UA&P has launched a series of online lectures on church history tracing the country’s journey to Catholicism since the arrival of the Spanish. The “Philippine Church History Webinar Series” is held every Saturday from February 13 until April 17 to deepen a sense of history in appreciating the Catholic faith and mark the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Christianity in the Philippines.

Featuring distinguished Catholic historians Dr. Paul Dumol and Dr. Grace Concepcion among the speakers, the webinar series examines and analyzes the challenges and responses that the Church encountered as it expanded and developed throughout the Philippine islands. They also feature the works of American Jesuit historian Father John Schumacher, who taught history at the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila University for over 40 years.

Clergymen are encouraging people to attend the webinars as part of an attempt to deepen the identity of Filipino Catholics.

“Part of being a Filipino Catholic is to know how and why we became Catholics. The online lectures will bring us back to our history, particularly how the faith was brought by Spanish friars to Philippine shores,” said Father Emman Afable of Sorsogon Diocese. “The Church is both divine and human. The humanity of the Church does not make it a perfect institution … Clergymen committed mistakes. These too, have to be discussed so that we may learn from the past.”

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