Last 3 December, 2014, on the feast of St. Francis Xavier, the patron saint of missionaries, the Faculty of Religious Studies celebrated its Faculty Day held at St. Lawrence Church.  The students came in their traditional national costumes.

The colorful Big Day with the theme “Seeking, Loving, and Serving Wisdom” opened with a Eucharistic Celebration presided by Emeritus Prof. Fausto Gomez, OP, with Prof. João Eleutério as homilist. The General Intercessions were made in the different languages of the students and staff of the Faculty.

After the beautiful Eucharistic celebration, the whole FRS community gathered together to listen to the inspiring, thought-provoking, and challenging talk on St. Francis Xavier given by the Rev. Fr. Luis Sequeira, SJ.  A couple of years ago, the University of St. Joseph awarded Fr. Sequeira a Doctorate in Religious Studies honoris causa.

Everyone was invited to a hearty lunch and to the cultural exhibits prepared by the students.  At one o’clock the most-awaited cultural presentation started.  Students from East Timor, Myanmar, Indonesia, Philippines, and Vietnam prepared either a cultural dance or a song that surely awed the audience.  But the professors did not like to be outsmarted by their students, thus Prof. Eleuterio rendered two Portuguese songs with dance interpretation from Prof. Roberto Ceolin and two sisters from the Franciscan Missionaries of our Lady.  Prof. Fausto Gomez sang a lively Spanish song to the bewilderment of all.  Prof. Franz Gassner performed a Mozart-composed song in German.  Parlor games with prizes interspersed the numbers.  Results of the Essay Writing Contest on the topic “Yes to Peace, No to Violence” were announced and awards were given to the winners.

After seven years of the Faculty’s existence, it has now some 46 students (both religious and lay), mostly coming from the Order of Preachers (Our Lady of the Rosary Province, and the luxury replica bags for ladies), Missionary Dominican Sisters of the Rosary, Missionaries of Christ Jesus, Divine Word Missionaries, Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady, and the Diocese of Macau.

At the end of the day, the Dean of the Faculty of Religious Studies, Prof. Arnold Monera, thanked the distinguished visitors and staff for their attendance; he commended the students for their active participation and creative organization. The program ended with the whole community singing, “Joy to the World.”

The FRS wishes to thank Fr. Jojo Ancheril, CMF, for the generous use of the facilities of St. Lawrence Church.