St. Theresa's College celebrates 100 years of ICM Sisters
MANILA, Philippines - What do celebrated writers Carmen Guerrero Nakpil and Gilda Cordero Fernando, population expert Mercedes B. Concepcion, Commission for Higher Education chair Patricia Licuanan, former ambassador and Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting head Tita Tambunting de Villa, Far Eastern University president Lydia B. Echauz, business-civic leader and philanthropist Loida Nicolas Lewis, broadcast journalists Korina Sanchez Roxas, Mel Tiangco and Patricia Evangelista, prima ballerina Lisa Macuja Elizalde, film director Laurice Guillen, artists Offie Gelvezon Tequi and Impy Pilapil, former Miss Universe and now environmentalist Margie Moran Floirendo, and fashion designer Criselda Lontok have in common?
They all are alumnae of St. Theresa’s College, whether in Manila, Quezon City or Cebu — they all came under the tutelage of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (ICM).
This year, the sisters are celebrating the 100th year of their congregation in the Philippines. They will mark this milestone with three days of activities that will reflect the range and depth of their mission here and overseas.
Few people, even among their alumnae, know that running schools is only one of the sisters’ many and varied forms of apostolate. They are involved in six schools all over the country, but they are doing much more than that. They are in 20 communities — in Ilocos Sur, La Union, the Cordilleras, Metro Manila, Cavite, Cebu, Iloilo and parts of Mindanao.
They are involved in two social centers for the urban poor, women, Hansenites and their families, and the differently-abled. They are also engaged in campus ministry, interfaith dialogue and organic farming.
The congregation maintains the St. Joseph Transient House for poor patients of the Philippine Orthopedic Center (formerly National Orthopedic Hospital) and their companions who are from out of town. A sister runs Bahay Mapagmahal for physically handicapped children at the Orthopedic Center compound, and supervises the children’s Rondalla on Wheels which she founded.
For basic sector groups, there is Bahay Daluyan, a venue for workshops, seminars, study and reflection. Overseas, Filipino ICM sisters are in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mongolia, India, the United States, Brazil, Guatemala, Haiti, Dominica, Jamaica, St. Croix in the Virgin Islands, Senegal, Cameroon, Congo and Burundi.
When Mother Marie Louise de Meester arrived with three novices in Tagudin, Ilocos Sur, on June 20, 1910, she could not have imagined how far the future generations of sisters would take the congregation she founded.
The festivities will start on Oct. 8 at the St. Theresa’s College compound in Quezon City with the lighting of the centennial torch, the launch of a coffee-table book on the congregation, and exhibits and a bazaar.
On Oct. 9, the sisters and some of their lay mission partners will hold a mission forum at the Queen of Peace chapel in the morning. A play on the congregation, titled Hearts on Fire: 100 Years of Fire and Grace, will be premiered at 6 p.m. at the Aliw Theater, Pasay City.
On Oct. 10, a centennial Eucharistic celebration will be held at 10 a.m. at St. Theresa’s College. In the afternoon, all alumnae are invited to join the sisters at a closing program on the school grounds.
