TAGUM CITY, Philippines (UCAN) -- Seminarian Jefferson Caliao faced the "hardest trial" of his life four years ago when he was offered an engineering scholarship just after graduating from high school.

Choosing between a career in engineering and pursuing his dream to be a priest was "difficult" for the eldest son of a security guard in Tagum City, Davao del Norte province.

However, Caliao told UCA News on Oct. 3 that despite his family's need for money, he found himself packing his belongings when he was 16 and then headed to Queen of Apostles College Seminary, the only Catholic seminary in the diocese. It is based in Tagum City, 945 kilometers southeast of Manila.

His decision did not disappoint his parents, he also said on the day after Tagum diocese launched its Vocation Month. "They were very happy, especially my mother," he recalled. His mother, a day-care teacher, parish Mass leader and Basic Ecclesial Community (BEC) worker, "encouraged" him, he added.

Beyond finishing college and then theology studies, and beyond his priestly ordination, the fourth-year philosophy student said he is "looking forward" to the moment he will be "given my first mission parish."

Tagum diocese covers all of Compostela Valley province and most of Davao del Norte in the southern part of Mindanao Island. The 2006-2007 Catholic Directory of the Philippines says it has 33 parishes, chaplaincies and mission areas. It also says 75 percent of the 1,476,559 people living in its territory are Catholics, and 96 diocesan and three Religious priests are serving them.

The support Caliao gets from his parents and fellow parishioners is typical in Tagum, according to Father Patricio Aborde Jr., Queen of Apostles vocation director. "We found that most enrollees come from BECs or have experiences with faith communities," he told UCA News. In his view, the exposure of boys and teenagers to Church community life "contributes" to vocational awareness.

A BEC comprises a group of neighbors who gather regularly for Bible sharing, and Gospel-based discussion and action on community concerns, as well as worship and celebration. The Catholic directory counts 1,834 BECs in Tagum.

As of Oct. 5, Queen of Apostles had 134 seminarians, 113 of them from Tagum diocese and the rest from Mati diocese, its eastern neighbor. Records in the Tagum chancery office indicate that, except for 2002, four-to-six priests have been ordained for the diocese every year since 2000.

Father Aborde said "we will take advantage" of the large number of seminarians" and continue to "strengthen BECs" by sending priests to visit the communities "frequently." Many BECs operate far from parish centers.

Tagum is fertile ground for vocations, he maintains, because areas covered by the diocese are "not yet as urbanized" as elsewhere, so local young people are not as influenced by "consumerism" and "materialistic" lifestyles.

The diocese launched Vocation Month with a Mass celebration attended by about 5,000 clergy, Religious, seminarians and laypeople, including students from public schools in Tagum and Mati dioceses.

Bishop Wilfredo Manlapaz of Tagum noted in his homily that "Giving thanks for the Gift of Vocation in Christian Communities," this year's theme, highlights BECs as the "seedbed of vocation." Stressing that vocation "is not only about priesthood or about the Religious, it is for everybody," he urged people at the Mass "to respond to God's call to serve him and our fellowmen."

Dedicating October to vocations, Bishop Malapaz also explained, is "very significant" for Tagum because it was month during which "community gatherings of faith" began to flourish 39 years ago. At that time, parishes in the area were under the pastoral care of Maryknoll priests.

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