In 2018, FILM celebrated its 25th anniversary. Today, we have a total of 49 organized parish Filipino ministries in the Diocese, 21 Filipino priests (both diocesan and religious), two ordained priests in our Diocese and another hopefully to be ordained next year, and two seminarians.
Currently, we also have four deacons and two in the Diaconate Formation Program. In the parishes, each FILM ministry is very much involved in parish life as leaders of the Liturgical Ministry and Catechetical Ministry, Parish Council and more. Bishop Barnes had a vision for the Filipinos in our Diocese and now our communities are very much integrated into diocesan and parish life. To support the vocations vision of the Diocese, a Seminarian Endowment was created by the FILM in 2015. We have leaders involved in Social Justice, Evangelization, Health, Asian Pacific and Youth ministries in our Diocese.
On December 15, 1992, the first Simbang Gabi (Midnight Mass) was celebrated at St. Paul the Apostle Church in Chino Hills. As the ministry grew, the Simbang Gabi, which is a nine-day Novena Mass celebrated each December, started in many different parishes. In 2017 there were a total of 131 Simbang Gabi liturgies throughout the Diocese! We also have parishes that are now celebrating Filipino Mass and yearly Feast Days that are significant to the Filipino culture include Santo Nino (January) all over the diocese, Our Lady of Peace & Good Voyage (May), St. Pedro Calungsod (April), and St. Lorenzo Ruiz (September). These are now celebrated all over the Diocese. In addition, most of the parishes now have a Lenten Passion which is translated to “Pabasa,” chanting Christ’s passion.
We are part of the Asian-Pacific Ministry of the Diocese, along with the Chinese, Tongan, Vietnamese, Chamorro, Korean, Samoan and Indonesian communities. Together we are very much involved in all the multicultural diocesan events held at the Pastoral Center or at different parishes. You see us in the Liturgy (choir, lectors, altar servers, Eucharistic Ministers), as well as sharing our native dishes and culture through dancing/singing, and more. I’ve seen a total embracing of the many cultures in the Diocese of San Bernardino.