Mindoro missionary, teacher Fr. Edgar Javier dies at 77

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO CALAPAN CITY, Oriental Mindoro – Divine Word missionary and scholar Fr. Edgar Javier, SVD, who served the Church for five decades, mostly in Mindoro, had passed away on Tuesday (Sept. 8). He was 77. Javier died at around 10 a.m., according to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) News. READ: Diocese of Calapan formally established amid rain, earthquake Article continues after this advertisement The Society of the Divine Word (SVD) did not disclose the cause of his death. “We entrust him to God’s loving embrace and give thanks for his life of service, compassion, and missionary zeal,” the SVD said. Javier’s missionary journey took him from Mindoro to the Pacific and later to the Philippines’ seminaries and theological institutions, where he helped form priests, religious and missionaries. For Catholic communities in Mindoro, he is particularly remembered for his early missionary service in Occidental Mindoro and ministry among the Mangyan communities. Born on May 5, 1949 in Guimba town, Nueva Ecija, Javier entered the Christ the King Mission Seminary in 1968 and was ordained a priest on Sept. 5, 1975. He began his missionary ministry in Mindoro, serving at St. Augustine Parish and the St. Joseph Parish Mangyan Mission in San Jose town, Occidental Mindoro, from 1976 to 1979. Article continues after this advertisement He later served as chancellor of the Apostolic Vicariate of Calapan, which is now the Diocese of Calapan. Javier pursued advanced studies in missiology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, earning a licentiate in 1982 and a doctorate in 1985. Article continues after this advertisement He served as a missionary in Samoa from 1985 to 1995 and Fiji from 1995 to 1999 before returning to the Philippines, where he focused on priestly formation, missiological education and research. He taught at Christ the King Mission Seminary and headed the Mission Institute in Tagaytay before becoming director of the Divine Word Institute of Mission Studies (DWIMS). He also taught at several theological institutions in the Philippines and served as a visiting professor in Vietnam and Macau. For his former co-faculty at DWIMS, Fr. Andy Peter Lubi, Javier was more than an academic. “Fr. Egay Javier is an intimately engaging person and a deeply passionate mentor, one who challenges and brings out the best in his students,” Lubi said. Fr. Renz Hernandez, one of Javier’s students in missiology, said Javier encouraged him to pursue a master’s degree in the field and volunteered to become his thesis adviser. “As a professor, his way of teaching is engaging and his missiological ideas are profound yet practical. As an adviser, he’s very encouraging and supportive. He reads, checks, and corrects my paper thoroughly,” Hernandez said. “I will never forget his writing techniques which he imparted to us—the SJA Method (See, Judge, Act) and the RRR Method (Reality, Reflection, Response),” he added. Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again. Your subscription has been successful. Javier had marked his 50th year as a priest in 2025. /jpv