Formation must begin with relationship, Vatican study group member tells Bikol formators

By Francis Tordilla 

Priestly formation must begin with relationships, said Fr. Andrew Recepcion, the only Filipino member of the Vatican study group tasked with rethinking priestly formation for a synodal and missionary Church.

“Synodality is fundamentally about relationship,” Recepcion told 42 seminary formators from across Bikol during the Bicol Formators’ Conference, “Formation in a Synodal Missionary Key,” held September 3–4, 2026 at the Isabelle Hotel along Peñafrancia Street, Naga City.

His message placed the work of seminary formators at the heart of the Church’s future: the way future priests are formed today will shape the kind of clergy who will serve the parishes of Bikol in the years to come.

Relationship as the starting point

Recepcion urged formators to make relationships the starting point of every dimension of priestly formation. Without this foundation, he said, formation can easily become reduced to programs, structures, regulations, and requirements. When that happens, formation risks losing sight of the person and his journey toward becoming a priest.

For Recepcion, formation is not one concern among many in the life of the Church. It is an investment in the Church’s future. For the priests serving the Church today, he noted, are products of the formation they received. In the same way, the priests of tomorrow will be shaped by the formation being given in seminaries today.

Rereading priestly formation for a synodal Church

Recepcion drew from his experience as a member of Study Group 4, one of the 10 study groups established by Pope Francis to address questions arising from the Synod of Bishops. The group was tasked with rereading the Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis, the Church’s foundational document on priestly formation, and proposing ways of orienting its implementation toward a more synodal and missionary Church.

Recepcion, who serves as spiritual director of the Pontifical Filipino College in Rome, was the group’s only Filipino and only Asian member. He described the assignment as a privileged opportunity to listen to experts and practitioners of priestly formation from different parts of the world.

The General Secretariat of the Synod released the group’s final report in March 2026. The study group affirmed that the 2016 Ratio Fundamentalis remains sound in its fundamental principles while proposing a framework for its renewed implementation. At the heart of the proposal is a Preamble identifying the conversions required of priestly formation today: conversion toward relationship, mission, communion, service, and a synodal style. These are followed by practical guidelines for putting these orientations into practice.

From reflection to action

The two-day conference was structured around these two parts of the study group’s proposal.

The first day focused on the Preamble through three sessions: the synodal Church as a sacrament of renewed relationships; the relational identity of priests in relation to charisms and ministries; and synodal style, discernment, and conversion in formation. While the second day turned to the practical guidelines, focusing on shared formation with all the baptized, formation through a participatory and synodal style, and co-responsibility and formation for mission.

Three workshop sessions allowed the participants to bring these principles into the concrete realities of priestly formation in Bikol. They reflected on what a synodal priestly identity might look like in the local context, examined existing good practices that could be adapted to local circumstances, and identified concrete commitments in response to a central question: What will we change in our seminary and in our diocese?

Each workshop concluded with plenary sharing and a synthesis from the facilitator. Among the ideas that particularly challenged the formators was the experience in Mexico of including women among the members of seminary formation teams—a relatively new practice within a long tradition of priestly formation largely entrusted to men.

The Mexican experience presented at the conference goes beyond having women serve as teachers or resource persons. Women formators are also involved in the communal discernment and evaluation of candidates for priesthood, participating in the process by which seminarians are assessed in their journey toward ordination. For the Bikol formators, the practice raised questions about how the gifts and perspectives of women might contribute more fully to the discernment and formation of future priests.

The final session culminated in a rite of sending forth, emphasizing that the conference was not meant to end with reflection but to lead to concrete changes in formation.

Formators from across Bikol

The conference brought together 40 priests directly involved in seminary formation from the different dioceses and religious jurisdictions of the region.

The Archdiocese of Caceres was represented by 14 priests, followed by the Diocese of Sorsogon with 10, the Diocese of Legazpi with five, and the Diocese of Libmanan and the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT) with three each. The Dioceses of Masbate and Daet sent two participants each, while the Diocese of Virac was represented by one. Bishop Jose Alan Dialogo of Sorsogon, regional director for seminary formation, also joined the gathering, bringing the total number of participants and guests to 42.

Fr. Wilfred Almoneda presided at the Mass on the evening of September 3 at the Good Shepherd Chapel of the Archbishop’s Residence, representing Archbishop Rex Andrew Alarcon. The Mass was followed by dinner at the residence.

Bishop Dialogo presided at the opening Mass on the second day of the conference, which concluded at 5:00 p.m. on September 4 with the participants sent forth to bring the insights of the gathering into their seminaries and dioceses.

For the formators gathered in Naga, the challenge was therefore not simply to understand synodality, but to embody it in the very way future priests are accompanied, formed, and prepared for mission.

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