I was evangelized by the poor. In fact, they are my inspiration.

Rhodel Nacional, Philippines

Father Rhodel N. Nacional | Philippines

Measured against the high annual number of deaths caused by natural calamities, the Philippines was identified as the most dangerous land on the planet in 2013. Every year, an average of 20 typhoons is registered. The most accepted reason is the geographical location of the Philippines, but for Fr. Nacional also the pollution of the environment, the increasing deforestation and illegal mining bear partial responsibility. The worst about the catastrophes is that usually the poor people are the ones who suffer the most as they lose everything in the event of such catastrophes. With his studies in the field of theological ethics at the Catholic University of Leuven, he wants to help his country by developing and implementing preventive, curative and rehabilitative ecological initiatives.

Fr. Nacional met the poorest of the poor when - after his ordination - he became priest in a parish with a population of more than 80.000 in the south of the Philippines. Eighty percent of the community members were illegal settlers, and they needed more than spiritual and sacramental assistance. He accepted his hitherto biggest challenge and organized the provision of urgently needed basic services for 80.000 people: medical care, nutritional programs, and self-help groups.

Fr. Nacional was born into a catholic family in a small village in Miagao, Iloilo, in the Philippines. When he was eight years old, he started to actively engage in several religious organizations in his parish. At the age of fifteen, he entered the Vincentian Seminary and he was ordained priest at the age of twenty-seven.

After his graduation, he returned to the Philippines, and he paved the way for the creation of the Vincentian Ecological Desk and to teach at the St. Vincent School of Theology. It is a matter of the heart for him to integrate ecological programs in the parishes and in the Basic Ecclesial Communities.

 

About him

Rhodel Nacional

  • Comes from Miagao, Iloilo, Philippines
  • Graduated until the end of 2016 at the Catholic University of Leuven
  • Graduation in "Virtue Ecology. An Alternative Response to Ecological Crisis in the Philippines

The objective of the graduation was the development of alternative paths to solve the ecological crisis in the Philippines.

After his graduation, Fr. Nacional returned to the St. Vincent School of Theology at Quezon City to teach there and to create a Vincentian Ecological Desk.