Vicars for the Clergy National Convention

Welcome Address of Hon. Sara Duterte, Mayor of Davao, on the Opening Mass of Vicars for the Clergy National Convention

April 9, 2018 at San Pedro Cathedral

Maayong hapon sa tanan! On behalf of the City Government of Davao, I would like to welcome all the vicars and members of the clergy gathered here for this year’s Vicars for the Clergy National Convention. We are honored that you have chosen Davao City as the venue of your gathering, and we hope you will enjoy your stay. Allow me also to congratulate the Archdiocese of Davao for hosting this year’s convention.

The gospel works wonders like perfume – its essence, its testimony appeals to our senses to appeal to our soul. But to the lost who have not heard of the Good News, evangelists serve as alabaster jars to pour out the love of Christ among the hearers of the Word. That is genuine evangelization – the kind that is not just seen and heard but felt, the kind that has the intervention of the Holy Spirit more than the influence of man.

As vicars, God’s vessels of the Good News, I am in hopes that Filipinos will receive that undying faith in Christ through your ministry. And though the trappings and difficulties of the modern times have tested man, may you not grow weary in showing compassion to those who have fallen from grace and to not grow weary in walking with the weak and the wounded.

This gathering testifies how the progress of a country is also based on its spiritual institutions. In the expansion of God’s kingdom, the City Government of Davao is with you in climbing mountains and in crossing oceans to share His faith, to share His promises, and to share His love.

Thank you and once again, congratulations!

Sara Z. Duterte
City Mayor