The Redemptorist congregation celebrated 120 years of missionary work in the Philippines Tuesday, urging the faithful to continue to pray its mission of service.
About 70 priests, brothers, lay collaborators, and devotees gathered for the event, giving thanks for more than a century of Redemptorist ministry.
The celebration began with two symbolic pilgrimages converging at the Nuestra Señora de Regla Parish National Shrine in Lapu-Lapu City.
Lay faithful journeyed by land, while missionaries arrived by sea in a fluvial procession carrying the image of Our Mother of Perpetual Help.
The shrine, now administered by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, welcomed the Redemptorist delegation, highlighting the shared missionary heritage of both congregations.
In his homily, Fr. Rogério Gomes, superior general of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, said the congregation remains committed to serving those in need.
“The Redeemer continues to carry us today: to go out to meet the poor, to accompany those wounded by life,” Gomes said in his homily.
“We are called to walk with young people, defend human dignity, and proclaim hope in a world often marked by discouragement, war, and violence,” he added.
The first Redemptorists arrived in Cebu on June 3, 1906, when two brothers and five priests began ministering among local communities.
Their early work included caring for the sick, catechizing the faithful, and celebrating the sacraments, gradually expanding the congregation’s mission across the Philippines and Asia.
Today, Redemptorists run programs in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, including parish ministry, youth outreach, schools, hospitals, indigenous support, and interreligious dialogue.
The anniversary also marked 80 years of the congregation’s Novena and 30 years since Cebu became an independent province, highlighting sustained missionary commitment.
Gomes invited young people to consider joining the congregation and continuing the work of the pioneers, encouraging renewed missionary zeal.
“The Redeemer is calling you,” he said. “May this Jubilee Year renew the missionary zeal of every confrere, layperson, and sister associated with our mission.”
