Family Rosary International
PHILIPPINES
Building family relationships through the Rosary
Latest News
- Exploring Traditions of Faith on Holy Week
- Closing Rites of Philippine Rogatory Trial held for the Cause of Beatification of Father Patrick Peyton, CSC
- Fr. Phalen's visit to the Philippiness
Father Peyton Guild |
Country Demographics/Culture
The Philippines is an archipelago of some 7,107 islands forming part of the great island arc off the Southeastern coast of the Asian mainland. Its land area constitutes 2% of the total land of the world. It is ranked 13th among he 35 countries of Asia and 57th among the 146 countries of the world. English and Filpino are the official languages. The literacy rate for the country is 95.5% of the adult population, with little variation between males and females.
The most widely spoken languages are Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon, Bicol, Waray-Waray, Pampango and Maranao. The arts of the Philippines reflect a society with diverse cultural influences and traditions. 
Most modern aspects of Philippine cultural life evolved under the foreign rule of Spain and later the United States. Family relationships are the basic building block of the Philippine society. The Philippines has the only predominately Christian population in Asia with 94% Christian, 5% Muslims and the remainder Buddhists, animists or non-believers. About 84% of the Filipinos are Roman Catholic while the other 10% belong to other Christian denominations. Although there is an official separation of church and state, the Roman Catholic Church continues to have an influential role in the political life.
History of the Ministry in Country
In 1951 Father Patrick Peyton CSC first visited the Philippines to conduct a Rosary Rally at the University of Sto. Tomas. Then in 1958 Manila Archbishop Rufino J. Cardinal Santos invited Father Peyton to bring the Family Rosary Crusade to Manila. On December 6, 1959 the first Rosary Rally was conducted at the Luneta where a crowd of 1.5 million gathered to listen to Father Peyton. From the first Rally in 1959, 14 major Rosary Rallies soon followed in the key provinces of the Philippines. Since then, the ministry in the Philippines has been expanding and developing to bring the message that The Family That Prays Together Stays Together ™.
Ministry Today
The focus is to promote the traditional solidarity and moral life of the Filipino family through the praying of the Rosary. This is achieved through numerous programs that are offered through the office. Popular Mission serve as a teaching guide for everyone to better understand the faith and to pass it on to future generations. Family Rosary Crusade has many programs on TV and prepares for almost 43 hours of airtime every week. FRC programs are seen all over the country and recently in the United States, Canada, Australia and Japan via Dream Satellite’s Mabuhay Channel.
Some of the activities from the office have been: 2 LIVE telethons on FRC’s 50th year in the Philippines; Interactive Rosary Exhibit in celebration of the Year of the Rosary; revival of the Popular Mission thru the 1st Outdoor Cinema @ The Fort; the creation of a banner with the words “A powerful prayer is in your hands”; the 3rd Family Rosary Crusade General Assembly and the Children’s Rosary Rally. FRC’s list of video documentaries include: John Paul II We Love You (1995 World Youth Day in the Phils.); EDSA: The Untold Story; One Mission. One Family. One Prayer. (Int’l. Director’s Meeting 2003, Ireland); Walking to Sacred Grounds (Holyland); Ireland: A Glimpse of Heaven and the 4th World Meeting of Families. Gennie Jota, Director of Family Rosary Crusade, and the staff work many hours to achieve the success of their programs and to spread the mission of Father Peyton, which began in 1951.