Xavier University, through the Chaplaincy Office and the worshipping community of the University Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, conducted a series of activities dedicated to the street dwellers of Divisoria Avenue on Christmas Day.

In coordination with the Street Tutorial Advocacy of XU led by KKP program officer Jerome Torres, the event dubbed as “Give More Love on Christmas Day” benefitted more than 150 street dwellers.

The program started with a mass baptism co-sponsored by the XU Church lay ministers where 39 people were welcomed to the Catholic faith and baptized as “sons and daughters of God.”

During the mass presided by university chaplain Fr Richard V Ella SJ, eight recipients of the Shoe Shine Project for Street People (SP4SP) received their brand new uniforms and shoe shine kits, turned over by XU president Fr Roberto C Yap SJ.

The SP4SP beneficiaries will soon undergo formal livelihood training in hopes of starting their shoe shine business beginning early 2016.

Finally, XU lay ministers, chapel aides and United Religious Organization (URO) members facilitated a simple Christmas party for the families with fun games, food and gifts-giving.

The Jesuit scholastics also joined the party, where Br Philip Shi SJ dressed up as Santa Claus to the delight of the street kids.

The Chaplaincy Office hopes that aside from the celebration during the holiday, the newly-baptized brothers and sisters would “nurture their respective homes with joy in their hearts as new Catholic Christians, embodying the values of Christ here on earth.”