Faithful Stewards, Effective Leaders: Inside the Inaugural UA&P-PUSC Program of Church Management

“I learned that Church management is also a path to holiness,” shared Fr. Danilo Dela Bajan of the Diocese of Masbate.

“When I strive to be transparent in financial administration, I am also asking God to make my soul honest. When I strive to be responsible in stewardship, I am also asking God to free my soul from selfishness and entitlement. When I strive to be effective in leadership, I am also asking God to form in me humility.”

For Fr. Dela Bajan and 33 other Church leaders—composed of 33 priests and one laywoman—management was not merely a technical exercise in administration. It became, over four weeks, a deeper reflection on how governance, stewardship, and leadership intersect with spiritual formation and pastoral service.

The group recently completed the Program of Church Management (PCM), a joint initiative of the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) and the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (Pontificia Università della Santa Croce or PUSC) in Rome, held from April 13 to May 8, 2026, at UA&P.

The first batch of graduates of the Program of Church Management offered by UA&P and the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross.

The cohort reflected the breadth of the Philippine Church, bringing together participants from the Archdioceses of Manila, Palo, Cotabato, and Iloilo; the Apostolic Vicariates of Calapan, Puerto Princesa, and Taytay (Palawan); the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines; and dioceses across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, including Alaminos, Bacolod, Bayombong, Boac, Butuan, Catarman, Iba, Infanta, Kidapawan, Laoag, Mati, Novaliches, Pagadian, San Carlos (Negros Occidental), Surigao, Tagum, and Talibon.

The program was designed to equip clergy, lay leaders, and Church workers with leadership and management competencies for effective stewardship, governance, and mission-driven service—addressing a growing need for Church institutions to form leaders who can manage people, resources, and programs while remaining grounded in pastoral mission and values.

“We sometimes could only dedicate ourselves to spiritual matters,” said Msgr. Martin Schlag in a video message to the participants. “But we need both [spiritual and material aspects]," the director of the Markets, Culture and Ethics Research Center of PUSC emphasized. “We live in the logic of the Incarnation—Jesus Christ incarnated into the human body, with needs for food, for shelter, for clothing—and the Church continues in this logic of the Body of Christ.”

He added, “The way we respect and manage things to the best of our knowledge, with best practices which we can learn from secular business and from the right business practices, that is all part of our virtues and our spiritual life. We need to unify the two.”

Among the faculty members were (from top left, clockwise) Caritas Philippines Executive Director Fr. Carmelo "Tito" Caluag, former US Navy Master Training Specialist and leadership facilitator Commander Eduardo "Ed" Salvador, UA&P chaplain Fr. Edgar Soria, CBCP President Archbishop Gilbert Garcera, D.D., Solidaritas Credit Cooperative CEO Rev. Fr. Lamberto S. Ramos, and UA&P School of Management professor Dr. Steffi Manhit.

For many participants, the program highlighted a reality increasingly felt across Church institutions: that pastoral mission today also requires administrative competence, transparency, and sound governance.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, UA&P President Atty. John Philip Yeung underscored the collaboration’s alignment with the university’s mission of formation and service.

“We are very happy with this collaboration because it is very much aligned with UA&P’s purpose, which is to bring people closer to God by delivering the best education and formation that we can offer,” he remarked.

While acknowledging that the Church is ultimately guided by divine providence, he also emphasized the responsibility entrusted to Church leaders.

“The Holy Spirit runs the Church, but our Lord also has this penchant for using poor instruments. If we are in a position to carry out God’s work and exercise influence, it is good to have the humble mindset that perhaps we are in that position because we are that poor instrument,” he stated.

The four-week program combined lectures, case studies, facilitated discussions, group work, and applied learning exercises. It covered foundational management principles, leadership and governance, applied stewardship, and organizational integration, with participants encouraged to ground their learning in the realities of parish and diocesan administration.

Beyond administrative skills, participants also reflected on how management itself could become part of spiritual growth and vocational fidelity.

For Rev. Fr. Edgardo C. Coroza of the Archdiocese of Manila, who served as Batch 2026 representative, the formation addressed an essential dimension of priestly life.

“I believe this program is necessary in the Church. The Church needs properly informed and trained pastors and administrators,” he uttered.

“The formation and the training are not extracurricular activities, but essential requirements—a true investment that can help ensure high performance in ministry,” he added. “Ongoing formation, for me, is a constant renewal of my ‘yes’ to God’s calling to the priestly ministry.”

The program will culminate in October with capstone project presentations, where participants will apply their learning to concrete pastoral, organizational, and administrative challenges within their respective institutions.

Upon completion, participants receive a Certificate of Completion jointly issued by UA&P and PUSC, are granted UA&P alumni status, and earn academic credits that may be applied toward the Master in Management program of the UA&P School of Management.

The Program of Church Management is offered by Southeast Asia Business Studies (SEABS), the executive education arm of the UA&P School of Management, in collaboration with the Markets, Culture, and Ethics Research Center of PUSC, with the support of Solidaritas Credit Cooperative.

For inquiries regarding future offerings of the Program of Church Management, interested individuals may contact SEABS at seabs@uap.asia.#

• With input from School of Management staff Ms. Jennifer Delfino and Ms. Jien Macaraeg-Guimare.