2 Kenyans and 2 Filipinos Make Their Entrance to Novitiate

Cagayan de Oro City – In the liturgy of the hours for vespers (evening prayer), two Filipinos (Michael Yape and Antonio Virtudazo Jr.) and two Kenyans (Vincent Ochieng and Vincent Ososi) made their entrance to the novitiate yesterday, 7^th of December 2025. In this sacred celebration, they were given the blessed crucifix which they will always wear as a symbol of their intense formation patterned after the crucified Christ. They too received a book of the constitutions of the congregation and a bible which they will read, study and reflect more seriously in this period of formation.

In his short message to the novices during the celebration, Rev. Fr. Marvin Tadena, PSDP, Delegate Superior of Mary, Mother of the Poor Delegation (Philippines and Papua New Guinea) highlighted that this canonical year is intended for them to deepen their love for the congregation through their careful study of the constitutions and the life of St. John Calabria, and through their pious silence and prayer.

The novitiate lasts at least one year. In this canonical year of formation, Fr. Reynaldo Olan will serve as their novice master. According to the constitution no. 110 of the Congregation, he will “guide and help the novices by means of doctrine and practical experience until they apply themselves in a diligent manner to the assimilation of the religious life as the following of Christ experienced in the community life.”