Ateneo de Davao Community Marks Institutional Convocation and Day of Recollection
The Ateneo de Davao community, over 2,000 administrators, faculty, staff, and non-teaching personnel, gathered on the 5th of August 2026 for the Institutional Convocation and Day of Recollection at the 4th Floor of Martin Hall, Jacinto Campus, a day of shared reflection and renewal to open the new academic year.
Faculty, staff, and non-teaching personnel from the Basic Education, Senior High School, and College units convened for a shared time of reflection and discernment, looking back with gratitude on the graces of the past year and looking forward with renewed hope for another year ahead.
University President Fr. Karel S. San Juan, SJ, opened the convocation with a message that spoke of Ateneo de Davao’s powerful undercurrent, a collective identity and shared purpose binding the community together across its units and endeavors. San Juan charted the path forward for the new academic year, grounded in excellence, animated by service, and marked by synodality.
Continuing the spirit of the morning session, the university community spent the afternoon in a Day of Recollection, structured around three clusters: Large, Medium, and Small Sector, where each offered a different mode of reflection.
The Large Sector Cluster gathered around 250 participants to listen to a Resource Speaker, with a choice of three themes: “Gratitude: Naming One’s Gifts and Celebrating One’s Giftedness” at Our Lady of the Assumption Chapel, “Presence: Contemplative in Action” at Finster Auditorium, and “Mission: Opening to Freedom, Deeper Trust, and Generosity” at Bapa Benny Tudtud Auditorium.
The Medium Sector Cluster offered activity-based sessions in groups of 40, including a Body Prayer through Shibashi and a Walking Meditation around campus. Meanwhile, the Small Sector Cluster invited smaller groups of 15 to 20 participants into scripture-based guided prayer, with themes ranging from “Discernment, My Personal Crossroads” and “Finding God in All Things” to “Call to Mission,” “My Leadership Journey,” and “Accompanying Young People,” held across various Canisius classrooms.
Participants who wished to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation proceeded to Rodriguez Hall in the afternoon, where confessions were heard ahead of the day’s closing liturgy.
The day closed with a Eucharistic Celebration presided over by Fr. San Juan, with Fr. Antonio M. Basilio, SJ, as homilist. Concelebrants were Fr. Joseph Tu Vinh Le, Fr. Jboy Gonzales, Fr. Anthony Phi Lam, Fr. Errol Nebrao, Fr. Manol Montesclaros, Fr. Eric Escandor, Fr. Norris Seenivasan, Fr. Patrick Dominador Falguera, and Fr. Charlie Cenzon.
