Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Institute

In the footsteps of Lorenzo Ruiz

The care of St. Peter the Apostle Parish has been entrusted to the Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Society (LRMS), a pious union of clerics of the Archdiocese of Manila. Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Regalado, LRMS, our parish priest, and Rev. Fr. Johny Molina, LRMS, our parochial vicar, are both members of LRMS and received their priestly formation in the Lorenzo Mission Institute (LMI). The following is a short history of both LMI and LRMS.

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“All are to have appropriate formation and training, which should be Christ-centered and faithful to their founding charism, with emphasis on personal sanctity and witness; their spirituality and lifestyle should be sensitive to the religious heritage of the people among whom they live and whom they serve” (Ecclesia in Asia 44).

To share the Christian faith to the whole of Asia has been the constant dream and commitment of the Church in the Philippines. From the time when the archipelago was still a colony to the present dispensation, the evangelization of China has had a special place in her heart. Her solicitude for the Chinese has led her to recognize in them the capacity to live out and bear witness to the Christian faith with excellence and distinction.

Thus, in May 1987, His Eminence Jaime Cardinal Sin founded the mission-oriented diocesan seminary, the Lorenzo Mission Institute, to serve as the formation house of the Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Society.

The distinct charism of LMI lies in its “preferential option in favor of the Filipino-Chinese and the Chinese who cross the boundaries not only of particular Churches, but also of nations and continents.”

Rev. Msgr. John Su was asked by Cardinal Sin to be the founding rector of LMI. On his part, Msgr. Su requested Fr. Karl Steinmetz, S.J. to be its first spiritual director. The first novice master was Rev. Fr. Paul Deslierres, S.J.

Five young men came to form the first batch of LMI seminarians. Two of them are now members of LRMS: Rev. Fr. Jose Vidamor Yu, LRMS and Rev. Msgr. Esteban Lo, LRMS.

For the first academic year (1987-88), the LMI community stayed in one of the wings of the Holy Apostles Senior Seminary. For the following year, part of the community remained at the Senior Seminary and another part stayed in the Theologate of the San Carlos Major Seminary. Finally, on the third year, the LMI building was finished.

LMI is now one of the four diocesan seminaries comprising the newly organized Manila Archdiocesan Seminary System Foundation, Inc. (MASSFI). The other three are San Carlos Major Seminary, Holy Apostles Senior Seminary and Our Lady of Guadalupe Minor Seminary. It currently has 32 seminarians and 20 LRMS priests serving as parish pastors and seminary formators; some are on study leave.

Sources:
Lorenzo Mission Institute, Seminarian’s Handbook.
Chavez, Celso Jr., “Missionary Mandate,” Catching 153.