St. Paul College Pasig-Davao Campus is a co-ed Catholic institution run by the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres. It is situated near the mighty Davao River, close to the Crocodile Park and just a drive away from the Malagos Garden, home and sanctuary of the Philippine Eagle and other endemic bird species. An international and missionary religious congregation, the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres (SPC) follow closely the teachings and mission of St. Paul, the great Apostle to the Gentiles. Like him, the sisters are ready to go wherever they are needed and do whatever is necessary, always available to the call of the Spirit, making themselves "all things to all people" (1 Cor 9:22).

The Congregation was founded in the 17th century by Fr. Louis Chauvet, parish priest of Levesville-la-Chenard, a small village in France. At that time education was quite limited and village girls didn’t have a chance to study in formal schools. So Fr. Louis gathered four young girls, instructing them and forming them into a community. With the help of Marie Anne de Tilly, Fr. Chauvet was able to set up the community and told them to go and teach children about God and visit the sick in their homes. Shortly after, Bishop of Chartres Paul Godet des Marais got to know about the Sisters and invited them to his diocese, giving them the name ”Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres.” Before that time, they were simply known as teachers.

From Chartres, they went to many towns and villages teaching children, visiting the sick and helping in the parishes. These three activities are still part of their main work until today. In 1727, the Sisters were asked to go to Guyana, a French colony in South America to take care of prisoners. It was very hard work. This was their first mission outside France. Then in 1848, they were asked to go to Hong Kong to take care of orphans. Once again, the Sisters’ trust in God was so great that they dared to venture into unknown places to bring the Good News and care for others. From Hong Kong, the Sisters went to Vietnam, Mainland China, and later, to Taiwan, Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, East Timor and Israel. The Sisters have also opened other mission sites in Latin America, as well as in other European nations and Africa.

The year 1848 saw the first foundation in Hong Kong. From there, the foundation spread out to other countries in Asia: Vietnam (1860), Japan (1878), Korea (1888), Thailand (1898), China (1900), and the Philippines (1904). Today, the Congregation numbers 4,000 members of 28 nationalities and is serving 28 countries in many ways.

The Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres first arrived in the Philippines in 1904 upon the invitation of Bishop Frederick Rooker of Jaro to open a school in Dumaguete. Other invitations followed and more Sisters arrived for a hospital in Iloilo, schools in Vigan, Tuguegarao and Manila, and a Leprosarium in Culion. The Congregation is now serving in 38 schools as well as in various hospitals and pastoral communities all over the Philippines.

In July 7, 1970, Sr. Miriam Raymond Victoriano, SPC, first principal of St. Paul College, Pasig put up a small building to house the nursery and kindergarten. Because of the increasing number of students, St. Paul College, Pasig was opened. Then another campus in Davao came later.

The educational thrust of St. Paul College is to form students who are academically competent, morally upright, and socially responsible; living witnesses of Christ in the service of family, country and the Church. I believe God prepared me for this work with the spirituality of unity which I came to know and try to practice every day.

I started teaching out of necessity, to earn a living. But after my first three months, I discovered that I was having a hard time teaching because I am not a teacher by profession and lack the necessary educational background to be teacher. However, I survived by fully entrusting everything to God, always asking the gift of wisdom from the Holy Spirit before entering the classroom. After each class, I would wonder how I managed to end the classes meaningfully as they were full of interaction and learning discoveries. I attribute much to the presence of God who makes use of me as an instrument of his immense love for my students. Even now, I always pray for the grace of the Holy Spirit before and after my classes. I am also thankful for the support and encouragement of the Sisters and my co-teachers who have helped me so much in my work as a teacher.

The Christian and human development programs that St. Paul College offers its faculty and staff were really a big help for me personally as a teacher. Here I was given the opportunity to finish my teaching units and later passed the Licensure Examination for Teachers.

The love of God and the love among us in our school community has encouraged me to become a good teacher inside the classroom, and also a good brother and friend outside the class. In school, I learned to deal with different kinds of student behavior. Once I remember being so upset with one of my first year high school students for he was really disturbing his classmates and giving the whole class a hard time in class discussions. At one point I had to tell him that if he didn’t want to participate, he could leave the room. So I opened the door, asking him to get out of the classroom. I guess he was scared of my angry voice, so he left. But later on I was really disturbed for what I did so I looked for him to apologize. I prayed hard and felt so sorry that night for what I had done. The following day, he was the first to greet me saying, "Sir, thank you for yesterday. You gave me a lesson, and I promise not to be noisy anymore in your cIass." I was really thankful to God for he answered my prayers.

Another day, one of my third year high school students asked me whether or not God really exists. She said she doubted the existence of God, and was no longer a practicing Catholic. After listening to her carefully, I felt I could not but share my experience in college when I got to know the life and spirituality of unity back in my hometown in Leyte. I told her how the love and unity lived with my friends had helped me to believe once again in God’s love. Through the love we had for one another, I experienced and encountered God, so I affirmed that God really exists and He is real if we try to love one another as Christ did. I noticed that she became teary-eyed afterwards, and happy to have regained her trust in God.

But a teacher’s life is incomplete without a good relationship with his superiors and colleagues. So I try to be a good friend and sensitive to the needs of my co-teachers. We try to help with one another’s problems, be they financial or spiritual. Personally, I try to love all of them equally by being fair to all. I try to maintain good relationships with them, not to judge them if I hear something negative about them, and to always consider them as my brothers and sisters.

One time, a new teacher was having difficulties with our computerized grading system, and since I had finished encoding my own grades, I offered to encode her grades in the computer, an act which she appreciated and was really very grateful for.

At the same time, in making our school class program, together with the other teachers we try to treat everyone equally, by listening first to each concern and implementing our decisions both for the good of the teachers and the students as well.

At present, I am also taking my masters in Theology. I had no intention of studying again, but out of love for Jesus in my students, and to help them in their search for knowledge and for God, I realized that I had to learn more about God and His teachings. I had to “be evangelized as to be an evangelizer.”

It is not easy to strike a balance between my work as a teacher, and my personal and community life. As a full-time member of the Focolare, I follow up some small communities in Mindanao. Most of the time, I am quite tired coming home from work, and, when it’s my turn, I still have to prepare dinner for my companions at home, or attend Focolare meetings in the evening, and study for my exams. But by offering to God all these concerns, I have learned to consider these many tasks as one related to another. When I’m in school, I live the present moment by trying to love my students and co-teachers. That is the will of God for me in that moment, so I try to do it well. In fulfilling God’s will in every moment, I am in unity with the other members of the big Christian family who are also trying to do what God wants from them. So I no longer worry about doing everything and becoming tired, but what matters most is to do the will of God in the present moment. This gives me a sense of peace and I can still have the energy to do some sports and other worthwhile activities after work. By doing well whatever is asked of me in the present moment, by living the will of God, I have learned to live a more balanced life. In this way, I am also happy for I share in St. Paul’s mission, that of being “all things to all peoples.”

Acilino Tolorio