Order of Friars Minor (OFM)
Province of San Antonio de Padua – Southern Philippines

Archbishop Santiago T G Hayes SJ Award
For service to the church in Mindanao

Rev Fr Mars P Tan, SJ, members of the Board of Trustees, and friends from the Xavier University community:

Peace and all good!

On behalf of the Franciscan friars of the Province of San Antonio de Padua – Philippines, I accept the Archbishop Santiago T.G. Hayes, SJ Award with a humble heart. For forty years, our presence in Mindanao has been simple. We did not come to build monuments. We came as fratres minores—lesser brothers—to live the Gospel among the people.

This award belongs to all the friars who have walked the dusty roads of Mindanao for the last four decades. Our seraphic father, Saint Francis of Assisi, is loved as the saint of the poor and those on the margins. But Saint Francis was also a man of dialogue. He showed us that meeting someone from a different faith or culture is meeting a brother or a sister.

In Mindanao, this has been our quiet mission. We have tried to listen, learn, and live in harmony with our Muslim brothers and sisters, and our indigenous peoples. For us, interreligious and intercultural dialogue is not a project. It is simply our way of life. It means sitting together, sharing stories, and recognizing God's presence in one another.

This recognition from Xavier University does not mean our journey is over.

It simply encourages us to keep going.

It strengthens our resolve to remain close to the poor, to serve the Church, and to love the people of Mindanao.

We thank you for your kindness and your partnership in peace.

Daghang salamat kaninyong tanan!

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