Shown above are the participants at the first Community Module of the Online Program last 25 February.

Due to the global pandemic, however, the previous EAPI Director, Fr. Peter Pojol SJ, made the difficult–but correct–decision to shorten last year’s program, sending the participants back to their home countries. After all, we ought to prioritize everyone’s health and safety. 

When it became clear that EAPI would still be unable to receive residents to its program this 2021, its staff headed by Jo Nolasco, Francisco Machado, Christina Kheng, Fr. Khoan Pham SJ, and Fr. Hartono Budi SJ–with the guidance of the OIC-Director, Fr. Johnny Go SJ–put their heads together to design a relevant and responsive online program for our pastoral leaders.

Fr. Tony Moreno SJ, Chairman of the EAPI Board of Trustees and President of the Jesuit Conference of Asia and Pacific, was very much instrumental in encouraging the EAPI staff to think of new ways of providing formation even amidst the pandemic.

EAPI OIC-Director, Fr. Go, agreed: “More than ever, even–and especially–in these uncertain times, we need to offer the EAPI brand of formation to our pastoral leaders.”

The result is MAKING ALL THINGS NEW: PASTORAL LEADERSHIP FOR A NEW WORLD–a carefully designed formation program that features some of the best resource speakers in the field–including Ms. Sylvia Miclat of the Institute of Environmental Science for Social Change (ESSC),  Frs. Albert Alejo SJ, Francis Alvarez SJ, and Peter Pojol SJ of the Loyola School of Theology, as well as the entire EAPI team headed by newly appointed Assistant Director for Programs, Francisco Machado.

The fully online program–which will be delivered both synchronously and asynchronously–offer six modules ranging from spirituality and synodality, Laudato Si and Fratelli Tutti, and online pastoral ministry.

Two trademark ingredients of an EAPI program are community spirit and spiritual formation, which will be provided in a unique community module for those who are taking the entire program.

Some concern was expressed over whether or not our pastoral leaders would be interested in an online EAPI program. The number of registrants for this program demonstrates that there is a demand for formation and training even when they are offered online.

The General Orientation was held last 23 February with an online Eucharist to be presided by Fr. Francis Alvarez SJ. We thank EAPI’s benefactors for helping to make this breakthrough formation program accessible to Church pastoral leaders from different parts of the world.