Story By Georgene Quilaton-Tambiga
Photos By Rachel De Gracia, CVPro
August 28, 2024—To significantly mark the Solemnity of St. Augustine, the spiritual father of the Order of Augustinian Recollects, Colegio de Sto. Tomas-Recoletos blessed and inaugurated the new College Department classrooms and the renovated comfort rooms of the Senior High School Department.
Rev. Fr. Joel Dequilla, OAR, Vice-President for Finance and Administration, together with Rev. Fr. Monday Benjamin Edobor, OAR, Vice-President for Identity, Formation and Mission, and Rev. Fr. Excel Saycon, OAR, led the blessing of the classrooms that are fully equipped for Thomasian BS in Criminology and BS in Entrepreneurship students.
Not only are the classrooms compliant with the standards of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), they are also installed with new smart TV sets for interactive lectures and discussions.
Meanwhile, Ms. Marinell Ocampo, principal of the Basic Education Department, and Ms. Ma. Ena Marcellana, SHS coordinator, joined the blessing of the two sets of comfort rooms, each set is located on the second and third floor of the St. Ezekiel Moreno Building.
The comfort room renovation was made possible through the effort and donations of the Parents-Teachers Association (PTA) of Academic Year 2023-2024, CST-R Batch 1999, CST-R Batch 1974 and CST-R Batch 1973.
The Solemnity of Father Augustine
The Thomasian community of students also celebrated the Solemnity of St. Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, by attending the Holy Mass at the STV-R Chapel.
In his homily, Fr. Edobor told the Thomasians about the story of St. Augustine’s conversion and renewal. Narrating about how the renowned saint was when he was only a boy, the CST-R campus minister drove home the message that even the saints were also sinners who struggled to amend their ways to follow the way of God.
The day before St. Augustine’s feast, Recoletos de San Carlos also celebrated the Feast of St. Monica, his mother. A Holy Mass and an agape marked the celebration.
