The Society of St. Paul in the Philippines-Australia Province marked the 112th anniversary of the birth of the Pauline mission with a Eucharistic celebration on August 20, 2026, bringing together priests, brothers, seminarians, members of the Pauline Family, and lay collaborators in evangelization.
The celebration followed the Congregation’s II Provincial Assembly and took place between the annual retreat of the perpetual professed members.
Presiding at the Mass was Fr. Ulysses U. Navarro, SSP, who spent 11 years in Information Services at the Society’s General House in Rome, Italy. He currently serves as General Editor of ST PAULS Creative.
In his homily, Fr. Navarro situated the Pauline mission within a world reshaped by digital technology, artificial intelligence, algorithms, and rapidly evolving forms of communication. These changes have transformed how people access and interpret information, communicate and encounter others, and search for meaning.
For the Pauline mission, the challenge is clear: to proclaim the Word of God in ways that effectively reach people today. The means may change, but the mission remains. The Pauline does not give up but moves forward in hope and apostolic fruitfulness.
Fr. Navarro connected this challenge with the call to engage the profound changes shaping humanity today. Referring to Superior General Fr. Domenico Soliman’s reflection on Pope Leo XIV’s Magnifica Humanitas, he stressed that the Pauline Family cannot remain on the sidelines of these changes.
Instead, the mission is to encounter this “magnificent humanity” and share with every person the abundant life found in Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Such engagement calls for continual renewal, echoing St. Paul’s exhortation to “put away the old self” and “put on the new self” (Eph 4:22–24). For the Pauline Family, renewal means remaining faithful to its charism while finding new ways to respond to the people and realities of each age.
Fr. Navarro then recalled Blessed James Alberione’s description of the apostle as one who prays, speaks, acts, suffers, believes, and hopes. In the present age, the Pauline apostle also writes, prints, publishes, produces, and creates content, using both established and emerging media to reach new and uncharted territories.
The 112th anniversary was therefore more than a remembrance of the past. It became an occasion to renew the missionary commitment through the “Secret of Success,” turning to Jesus, the Divine Master, who renews the mission, transforms fear, and opens new paths for humanity to encounter him.
“We are not called to repeat what has already been heard,” Fr. Navarro said. “We are called to discover new ways for the Word to be heard and encountered today.”
The celebration moved from the table of the Eucharist to fellowship, as members of the Pauline Family and lay collaborators gathered in thanksgiving and fraternity.
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