Emmaus’ conception can be traced back to a casual conversation between two Jesuit priests nearing their completion of graduate studies and anticipating their return to the Philippines. Fr. Benny Calpotura, SJ, who was finishing his PhD in Formative Spirituality at Dusquenne University in Pittsburg Pennsylvania met in Rome one summer with Fr. Lito Mangulabnan, SJ, who was studying at the Gregorian University. They talked about a dream they both had: a center that can assist formators in preparing for their work. Fr. Benny returned to the Philippines earlier and began sharing this idea with some relig ious priests and sisters, lay friends, and former classmates. They were Clarissa Bañuelos, Sr. Maribel Carceller, RSCJ, Eva K. Galvey,  Fr. Bernard McEchern, CP, Fr. Ben Moraleda, CssR, Ma. Teresa Nietes, and Sr. Mary James Wilson, RGS. Their eagerness had been all the confirmation and support Fr. Benny needed. 

It was in an informal meeting in November 1981 conducted in the house of Clarissa Bañuelos where the dream was formally shared with a small group of people. November 4, 1981 is therefore considered as the fateful day when Emmaus was founded and became a reality in the hearts of the people present in that room. With the permission of Fr. Ben Nebres, SJ, then Provincial of the Philippine Jesuits, Fr. Benny Calportura, SJ founded Emmaus Center.

During that time, while the Vatican documents already recognized the significance of the human component in formation alongside spiritual formation, nobody really knew how to go about integrating the two. This led Fr. Benny to introduce psychological theories and concepts in formation work. The introduction to psychology provided a welcome space for the recognition of the religious’ personal background, woundedness, individual strengths, needs, motives, and human capacities that can either foster or compromise the acquisition of religious values. This Psycho-Spiritual approach characterizes Emmaus’ work to this day.

The emphasis in human formation allows for meeting individuals (formands, lay, etc.) where they are instead of where they should be. Fr. Chiqui Manalo, a diocesan priest, gave the Center its name: EMMAUS. He explained that just as the disciples on the road to Emmaus in the Gospel of Luke were joined by Jesus in their confusion, discouragement, grief and accompanied them until they discovered truths and saw deeper realities, so does Emmaus endeavor to accompany formators (and eventually formands) in their vocational journey. 

This very same virtue is seen in how the members of the Center accompanied each other as they designed programs. Emmaus programs were crafted based on what the group can offer, where people’s gifts are, where their hearts burn. Individual gifts were acknowledged, allowed to grow, and never forced. There was a sensitivity to the unique gifts and interests that each member brought with them. One of the gifts common to many associates is a process-oriented approach to teaching and learning, and this had been incorporated in the pedagogy with which Emmaus programs were carried out and which continues to characterize the delivery of today’s offerings.

Fr. Benny Calpotura served as the Center’s director for 16 years. Emmaus grew fast during its first 10 years as it discovered the great need of the Church for a psycho-spiritual framework in accompanying others. One particular program, the Psycho-Spiritual Integration (PSI) workshop, quickly became known and eventually became part of the formation programs of many religious congregations. Marketing the programs was not necessary as the requests continued to come in and new clients turned up. Emmaus’ programs were the main service of the Center to its clientele although accompaniment services through testing, counseling, spiritual direction, retreats, were likewise in place. Emmaus’ reach quickly expanded, and its presence was eventually felt nationally, from Northern Luzon to Southern Mindanao. Emmaus associates were able to bring the PSI to various countries as well including Korea, Guam, Australia, Malaysia, and Singapore. 

Despite its seeming success, financial viability remained a perennial concern.

Emmaus services were offered initially through the Institute for the Formation of Religious (IFR) and  the Institute for Diocesan Seminaries and Clergy (IDSC). As the work expanded and progressed, the Center needed to attune to new movements in the Church in order to fine tune its services. In 1996, a movement towards the formation of the laity was articulated leading to the creation of the Institute for Lay Spirituality (ILS), and the Institute for Human Sexuality (IHS). By 1998, under the leadership of the Center’s first lay executive director Eva K. Galvey, lay empowerment became a Center thrust. Some new programs were launched to push the agenda of lay empowerment, but this endeavor was later met with challenges and eventually took a backseat. 

As a Center, Emmaus was constantly changing its thrusts, programs, and technologies along with the changing client contexts and requests. It was the only way it can do its work of accompanying others effectively. What allowed the Center to go through and navigate the shifts it was experiencing at that time was a constant grounding to the realities of the lives of all associates and staff of Emmaus, as well as a constant articulation of Emmaus Center’s purpose, orientation, mission, and vision. This oriented the members to the mission and to how they do the work in such a way without losing sight of their given realities. General Assemblies were not just spaces for evaluating and updating technologies but also provided spaces for revealing where each one was coming from, inviting questions about what holds the associates together or apart, exploring possibilities about the Center’s needs, resources vis-à-vis client demands, and grounding on God’s desires for the associates and the Center. Rootedness in the unique contexts of each associate and relatedness were crucial in understanding where the Center is and how it can do the work. 

In the midst of its constant shifts, Emmaus Center as a faith community was held together by their work of transformative formation, the psycho-spiritual orientation to formation that is process-oriented and experiential in approach, the use of God’s gifts in their work, the support given by each individual to each other and to the Center, and the individuals’ desire to grow in their relationship with God. Most of all, Emmaus Center was held together by its common goal of forming mature Christians who are faithful to their vocation and charisms, constantly discerning the will of God.

A milestone that took place towards the end of this decade is the formal Inclusion of Emmaus Center as a ministry of the Philippine Province of the Society of Jesus. 

The third decade (2001-2011) was a challenging time for Emmaus. The first years of this decade leading up to 2005 was characterized by many difficult and unexpected losses—losses that threatened the existence of Emmaus but also significantly shaped who Emmaus is today. 

Many lay associates left the Center to pursue other things, leaving the Institute of Lay Spirituality (ILS) deficient. Associates refer to this as the “exodus of associates.” Likewise, there were tensions between and among institutes. In 2004-2005, Fr. Benny Calpotura and Teresa Nietes, two of the three co-founders who remained with Emmaus, became gravely ill. Fr. Benny eventually passed away in 2005. Many of the programs they designed and led could no longer be offered. There was a profound experience of uncertainty, deep sense of loss, and desolation for the associates and the Center that the option of closing Emmaus became a possibility. 

Yet, Emmaus’ work was not finished. Even as the associates were willing to close the Center’s operations, their work was needed and recognized by the Jesuitsmaus a place in  in its Board of Trustees. The Jesuits were determined to keep Emmaus’ doors open. They took the Center under their wing, with the commitment of supporting its financial and human resources. Another expression of their support was providing Emmaus a place within the Jesuit university campus. The base of Emmaus operations then moved from its Major Dizon office in Marikina City to the Ateneo de Manila University Campus.

The Jesuits sent two scholastics to assist in Emmaus leadership and operations: Jordan Orbe, SJ and Karel San Juan, SJ who became Emmaus’ executive director. Under Fr. Karel’s leadership, the programs for formators were revived and repackaged, giving birth to the Formation for Formator Series (FFS). Some programs such as the PSI was strategically positioned as its “best product” and placed under careful review. Well rooted in the richness of the Christian spiritual tradition, Emmaus programs and services, nevertheless, had to be responsive to the challenges of an increasingly complex and confusing postmodern world. The center then began offering programs on critical issues in formation such as boundaries in ministry.

A re-launching of  Emmaus Center took place on its 25th year in 2006.

Another critical issue in the life of the Church that came to the fore around this period is that of clergy sexual abuse. On one of Fr. Danny Huang, SJ, then Provincial of the Philippine Jesuit visitation in the US, he met Dr. Inge del Rosario, a US-trained psychoanalyst and discussed the idea of having a treatment component in the Center. Dr. Inge del Rosario headed the team of some Emmaus associates who were sent to Southdown Institute, a residential treatment place in Canada,  for an observation and exploratory visit. The purpose for this was two-fold: (1) to observe their holistic and team approach to treatment and (2) to explore a possible partnership with Southdown.

By 2010, Emmaus services were in full swing with the complete implementation of the FFS programs and the re-designed PSI.

This was also the first year of implementation of the TRACT program (Treatment, Assessment, and Continuing Care Team for Church People in Distress) under the leadership of Dr. Inge del Rosario.  The Tract program is staffed by a team composed of psychiatrists, psychotherapists, and spiritual directors. The team was initially composed of Fr. Jun Bugtas, SJ, Francisca Bustamante, Jopie Callejo, Dr. Christian Cayetano, Dr. Inge del Rosario,  Dr. Gabby Dy-Liacco, Eva Galvey, Fr. James Gascon, Dr. Titay La Viña, Dr. Trina Lising-Enriquez and  Dr. Lou Querubin. 

Accompaniment services, particularly counseling and psychotherapy, were strengthened further as Emmaus began building up its lay clientele.

The fourth decade (2011-2021) was one of further expansion and immense growth but also not devoid of difficult challenges that Emmaus was faced with under the leaderships of Dr. Inge del Rosario (2013-2020) and Fr. Jordan Orbe, SJ (2020 to present).

This decade saw remarkable development in the Accompaniment Services. Psychotherapy and counseling experienced a dramatic increase in the lay clients who avail of counseling services. In 2017, Emmaus began a partnership with the Ateneo Loyola Schools (and eventually with the Ateneo Senior High School) which allowed their teachers to avail of the Center’s accompaniment services more easily. The continued increase in lay clients pushed the Center to increase its pool of counselors and therapists. Because of this growth, there was a need for more physical space. By 2019, the second floor of the CLC building was renovated which now houses the Center’s Psychotherapy offices.

Additionally, professional development was emphasized, and support was made available through regular individual and group supervision both for junior and senior therapists. Partnerships with international institutions were sealed: one with Southdown Institute for TRACT assessment and one with the NPAP-PPLC (National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis-Practice based Learning Center). The partnership with NPAP-PPLC introduced Emmaus therapists to the practice of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy through online synchronous classes and supervision. This learning opportunity was generously opened to therapists outside the Center as well, such as the Bulatao Center and Center for Family Ministries.

In 2016, a center for child protection was explored, and by 2017 this safeguarding service became the third arm of Emmaus headed by Dr. Gabby Dy-Liacco and Dr. Titay La Viña. In 2019, this institute was renamed as Catholic Safeguarding Institute (CSI) to include vulnerable adults. However, CSI became an independent legal entity by the year 2020.

The Formators Formation Series  (FFS) continued to exist along with the Center Requested Programs. The FFS programs are attended by a steady and increasing flow of foreign formators (50% of the participants) from various countries such as Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, East Timor, Myanmar, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Congo, Uganda, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan, Canada, among others who would come to the Philippines just to attend the programs.

Another critical issue in the life of the Church that came to the fore around this period is that of clergy sexual abuse. On one of Fr. Danny Huang, SJ, then Provincial of the Philippine Jesuit visitation in the US, he met Dr. Inge del Rosario, a US-trained psychoanalyst and discussed the idea of having a treatment component in the Center. Dr. Inge del Rosario headed the team of some Emmaus associates who were sent to Southdown Institute, a residential treatment place in Canada,  for an observation and exploratory visit. The purpose for this was two-fold: (1) to observe their holistic and team approach to treatment and (2) to explore a possible partnership with Southdown.

Another significant development, the formal academic collaboration between Emmaus Center and the Loyola Schools of Theology where their students take some FFS courses as part of their curriculum was put in place in 2016.

These developments occurred in the midst of an unexpected serious financial threat to the Center and to its associates along with the loss of Teresa Nietes, co-founder, who eventually passed away in 2015.

Yet another threat and challenge to the Center, along with the rest of the world, came in March 2020 when the SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus, created a pandemic. This was a period of uncertainty and anxiety that not only surrounded the operations and financial viability of the Center but was also shared experience among everyone. No one was immune to the threat of infection, the social isolation, the disruption in the day-to-day routine, the uncertainty of income, among others. At the same time, Emmaus was cognizant of its commitment to its mission.

The therapists were immediately able to deliver interventions through teletherapy as the demand for therapy increased  As for the programs component, the first four months following the nationwide lockdown was spent on recalibrating its offerings and equipping facilitators to the online setup so the modules can be delivered as effectively as it would have been if delivered on-site. Again, it is by God’s grace that our current Executive Director, Fr. Jordan Orbe, SJ is equipped with the ability to transition the programs component of the center to on-line delivery. By August 2020, Emmaus Center resumed its programs, delivering them completely online with their adjusted content, schedule, process, and mode of presentation. The Center’s programs, with its current name Formation Courses for Formators (FCF), now offer 24 Center-initiated programs annually, spanning from foundation courses, skills, critical issues, and enrichment and renewal courses which is in addition to client-requested programs. 

Even as Emmaus was uncertain as to whether people would still regard its programs essential  in the time of the pandemic, the reach turned out to be unexpectedly wider. The number of attendees to the online programs was even larger than when they were delivered on-site.

As of this writing, the world is still trying to survive the pandemic, and Emmaus continues to be of service, sustained by God’s grace, faithfulness, and love as it continues to carry out its mission in the face of this trying time.

Time and again, throughout the 40 years of the Center’s existence and despite the desolations it faced, Emmaus persevered and is affirmed of the importance of its original inspiration that guided the work and mission of Emmaus: integrating the psychological dimension in formation with the spiritual and  a more reverent companioning of others.

Through the accompaniment services, the clients are able to go through a healing process that is compassionate, competent, and life-giving. Clients report that they are able to return to their respective ministry assignments and communities with a deeper understanding of themselves, a deeper faith in the healing grace of God, and a stronger determination to sustain their processes of transformation. Through the seminars, the formators and leaders themselves go through their complex processes of self-integration which equip them with the skills of forming others. Participants attest to this powerful process of deep, profound, and liberating formation and transformation of their own selves which they resolve to continue in their mission forming others.

“Forming the Formator” has been the strength of Emmaus Center in its training programs. On its 40th year in 2021, in celebration and remembrance of its journey and in affirming its commitment to the mission of forming the formator, Emmaus launches the Fortified Track, a specialized curriculum consisting of programs, supervision, and mentoring that is designed to train formators to craft their own formation programs.

This 40-year journey has been filled with celebrations and heartaches, new connections and lost ones, consolation and desolation. Many have come and gone through the doors of Emmaus and many have remained. Emmaus today is not what it would have been if not for the gifts of hearts and souls of every individual Emmaus encountered on its journey.