Mission Spirituality and the Consecrated Women in the Philippine Church

A public lecture/webinar was held last October 23, 2021 via zoom with the topic “Mission Spirituality and the Consecrated Women in the Philippine Church”. Sr. Ma. Anicia Co, RVM, Ph.D., director of the Mother Ignacia Center for Spirituality and RVM Archives was the resource speaker on the topic.

She begins her talk with two (2) important considerations. First, to be a Christian is to be a missionary. Christian spirituality is mission spirituality. Second, to be a consecrated person is to be a missionary. Consecration is for mission.

In this webinar, Sr. Annie in her introduction explored the manifestation and expressions of mission spirituality of groups of consecrated women who came to the Philippines and those that were born on Philippine soil. This webinar also explored features of mission spirituality based on the experiences of consecrated women according to the paradigm of Christian life and mission. She also presented some implications for engagement in mission as consecrated women today.

After the introduction, she shared the spiritual vitality of native women before and during the Spanish Colonial Rule: The Priestesses and the Beatas Terciarias, Religious life for women during the Spanish Colonial Period (1565-1898):  Experiences and Community and Mission, Further Developments from 1900 to the present and some features of Mission Spirituality for Consecrated Women Today.

Eighty-four (84) participants who attended the webinar, with some attending in groups.