fruit of the Gospel in the service of God, neighbor, especially by helping the poor and those on the margins.”
“In this way, God’s kingdom will continue to grow and sanctify society, not only with words but, above all, by lives transfigured by God’s presence,” the pope said.
The message was read to the congregation during Mass at San Pedro Cathedral in Davao City, presided over by papal nuncio Archbishop Charles Brown.
Addressing churchgoers, Brown emphasized the critical importance of missionary work, not only in the Davao archdiocese or the Philippines but globally.
He reflected on three key areas of mission for the Church today: Basic Ecclesial Communities, overseas Filipino workers, and young people.
“Be always a missionary Church, a Church that’s animated in participation, communion and mission,” Brown said.
Davao was established as a prelature in 1949, carved from the then-Diocese of Zamboanga, now an archdiocese.
Valles recalled that the prelature began with mostly missionary priests and no diocesan priests. It was not until 1958 that the first diocesan priest was ordained.
From a handful of parishes 75 years ago, the archdiocese now has 42 parishes.
Today, the archdiocese has 100 diocesan priests involved in various ministries, 25 men religious congregations, and 40 women congregations, and 45 faith-based communities.
Valles also noted the archdiocese has about 1,856 BECs, present in all parishes, “indicating how our lay faithful participate in the ongoing work of evangelization.”
“From its very simple, humble, and difficult beginnings, we in Davao are awed [by] what we see today and how God has nurtured what began in 1949,” he said.