{"id":3952,"date":"2026-07-01T13:07:36","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T13:07:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/libmanandiocese.org\/?p=3952"},"modified":"2026-07-01T13:10:32","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T13:10:32","slug":"diocese-of-libmanan-welcomes-two-religious-congregations-to-expand-catechetical-and-educational-ministries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/libmanandiocese.org\/?p=3952","title":{"rendered":"Diocese of Libmanan Welcomes Two Religious Congregations to Strengthen Catechesis and Catholic Education"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>LIBMANAN, Camarines Sur<\/strong> \u2014 The Diocese of Libmanan has welcomed two religious congregations into the local Church as part of its continuing efforts to strengthen catechesis, Catholic education, and faith formation throughout the Diocese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Upon the invitation of the Most Reverend Bishop of Libmanan, the <strong>Missionary Catechists of the Sacred Heart (MCSH)<\/strong> and the <strong>Ancillae Cordis Jesu (ACI), or Handmaids of the Sacred Heart<\/strong>, have established their respective religious communities in the Diocese and have begun undertaking ministries entrusted to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Missionary Catechists of the Sacred Heart have been invited to assist in the administration of the newly established Diocesan Catechetical Center under the leadership of Rev. Fr. Jeric Felizardo, Director of the Catechetical Apostolate. Beyond administering the Center, the Sisters will collaborate with Fr. Felizardo in implementing the Diocese&#8217;s comprehensive catechetical program, providing formation for catechists and helping strengthen the transmission of the Catholic faith across parishes and mission stations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The MCSH Sisters are temporarily residing at St. Michael the Archangel Parish while awaiting the completion of their convent in San Fernando, where they will establish their permanent community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, the Ancillae Cordis Jesu have been entrusted with the administration of <strong>Sta. Rafaela Maria School of Pasacao<\/strong>, a newly established Catholic preschool in Pasacao, Camarines Sur. Through this educational apostolate, the Sisters hope to contribute to the integral formation of children by providing quality Catholic education rooted in Gospel values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The ACI Sisters have established their community at their convent in Caranan, Pasacao, under the Mission Station of Our Lady of Good Counsel. In addition to their educational ministry, the congregation envisions the construction of a retreat and formation house that will serve the Diocese and neighboring communities by hosting retreats, recollections, seminars, and other programs for spiritual renewal and Christian formation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The arrival of these two congregations represents a significant development in the pastoral life of the Diocese of Libmanan, reflecting the Bishop&#8217;s commitment to strengthening evangelization through collaboration with religious institutes whose charisms complement the Diocese&#8217;s pastoral priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Missionary Catechists of the Sacred Heart traces its origins to Lipa City, where it was founded by Bishop Alfredo Maria Obviar Versoza with a special mission of catechesis and evangelization. The congregation has since dedicated itself to forming the faithful through religious instruction and missionary service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Ancillae Cordis Jesu, founded by <strong>St. Rafaela Maria Porras y Ayll\u00f3n<\/strong>, has long been recognized for its apostolate in Catholic education and spiritual formation, inspired by a deep devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Eucharist. Today, the congregation continues its mission in various parts of the world through schools, retreat ministries, and programs for Christian formation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the Diocese welcomes these new religious communities, the faithful are invited to support their mission through prayer and collaboration. Their presence is expected to enrich the pastoral life of the local Church and contribute significantly to the Diocese&#8217;s vision of forming missionary disciples through sound catechesis, Catholic education, and ongoing spiritual formation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LIBMANAN, Camarines Sur \u2014 The Diocese of Libmanan has welcomed two religious congregations into the local Church as part of its continuing efforts to strengthen catechesis, Catholic education, and faith formation throughout the Diocese. Upon the invitation of the Most Reverend Bishop of Libmanan, the Missionary Catechists of the Sacred Heart (MCSH) and the Ancillae&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-events"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/libmanandiocese.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/libmanandiocese.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/libmanandiocese.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libmanandiocese.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libmanandiocese.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3952"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/libmanandiocese.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3952\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3955,"href":"https:\/\/libmanandiocese.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3952\/revisions\/3955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/libmanandiocese.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libmanandiocese.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libmanandiocese.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}