Father Al’s legacy: How a small act of faith transformed lives
Sixty years after Venerable Msgr. Aloysius Schwartz, fondly called Father Al, founded the religious congregation of the Sisters of Mary in South Korea, his mission of giving genuine service to the poor continues. The congregation’s charity programs have expanded to the Philippines (1985), Mexico (1990), Guatemala (1997), Brazil (2001), Honduras and Tanzania (2019). In the Philippines, there is the Sisters of Mary School (SMS) that runs the free boarding high schools called Boystown and Girlstown, one each in Cavite and Cebu.
How Father Al inspired the expansion of the congregation and its works was the theme of the musical and cultural presentation that the student-scholars prepared in celebration of the Sisters of Mary’s diamond jubilee held on the exact date of its foundation, Aug. 15, at the Girlstown compound in Silang, Cavite. The presentation entertained and warmed the hearts especially of the donors, who had been supporting the school through the Father Al’s Children Foundation Inc. (FACFI).
“The goal of the Sisters of Mary School is to help the poorest of the poor to escape from poverty,” FACFI adviser Dieter Reichert tells Lifestyle. “All the schools they operate worldwide is the same system of giving the children basic education, upbringing, teaching the basics and then preparing them for a better life.”
Sr. Elena Belarmino, the superior general of the Sisters of Mary congregation, explains how “Our education is not just academics but we also have technical training and value formation. So that’s why our graduates, they go out and they can easily find jobs and earn a living, help their family and help society by the grace of God.”
Reichert adds that 99 percent of their graduates get employed. “Then they are able to stand on their own feet, which is really the idea. They can pass on whatever they learned to others and therefore can really escape poverty. That’s the main goal of Father Al.”
70,000 Filipino graduates
To date, there are roughly 160,000 SMS alumni worldwide. The Philippines accounts for more than half of it with over 70,000 graduates. Reichert proudly states that their graduates have made a mark in various fields, and the school gets inquiries from employers who want to hire from the school. That’s because, he explains, their graduates have a very good foundation, are honest and have excellent skills.
With an additional building under construction and maybe more, Belarmino says the school can accept more scholars, which are currently 2,500 per year level. That’s not far-fetched as donors—such as SM Foundation, which has been an advocate since 2008—laud the school’s efforts in maintaining the quality of the education, training and care it gives to the scholars.
“There are only a few sisters running the school,” notes Carmen Linda Macasil Atayde, the executive director of SM Foundation’s education program. “I’m really awed by how they discipline and mold these children to be well-behaved and educated. Their behavior is really something to be proud of. I’ve noticed that, as sometimes there are occasions that we invite them and our college scholars. I’m amazed at their show of confidence. They’re very articulate, eloquent.”
Atayde, who used to work in the conglomerate’s banking sector, shares how being involved in this advocacy work impacts her as an individual: “This gives me a sense of fulfillment, knowing that you helped one person. You can see the transformation. You’re able to make a difference.”
She quotes SM founder Henry Sy’s wise words to his people: “If you help one member of the family, that member, when he finishes his studies and gains skills, can already help himself and his family.”
Grateful for the opportunity
SMS alumni Batch 1995 president Erlinda Hernandez is grateful that her impulsive decision to join her Grade 6 classmates in taking the entrance exam to SMS in 1991 eventually changed her life forever.
She recalls learning about SMS through some older schoolmates, who told her she wouldn’t last staying in the boarding school because she’s a papa’s girl who can’t stand being away from home.
So when an SMS representative came to the Antipolo Cathedral, which is located near their place of residence, and invited them to apply, Hernandez said yes even without telling her parents. She only told the truth when her mother was called in for an interview with the Sisters, who had to make sure they will only take in scholars from “the poorest of the poor.”
When Hernandez, at 12 years old, was finally admitted to the school, then located in Sta. Mesa in Manila, she remembers crying all night, along with her dormmates, for about a month.
Then they started getting used to the living arrangements in the boarding school. They attended classes from Monday to Friday the whole day, with additional half-day lessons every Saturday. Then on Sunday, they did general cleaning on top of the everyday chores and then some leisure activities. At the end of every school year, sometime in April during their term, they went on a break for a few weeks to join their families. That meant having to spend Christmas and their birthdays in school.
Looking back, Hernandez, now an accountant, says the time she missed special occasions with her family was compensated for by the many happy times she spent with her SMS friends. It’s like gaining hundreds of siblings, she says, and they’ve stayed in touch with each other to this day. In fact, she went to the SMS diamond jubilee event with her batchmates and had a great time catching up. They happily told us how SMS helped them become fulfilled and productive individuals who pay forward by making their own outreach initiatives.
“The Sisters of Mary helped us get closer to God,” she says in Filipino, as her batchmates Ferdinand Lozano, Minda Regondola, Pablo Sario Jr., Jesus Jerusalem Jr., Annie Enrique, Honey Fojas, Cynthia Azanes, and Eduardo Albania agree in unison.
