30/04/2026
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๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ ๐๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ต๐ผ๐น๐ฑ ๐ถ๐๐ ๐ญ๐ฒ๐๐ต ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฏ๐น๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐น๐ผ๐ถ๐น๐ผ ๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ต, ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฒ, ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐ด๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐น๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ด๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐น๐ฎ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐ด๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ฑ๐ฏ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฎ๐ฑ.
Guided by the theme, โSustained by Grace, Nurtured in Faith, Sent Forth in Mission,โ and grounded in Epistle to the Ephesians 2:8โ10, the gathering will reflect on the Churchโs life and witness in a time of both challenge and renewal.
Speaking on the priorities of the gathering, The Most Rev. Joel O. Porlares, Obispo Maximo of the IFI, highlighted the importance of ongoing discernment on proposed amendments to the 1977 Constitution and Canons, the IFIโs highest law.
โThese proposals are not merely structural revisions,โ he said, โbut part of our shared responsibility to ensure that the Church remains responsive, accountable, and mission-oriented in a rapidly changing world.โ
He added that the Church remained committed to safeguarding the spirit of the Constitution and Canons, particularly the balance between clergy and laity and IFIโs identity as โepiscopally led and synodically governed.โ
โOur task is not to abandon what has shaped us, but to strengthen it,โ he said, noting that Church structures must continue to serve the Gospel and sustain its witness today.
The assembly will serve both as a constitutional gathering and a space for collective discernment. Delegates will bring reports, experiences, and questions from across dioceses, as the Church listens for direction in the years ahead.
Reflecting on evolving leadership within the Church, The Rev. Mary Grace Ejercito-Masegman, the first woman governor general of the National Priest Organization of the IFI, said: โI hope for a widening of spaces where women and young people are not only welcomed but trusted as co-workers in Godโs mission.โ
She added that when women, gender-diverse persons, and the youth are given room to lead, the Church more fully reflects the life-giving movement of the Spirit.
โThere are various local and global challenges to which IFI is called in service and solidarity, from unrest to the climate crisis,โ said Vaughn Alviar, national youth president. โWe must also ensure that the Church becomes one well-adapted to modern times, in the way it runs and the way it does mission.โ
The IFI continues its journey marked by resilience and struggle. While leadership and lay participation have grown, clergy and lay workers serving marginalized communities continue to face risks, including harassment and red-tagging. These realities raise urgent questions about sustaining mission, caring for communities, supportinandg leaders in demanding contexts.
At its core, the assembly affirms that the Church endures through Godโs grace, grows in faith, and is sent into mission. As the IFI gathers in Iloilo, it does so trusting that God continues to guide its life and witness in the world.
