Oct 14, 2025
On September 30th, a devastating earthquake measuring at a magnitude of 6.9 struck the Cebu Province of the Philippines – reportedly the strongest earthquake ever recorded in Northern Cebu. The earthquake had a shattering impact, killing at least 75 people, injuring over 1,200, and causing huge infrastructural damage, with homes and businesses alike destroyed. Reported as the deadliest earthquake in the country since 2013, it has demolished buildings including churches and hospitals, and ruined countless livelihoods.
MSCs in the region have been providing emergency response aid to as many people as possible in affected communities, with the MSC Centre for the Poor working alongside the MSC Mission Office and several other support teams and volunteers. On October 7th, an outreach programme took place in Bogo City, providing emergency essentials such as food and safe drinking water to over 700 families in Brgy. Anonang Sur.
“The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart – Cebu District conducted a relief operation together with the parishes under their care (Our Mother of Perpetual Help Parish-Babag, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish-Marigondon, Our Lady of Fatima Parish-Pusok, Nuestra Señora de Regla Parish National Shrine and San Roque Parish-Cordova) and with support from the MSC Mission Office Philippines, Fr. Jules Chevalier, MSC Mission Center, St. Alphonsus Catholic School and MSM Sisters,” reports the Facebook page for the MSC – Center for the Poor Cebu District.
Thanks to the continuing generosity of our mission friends and benefactors here in the Irish Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, we have been able to provide our MSC brothers in the Philippines with emergency financial aid to support their urgent relief projects in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake. Please continue to keep them in your prayers as they work to help families and communities across the Cebu district to rebuild their lives in the ongoing wake of this natural disaster.
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR MSC MISSIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES
Images via the Facebook page for the MSC – Center for the Poor Cebu District
Jul 24, 2025
The MSC Centre for the Poor (MSC CFTP) was established in Butuan City in the Philippines in 2018, under the leadership of Fr Richie Gomez MSC. Dedicated to helping the poor and marginalised in society, it has a specialised focus on nurturing both the earth and the community in harmony.
The MSC Centre for the Poor Agricultural Cooperative (MSC CEPAGCO) followed in 2020. Now with over 300 members, and having received the award for most outstanding Civil Society Organisation in the country, the MSC CFTP and MSC CEPAGCO are going from strength to strength, with multiple community centres across the Philippines sharing their core vision:
“Care for the Earth, Care for the People, Share the Surplus.”
CAN YOU HELP US TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE PHILIPPINES?
A SCHOOL OF LOVE
The MSC CEPAGCO works to advocate for the common good, ensuring food sustainability and empowering several marginalised groups including small-scale farmers, indigenous communities, repatriated overseas Filipino workers, and people struggling with personal challenges such as drug dependency.
With a focus on organic productions, they incorporate pigs, poultry, vegetables, rice, and fertiliser among their organic projects, as well as practical handiwork such as building furniture from wood.
IF YOU CAN, PLEASE SUPPORT THE MSC CENTRE FOR THE POOR
CARE FOR OUR COMMON WORLD
The cooperative’s newest project aims to empower a “New Breed of Indigenous Farmers” who will focus on “ecological resilience” to “carry, care, and continue to provide the nation with affordable, accessible organic healthy food, and bring security and joy to every Filipino’s table.”
With a firm foundation well underway, the MSC CFTP and CEPAGCO are always looking to improve and expand to benefit as many people as possible. Their latest endeavours include collaborating with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) by applying to be an official TESDA assessment centre, and establishing additional vocational courses, as well as renovating and improving on-site buildings to become study and accommodation facilities for larger student groups.
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR 2025 SUMMER APPEAL
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Jan 2, 2025
As we neared the end of December, the MSC Mission Office in the Philippines once again carried out its annual tradition of Christmas unity, sharing, and togetherness, with its Share a Christmas Basket programme.
Just before Christmas, a tremendous group of local volunteers worked together to pack hundreds of baskets of groceries and Christmas provisions in preparation for the programme, which benefitted a total of 750 families this year. Each donation for a basket was marked at a value of 549 Philippine pesos, which meant that an entire family’s Christmas could be transformed for a little under €10 per household.
The MSC Mission Office in the Philippines posted their gratitude to all of their donors on their Facebook page, heading their post “A Moment to Remember”.
“The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, through the MSC Mission Office, would like to express our deepest gratitude to the following donors for their generous support of our ‘Paskong Handog: A Christmas Noche Buena Basket Project’,” they wrote.
“Thanks to [our donors’] passion and generosity in helping the needy, the project was a resounding success! With their unwavering support, we were able to distribute 750 Noche Buena baskets to families in need in the following areas: Bataan, Triala, Nueva Ecija, San Anton Mission Station, Butuan, Cebu, Libis Caloocan, and various areas served by TFUC.
We are deeply grateful for your partnership in bringing joy and hope to so many families this Christmas season.
Merry Christmas & a Prosperous New Year to Everyone!!
From your MSC Family”
Well done to all involved in this wonderful project, which gave the priceless gift of a happy Christmas to hundreds of families in the Philippines. With the spirit of Christmas goodwill still in our hearts, we send every blessing to our MSC brothers in the Philippines and the communities they serve there.
“Wishing you a Happy New Year filled with joy, laughter, and endless possibilities.
May this year bring you peace, prosperity, and all the good things you deserve.
Cheers to a fantastic new year!!!”
~ MSC Mission Office Philippines, Inc. on Facebook
Images via MSC Mission Office Philippines, Inc. on Facebook
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Nov 14, 2024
The team at the MSC Centre for the Poor in Butuan City were all on board to promote mental health and wellbeing at a recent mental wellness workshop, which took place at the beginning of November.
An evening centred on Self-Care for Mental Wellness and Well-Being took place at the centre on November 5th, with guest speaker BK Sister Ma. Lourdes L. Aseneta, chairperson of Brahman Kumaris – Phils, providing an educational insight into mental wellness and the importance of self-care.
The team at the MSC Centre for the Poor work daily to promote a harmonious relationship between local communities and the world in which we live – nurturing our natural environment, while reaping its benefits in creating a sustainable lifestyle that will help poor and struggling families to build the foundation for a brighter future. The team here are highly active in their ministry, developing and facilitating programmes that encourage disadvantaged and vulnerable individuals and families to learn the skills they need to build a better quality of life and a brighter future. Some of their outreach programmes include agricultural and clean water projects, plastic-free and zero-waste initiatives, and emergency response aid which provides urgent care to survivors of the typhoons and tropical storms that frequently hit the country.
The community at the MSC Centre for the Poor are working tirelessly to build a better world and a better quality of life, and the focus on mental health and wellbeing is just one of the ways in which they are continuing on their journey to encourage a brighter, more positive future for all.
Images via the Facebook page for MSC Centre for the Poor.
IF YOU CAN, PLEASE SUPPORT OUR GLOBAL MISSIONS
Oct 3, 2024
Welcome to the Winter 2024 edition of the MSC Message!
• Read a seasonal greeting from Fr John Fitzgerald MSC, Director of the MSC Missions Office.
• Find out more about MSC efforts to protect our earth with the ongoing ecobricks project in the Philippines.
• Join us as we celebrate 150 years of the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.
• Read all about this summer’s Camino adventure as our MSC pilgrims walked the Camino Inglés, raising over €20,000 for the Holy Family Care Centre in South Africa.
• Catch up with the latest news from the Chevalier Training Centre in Fiji.
• Fr Alan Neville MSC writes from South Sudan, with an update from the Catholic University in Rumbek.
• Learn more about Fr Frank T. Natale’s story as he shares how he came to be an MSC in the US Province.
• Catch up on news of our recent Novena to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.
Read the Winter 2024 edition of the MSC Message
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