Seventeen Filipino priests were recently sent to Rome for further studies that could help them better serve the Church. The Pontificio Collegio Filippino in Rome urged the faithful to pray for 17 priests from different dioceses in the Philippines who will stay there for four to five years to undergo higher studies. “Please also pray for the 17 newcomers, priests from different dioceses in the Philippines who will be studying here,’ rector Fr. Gregory Gaston said in an interview over Church-run Radio Veritas on Friday. ‘Sent by their bishops to do further studies. What does ‘further studies’ mean? Farther because it is far from the Philippines although further, means higher studies, graduate studies.’ Among the priests are Fr. Marion Noel Bayaras and Fr. Kali Pietron Llamado from the Archdiocese of Manila. Gaston said the priests would take higher studies in theology, philosophy, and licentiate. The Collegio was established in 1961 by Pope John XXIII. It was built as the Home in Rome of Filipino priests studying in universities there. Currently, 43 priests are living in the college, including 33 Filipinos. The other 10 priests are from dioceses in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, Japan, India, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
Source: Philippines News Agency