EAST ASIAN PASTORAL INSTITUTE

Located on the campus of the Jesuit University of Ateneo de Manila in Quezon City, Philippines and sponsored by the Jesuit Conference of East Asia and Oceania (JCEAO), the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) is an international multicultural center for spiritual renewal, pastoral training and leadership formation for laity, religious, and clergy in the Asia–Pacific region. In addition to organizing sabbatical, theological reflection, and spiritual renewal programs, it focuses on the training and formation of lay leaders and catechists for service in the local churches of Asia–Pacific. It also offers masters and doctorate programs in theology as part of the Manila Theological Consortium.

History. The EAPI was the brainchild of Johannes hofinger, S.J., an Austrian Jesuit missionary to China who was expelled by the Communists in 1949. In 1953, he and a small band of fellow Jesuits established the Institute for Missionary Apologetics in army barracks which formerly housed a World War II Japanese concentration camp. In 1961, this institute was renamed the East Asian Pastoral Institute, and its mission was broadened to include training and formation in catechetics and liturgy. On Aug. 15, 1965, the Jesuit General, Pedro Arrupe reorganized EAPI in response to calls by various Asian bishops, missionaries, and religious superiors for the establishment of an international formation and training center in Asia to implement the pastoral vision of VaticanII. Arrupe appointed a Jesuit missionary in Japan, Alfon-so Nebreda as its first director with a mandate to oversee the relocation of the institute to new premises on the campus of Ateneo de Manila university, and to initiate new pastoral and leadership training programs. The relocation was completed with the inauguration of the new building complex in 1968.

Publications. In 1962, the fledging institute launched its first publication, a quarterly entitled Good Tidings. In 1964 two new journals were inaugurated: Amen, which focused on liturgical renewal, and Teaching All Nations, which sought to articulate and promote mission catechetics and liturgy. At the end of 1979, Good Tidings and Teaching All Nations were merged into a new journal, the East Asian Pastoral Review (EAPR). EAPI also publishes a newsletter, The Bridge.

Bibliography: h. czarkowski, "Zur Bedeutung und Situation der Pastoralinstitute in der Dritten Welt," Zeitschrift für Missionswissenschaft und Religionswissenschaft 59 (1975) 112–126. a. m. de la cruz, "Johannes Hofinger Remembered, 1905–1984," Living Light, 20 (1984) 345–347. f. x. clark, "Johannes Hofinger, S.J., (1905–1984), Life and Bibliography," East Asian Pastoral Review 21 (1984) 103–120. a. m. nebreda, "Johannes Hofinger: Catalyst and Pioneer," East Asian Pastoral Review, 21 (1984) 120–127.

[j. y. tan]