“The Sisters of Mary Immaculate first established in the Philippines on March 5th, 1982. In the Asian country where there is a strong and deeply rooted Christian tradition, the nuns have experienced a blooming development, which is also demonstrated by the many vocations that have led to the development of houses for novitiate and formation.
A Central House of the Sisters of Mary Immaculate was established in Manila to coordinate their institutional activity, which has been effective since 1982. However, it is enough to say that the school managed by the Sisters of Mary Immaculate (which starts from preschool) is attended by about 800 students.
After first entering the community of the House of Formation, the young woman will follow a path including a period of postulancy, novitiate, ‘juniorato’, always keeping in mind that formation is a lifelong process. The life of the House community starts every day with a community prayer and the Holy Mass in the morning, and then the aspiring nuns become absorbed by daily activities at the school, the house and in their missionary apostolate.
Every day, from Monday to Friday, after working at the house and at the school, the aspiring nuns attend formation courses. Thanks to the life within the community, they get increasingly more acquainted with the Congregation and have their first experiences of life community, in the faith, in the prayer and the research for the Lord.
House of Novitiate, San Pedro, Laguna
The Sisters living in the house are in charge of several apostolic activities: pastoral action, catechesis, evangelization, human and charity promotion.
Tibungco, Davao City
Davao is one of the most important cities in the Philippines and the capital ‘de facto’ of Mindanao Island. Among the 184 barangays (the word used to describe suburban towns or administrative divisions) that compose the city, there is Tibungco, where there is a community of the Sisters of Mary Immaculate including five Filipino nuns.
Love and educate: these are the words that describe the charism of Father Domenico Masi and the dedication of his nuns working in the Island of Mindanao, where they carry out several educational projects in collaboration with three lay teachers.
They first do it through the management of the preschool named after Father Domenico Masi. The preschool was established in 2004: in its first scholastic year 38 children were enrolled, in 2011/2012 the number of children was almost 200. Next to the school, a refuge house was built to welcome orphaned and abandoned children, the children whose families have problems, whose parents are sick or in prison, and any child suffering from any kind of social or human disadvantage.
The nuns also work at the preschool of ‘Playnet Basic Community’, a private independent organization that is managed by the Sisters of Mary Immaculate.
Thanks to a sponsorship project, started in 2001, 181 children were given help and support.
The needs of the local population also pushed to create a Sunday school for young people.”
SOURCE: http://www.sorelledellimmacolata.org/en/missions/philippines
