By Marivic Mercene
“To be a missionary is to be with the people,” Fr. Enrique Escobar reflects. “You walk with them, you eat with them, you suffer with them, and you rejoice with them.”
Looking back at his journey—from a diocesan priest in Peru shaped by the missionary spirit of the Maryknoll Missionaries to a Columban Missionary in the Philippines—Fr. Enrique Escobar sees not a break, but a natural unfolding of his vocation. His deep concern for the poor and marginalized in Latin America, his studies in liberation theology in Colombia, and his pastoral work in the Peruvian jungle continue to inform his mission today. “These are not just social issues,” he said. “These are Gospel issues.”
When his bishop in Peru encouraged him to consider joining the Columbans, it was because his bishop recognized in Father Enrique the same spirit that has long defined Columban mission: standing in solidarity with the poor, nurturing communities of faith, and walking with people in their struggle for dignity and justice. That path eventually led Father Enrique to the Philippines—first as a Columban Associate Priest in Malate, Manila, and now as a full Columban missionary serving in Mindanao. Today, he continues to live out the ad gentes spirit of mission, leaving his homeland to share the Gospel by immersing himself in the lives and realities of the people he serves.
Now based in the parish of Our Mother of Perpetual Help in Barra, Opol, since 2012, Father Enrique shared with joy and gratitude that the parish has acquired two adjacent properties beside the existing church. The total cost reached ₱7.5 million. “I did not ask a single peso from the Columbans,” he shared. “In ten years, we hope to complete a two-storey building. The second floor will house the church, while the ground floor will be used for parish offices.”
The people raised every peso through regular collections and countless sacrifices made by those who believe in the mission. “We are not just constructing buildings—we are building communities,” Father Enrique emphasized. He believes that physical structures must grow hand in hand with the spiritual life of the people. That’s why part of the regular collection supports construction, while another portion sustains the parish’s many ministries. Last year alone, ₱2.5 million was spent to support 23 active ministries across the parish.
Father Enrique’s vision of the Church goes beyond Sunday gatherings. For him, the Church is alive wherever people come together to share life, faith, and service. With 10 small Christian communities and 23 parish organizations already established, all thriving and vibrant, the parish is growing not only in size but also in spirit.
This spirit of walking together—with each other and with creation—has shaped the identity of the parish from the beginning. When it was elevated to parish status in 2022, it was also formally designated as an ecological parish, reflecting a commitment to care for our common home as part of its mission. On the last Sunday of June 2025, the parish will mark its third anniversary. As has become tradition during the novena Masses leading to its feast day, the community will plant a tree within the Church compound—a living symbol of faith, hope, and the deep-rooted connection between spirituality and sustainability.
In the growing parish of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, Father Enrique continues to quietly and faithfully walk with his people, helping them build not just a church, but a home where God truly dwells, because he believes that faith must have feet.
Above image: Father Enrique with Venus, a member of Señor San Miguel community
