The Daughters of St. Paul celebrated the 25th anniversary of the program Banquet of Love, a televised Mass for the sick, the disabled and the elderly aired over ABS-CBN at 6:00 o’clock every Sunday morning. To mark the occasion, a special thanksgiving Mass was celebrated on August 7, 2015 at the ABS-CBN studio with Archbishop Emeritus Fernando Capalla as presider and ten concelebrating priests. Faithful sponsors, benefactors and members of the Pauline Family were invited and the seminarians of the Regional Major Seminary of Davao (REMASE) served as the choir for the celebration.
On August 8, 2015 friends, benefactors, sponsors, religious & priest, especially the regular choir of the TV Mass gathered at Paternos Restaurant to celebrate the Eucharist with Fr. Danny Montaña, RCJ as presider. After the Mass, Fr. Ritsche Gamaya, Director of the Catholic Mass Media Commission of the Archdiocese gave a talk on the Message of the Holy Father for the 49th World Day of Communication.
The Daughters of St. Paul are missionaries of social communications. In 1989 the sisters of the FSP Davao community with Sr. Giacomina Cabucos, then the superior, embarked on the televised Mass apostolate with the aim of spreading the Word of God to the sick, the disabled and the elderly. With great enthusiasm, the late Sr. Sol Cababaros organized the members of the Association of Pauline Cooperators and started the program with the blessing of the late Archbishop Antonio Mabutas, D. D. The first broadcast was on August 6, 1990, the Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord.
On August 8, 2015 friends, benefactors, sponsors, religious & priest, especially the regular choir of the TV Mass gathered at Paternos Restaurant to celebrate the Eucharist with Fr. Danny Montaña, RCJ as presider. After the Mass, Fr. Ritsche Gamaya, Director of the Catholic Mass Media Commission of the Archdiocese gave a talk on the Message of the Holy Father for the 49th World Day of Communication.
The Daughters of St. Paul are missionaries of social communications. In 1989 the sisters of the FSP Davao community with Sr. Giacomina Cabucos, then the superior, embarked on the televised Mass apostolate with the aim of spreading the Word of God to the sick, the disabled and the elderly. With great enthusiasm, the late Sr. Sol Cababaros organized the members of the Association of Pauline Cooperators and started the program with the blessing of the late Archbishop Antonio Mabutas, D. D. The first broadcast was on August 6, 1990, the Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord.
Hence, “Banquet of Love” was born! Although no formal survey of audience impact was ever made, 80% of those visited in the parishes of North and South Cotabato, Davao Sur and Occidental, Davao North and Oriental and other nearby dioceses said they are watching the program because they want to listen to the message of every Sunday Mass. Some even said that they use the songs sung by the choir for their Katilingbanong Pag-ampo during their GKK (BEC) gatherings. ABS-CBN station also reports thatBanquet of Love rates as one of the top five TV programs in Mindanao every Sunday morning.
When Archbishop Antonio Mabutas retired, Archbishop Fernando Capalla, D.D. who took over, was very supportive of the program. This apostolic venture survives through the goodness and generosity of many sponsors and benefactors’ monthly pledges, because it has no permanent financial back-up. They help defray the cost of weekly airtime, offer flowers and food for the choir members and staff. Truly they are partners in pursuing the mission of bringing the Word of God through the air waves. Most of the gifts received during the offertory are also shared to the seminaries of Kidapawan, Digos, Mati, Tagum and Davao.
On August 2014, the Sisters, with the help of the Association of Pauline Cooperators, started to gather funds for the project: “Free 100 Cebuano Bibles.” These bibles were given to 100 families of the GKK in every parish of the dioceses of Davao, Tagum, Digos, Mati, Davao Oriental and Cotabato. They were able to distribute a total of 1,000 free Cebuano Bibles. The project is ongoing until they reach all the parishes of the said dioceses under the territory of FSP-Davao.