The Pontificio Collegio Filippino in Rome has welcomed 13 new priest-students as the school year opened this month.
PCF Rector Father Gregory Ramon Gaston said the new students are composed of 11 Filipinos and two foreigners from Japan and Sri Lanka.
The figure adds to the 43 “old-timers” at the Collegio, among them are 31 Filipinos and 12 from India, Taiwan, Korea, Cameroon, Congo and Kenya.
Inaugurated by Saint John XXIII in 1961, the Collegio is the “home in Rome” of Filipino diocesan priests pursuing further studies.
Before classes started last week, various pontifical universities have to figure out how to deal with the new normal caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Like other academic institutions around the world, some measures that are already in place are observed such as physical distancing and the wearing of face masks.
“There are classes in universities but they also provide online (classes) for students who cannot come to Rome,” Father Gaston said.
As a pontifical institution, the PCF is directly under Pope Francis, through the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education.
The Collegio also reports directly to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, which created a body to oversee it.
The CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on Pontificio Collegio Filippino is currently chaired by Bishop Ruperto Santos of Balanga.
The PCF has also been serving as the de facto Filipino Chaplaincy, with Father Gaston currently also serving as coordinator of the Italian bishops for the pastoral care of Filipinos in Italy.
