Another first for ICPE

Last June we congratulated ICPE (Institute for World Evangelisation) for being the first ever Maltese based lay organisation to achieve recognition by the Vatican. It was then recognised by Pope John Paul II as an International Association of Christ's Faithful with Pontifical Right.

Since then the Institute increased its work in several parts of the world. It was only last month that Cardinal Alfonso Trujillo, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family and papal delegate to the fourth World Meeting of Families, blessed the Institute for World Evangelisation Asian Region.

Henry Cappello, one of the founding directors of the ICPE mission, together with his wife Sabina Cappello Lee, for the last six years have been directing the Asian centre of the Institute for World Evangelisation.

Appropriately, the opening was also attended by other Church officials from the Vatican and the Philippines, ICPE Institute for World Evangelisation directors from abroad, national and local Philippines officials, members of the diplomatic corps, leaders of Catholic Charismatic communities and friends and relatives of the Institute.

The Institute did not forget its Maltese roots. In fact as part of the centre's celebration of the Institute's formal opening, Maltese Clare Massa and pianist Simone Attard gave a musical presentation at the Rigodon Ballroom of the Manila Peninsula Hotel. On the same night, world renowned architect Professor Richard England, who designed the centre's chapel, made a presentation on Sacred Spaces.

The ICPE mission is a Catholic lay missionary community and is a member of the Glory of God International Covenant Community. Together with Henry Cappello and some other leaders of the Glory of God International Covenant Community, Mario and Anna Cappello established the ICPE mission in January 1985 in Malta.

Today, the ICPE mission is spread in various countries. The ICPE Philippine centre has 22 full-time Catholic lay missionaries from Malta, South Korea, China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Kenya, Taiwan, Poland, Singapore and Malaysia. The centre conducts a full-time three-month School of Mission every year/inner healing/leadership and worship seminars. Through the centre, extensive work of Evangelisation and formation is being done in the Philippines and several other difficult countries in Asia.

One augurs that the Institute continues and increases its missionary and evangelising work in other countries.