Jude Peirispulle, OMI – Various activities are taking place in and out of our church daily.
Toyohashi parish is one of the biggest Nagoya city parishes in number and size. When it comes to activities, it could be said it is probably the busiest parish in the diocese. Thanks to Fr. Tharanga, OMI, and Fr. Horward, OMI, we are able to launch various activities with the parishioners. Since there are many Catholics from various countries, we have masses in 7 languages. There are also outside priests who help with mass as well as other activities, especially during the summer. Of the various activities, I want to mention two from summer 2025.
Report from Kamiya Rie
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Toyohashi Catholic Filipino Community Participates in Unity and Bonding 2025
On the 27th of September 2025, about 100 people from the Toyohashi Catholic Filipino community participated in the Unity and Bonding event that was held in Nagoya, at Nunoike Catholic Church. Approximately 800 participants from different communities in the Nagoya diocese gathered and celebrated this uniting event.
Unity and Bonding is one of the programs held by the Filipino Catholics residing in Japan. The S.V.D. (Society of the Divine Word) religious community organizes this event, with Fr. Jun Peralta, SVD, serving as its current coordinator. This event also commemorates the feast of St. Lorenzo Ruiz, a Filipino missionary and a martyr. This program is dedicated to all the Catholic faithful in Japan, especially Filipinos, encouraging everyone to continue the mission of witnessing to the Word of God throughout the world.
Reflecting on the theme, “Embracing the Future with Faith and Hope,” each community prepared their presentations in very unique ways. The Toyohashi Catholic Church Choir rendered a Tagalog song entitled “May Bukas Pa” (There’s Tomorrow), and the rest of the Toyohashi community, together with the kids and adults, finalized the presentation with an animation dance entitled “One, So That All May Be One.”
In the afternoon, Fr. Eugeniusz Ziebura, SVD, gave a brief talk about the SVD community, its history, and the development of their apostolic ministries here in Japan. Despite the declining numbers of Japanese faithful, Fr. Eugeniusz expressed his hope for the fruitfulness of the Church in Japan. He shared his insights on Catholic people from the different countries who are increasing and supporting the Japanese Church. After Fr. Eugeniusz’s talk, he was presented with a gift from the catechists of the Nagoya diocese. In conclusion, the celebration of the Holy Eucharist took place, with Fr. Jonathan Villacorta, SVD, as the main celebrant; Fr. Howard Tatel, OMI, served as homilist, with several priests concelebrating.
In his homily, Fr. Howard spoke about the culture of the Filipino Catholics and Filipino saints. He reminded us that we can all be saints and that being holy is not only for the religious and the priests but also for the laity. He used two Filipino lay saints, San Lorenzo Ruiz and San Pedro Calungsod, as examples. He commented that each community’s presentation clearly reflected Filipino culture, affirming that Christ’s mission endures everywhere through faith, hope, and grace.
Report from Danielly Da Silva Farias: Catholic Youth program arranged for Brazilians
The youth group of Toyohashi Catholic Church, along with other youth from various parishes, arranged a 3-day retreat in Nagoya. The speaker, Father Tony Moreira from Brazil, is mainly involved with the youth in Brazil. This retreat was held from 12th through 14th September 2025. About 100 youth participated. Our group, Jovens Resgate, organized this retreat with Father Tony for the 1st time. To arrange and prepare for this retreat, we faced many challenges. But thanks to our parents and parishioners, we were able to experience fruitful results.
During this retreat, Father Tony was able to motivate our life in this present society. Singing songs, dancing, praying, listening, and sharing our thoughts made everybody joyful. Celebrating mass with the youth in a different context made each one understand the importance of the Mass and attending church. Father Tony not only created much joy but also instilled much knowledge!
The young people lived in one place for 3 days. During this time, by eating the same food, attending conferences, and sleeping in one place, they were able to experience something different, and for many, it was the 1st time.
Definitely, many youths left the place with transformed lives. For some, it was their first meeting with Christ; for others, it was a chance to receive reconciliation. This encounter drew some youth back to the church, and some even thought about their vacation and future life.
We wish we will be able to have more of these in the future too.
