By Fr. Erl Dylan J. Tabaco, Peru Learning new languages has always fascinated me, and one of the languages that captured my heart was sign language. Looking back, I realize that what began as a simple desire to learn a new language gradually became God’s gentle invitation for me to serve. Many years ago,
By Fr. Vincent Busch, Philippines In April 2025, Columban Fr. Brian Gore died on the Island of Negros in the Philippines. For more than 50 years, Brian worked with families of subsistence farmers. During his wake, I watched the calloused hands of those farmers gently reach out to touch his coffin. Some farming families
By Evelyn Sabate, Columban Co-Worker I’m Evelyn Sabate, and for eight years now, I’ve had the privilege of serving as an animator for Columban Mission Promotion and Fundraising Ministry here in the Philippines. Alongside this, I’ve been joyfully journeying with others in promoting vocations. What began as a role has blossomed into a vocation—a
By Lilibeth Sabado, Columban Lay Missionary In 2009, I spent a couple of months immersing myself in communities in Mindanao where families of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) lived. I felt it was important to understand the lives of those left behind so that I could more effectively accompany and pastorally support the OFWs I
By Fr. Louie Ybañez, Pakistan One of the great privileges of missionary life is the opportunity to encounter cultures profoundly different from one’s own. In interior Sindh, one immediately senses a heritage that is both ancient and intimately shaped by the land itself. This culture is not merely observed – it is felt in
By Fr. Rex Rocamora, SSC, Columban IRD Coordinator On the 4th of May 2026, I found myself walking once again toward the Sheikh Karimul Makhdum Mosque on the island of Simunul, Tawi-Tawi—the oldest mosque in Southeast Asia. Built in 1380 by the Arab missionary Karimul Makhdum, it stands as a reminder of the
