East Asia and Oceania Students and Formators Encounter 2025

The Philippine Province of St. Teresa of Jesus, composed of friars from Vietnam and the Philippines, was blessed to host the East Asia and Oceania Students and Formators Encounter, held from 28 December 2025 to 2 January 2026. It was a grace-filled moment of gathering, marked by fraternity, prayer, and shared hope among the brothers of the region.

Guided by the theme “Kapit (Hold On): Journeying as One in Hope,” the encounter brought together major superiors, formators, and students from the circumscriptions of Australia, Japan, Indonesia, Korea, and Singapore–Thailand–Malaysia, together with the host province. In this sacred time of encounter, the brothers were invited to pause, listen, and walk together as one Carmelite family, strengthening the bonds of communion across cultures and nations.

At the heart of the gathering were moments of communal prayer and the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, which grounded the entire encounter in the presence of the Lord. These were complemented by conferences that deepened reflection, simple moments of recreation that fostered fraternity, encounters with communities of OCD nuns, and evenings of cultural sharing that revealed the beauty of unity in diversity. The turning of the year was marked prayerfully through the celebration of the Midnight Mass, followed by a modest New Year’s Eve meal shared in gratitude and joy with the parish community.

The encounter was especially graced by the presence of the Definitor General of the Order, Fr. Christianus Surinono, OCD, whose accompaniment was a sign of closeness and communion with the wider Order. The Father General also reached out to the brothers through a video message, gently reminding them to return always to what is essential: to fall ever more deeply in love with the Lord, and to walk the path of formation with humility, openness, and transparency of heart.

In this shared journey, the encounter became not only a meeting of persons, but a renewed invitation to hold on – to faith, to fraternity, and to the hope that sustains our Carmelite vocation.

The following are some of the activities during the event.
Day 1:

Begining with the Greeting of father General