Fr. Patricio R. De los Reyes Jr., SVD took over from Fr. Roderick Salazar Jr., SVD, the University Chaplaincy in June 2009.  Born in Cebu City on the 14th of July 1956, he joined the Society of the Divine Word in 1973, took his first Vows in 1975 and made his perpetual vows on the 15th of May 1982 and was ordained an SVD priest on the 23rd of October of the same year.  On the feast of the Assumption in  1983, he left his beloved country and stepped into the Kalahari sands of Botswana, Africa on the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, where he lived out God’s dream for him. 

Last year, Fr. Pat returned for good to the Philippines for health reason.  As he started out in Botswana, he was given the task of parish ministry after the challenging task of learning Setswana.  Then on the 1st of April 1986 he was sent with two other SVD missionaries to the country of Zambia to start a new mission.  In the Diocese of Livingstone he served the Toka-Leya people and also served as Pastoral Coordinator of the Diocese.  In 1991, he opened the Formation Program of Botswana Province consisting of three countries: Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe.  While a formator, he was also doing vocation promotion.  In 1974, he went to St. Louis, Missouri, USA for further studies to prepare himself to become the Novice Master.  He joined the Institute of Religious Formation Program and later took a Masteral Degree in Pastoral Studies.  In 1997, he went back to Botswana and was assigned as Assistant Novice Master and at the same time Assistant parish priest of a parish.  In 1998, he accepted to serve another parish which was vacant.  In 2001, he was asked to go to Rome, Italy to join the Nemi Renewal Course to prepare more for his task as a Novice Master.  From Rome, he passed by the Philippines for vacation.  While on vacation, he was elected Provincial Superior of Botswana Province which by then already consisted of 4 countries (Botswana, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe).  He took this task as a “privilege” and served in this capacity for two terms (6 years).  He finished his second term last year, 2008.

Today, Fr. Pat is serving as the University Chaplain of the University of San Carlos in Cebu City, Philippines where he continues to serve the people of God equipped with skills, knowledge, insights and experiences he acquired throughout his 25 years of living missionary and religious life in Africa.

His thrust as the University Chaplain is for the Campus Ministry to be a “Collaborative Ministry”, meaning a collaborative effort of the staff to provide richness to the Ministry, to enhance team building, to tap the skills and discover the hidden gifts of every campus minister and reach out to our clientele with the variety of gifts.