I. In General
1. The Sisters collaborate in making the Collegio truly a home for priests. They have specific roles to play towards this end. But even prior to whatever specific assignment they might receive from the Collegio Administrators, the Sister’s internal life as a religious community has a priority, for they can truly serve the Church only if they faithfully live their religious charism, and only so will they also be able to serve the Collegio effectively.
a. For this reason, the Collegio commits itself to facilitate whatever the Sisters truly need to live their spirituality and carry out their mission, as laid down in their Congregation’s Constitutions, and in full obedience to and unity with their Superior General at all times.
b. The Collegio Spiritual Director is ex officio the Chaplain of the Sisters.
c. The Collegio enters into an Agreement with the Sisters, which is signed by the Chairman of the Episcopal Commission on the Pontificio Collegio Filippino (of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines) and the Sisters’ Prioress General. A copy of this agreement is included at the end of this Manual. This Manual, working strictly within the Agreement’s parameters, in turn further specifies some points contained therein.
d. The Sisters are requested to constantly communicate with the Collegio Administration whatever suggestions, comments, or observations they might have, to facilitate their work processes, enhance the personnel’s performance, or to help the Collegio improve.
2. The Collegio is also a Pontifical institution. Thus, all the priests’, Sisters’, and personnel’s behavior and performance, should be at least at the level of other Pontifical and world-class institutions.
a. The Collegio is characterized by fidelity and filial affection to the Roman Pontiff and to the Church as a whole.
b. Words, gestures, and the structure’s physical state communicate the inner dispositions of those who live in a place. Hence, the facilities, furniture, work instruments, etc. should always be kept clean, properly functioning, orderly and returned to their proper places.
c. While the Collegio is semi-public, in the sense that outsiders are welcome to some areas and activities, it is also a home for priests, who need some privacy and silence for their prayers, studies and rest, as well as occasions to interact with each other as sharers of the same priestly vocation.
3. The Sisters are free to distribute among themselves the tasks requested of them by the Collegio Administration, and to set their own work schedules in the manner most convenient for them, taking into account the needs of the Collegio and their own.
a. It is not necessary to always designate each Sister exclusively for a single task. That is, the Sisters may be given assignments on a rotation basis, adapting to their other schedules (classes in the University, Italian lessons, etc.), or the needs of the Collegio. For example, one Sister may work in the library on some days, and in the portineria on other days; or within the same day, first in the Chapels, then in the library. Hence, it could be said that the designations contained in this Manual, rather than being fixed individual assignments, are rather roles of service that the Sisters play on a very flexible assignment basis.
b. In particular, the roles of Sacristana, Librarian, Substitute Porter, and Office Assistant do not normally require full time assignments, as their tasks could generally be finished in a few hours (e.g., preparing for liturgical celebrations), or can be combined (e.g., the Porter can at the same time encode some bibliographical information for the library into the computer).
c. Needless to say, the Sisters are free to move from one task to another (for example, to help in laundry or kitchen services during days with heavy work in these areas), and even to request from the Procurator extra help when needed.
d. They are to update the Administration regularly of their task distribution and schedules.
4. The Sisters are assured of privacy in and exclusive access to their Convent(which includes not only their living quarters, but their basement refectory as well), and, when applicable, their respective work areas. The priests and personnel have specific instructions to respect this privacy to which the Sisters are entitled.
a. The Sisters may receive outsider guests anytime in their Convent. On the other hand, entry into the Convent of priests and personnel should only be for important reasons, and requires the express permission of both the Sisters’ Local Superior and the Collegio Rector.
b. Similarly, the Sisters are to refrain from entering or stationing themselves at the priests’ and the personnel’s areas at any time unless their work demands doing so.
c. Since priests need time for bonding and interaction among themselves as sharers of the same vocation, the Sisters are to respect the priests’ activities and facilities, and avoid joining them unless, in some very special occasions, they are explicitly invited.
d. On Sundays, as well as on special solemnities and celebrations, the Sisters are invited to join the priests and the personnel for meals in the priests’ refectory.
5. All requests of Collegio priests, personnel, and guests (laundry, food, cleaning, airport services within working hours, errands, etc.) should be coursed through the Administration, who in turn will assess the request, and ask help from the Sisters and/or the personnel as needed. The Sisters supervise the Personnel in the performance of their tasks.
6. Legally speaking, the Collegio Rector is responsible for the Sisters’ presence at the Collegio. Hence,
a. the Sisters should submit a copy of their documents (passport, Permesso di Soggiorno, Tessera Sanitaria, etc.) to the Rector for filing; these documents should be updated.
b. the Sisters are to inform him if they have guests who stay overnight at their Convent.
c. the Sisters are not to give out or lend any copy of any Collegio key (including those of the Sisters’ quarters) to any other person, as doing so affects the whole Collegio’s security. Losing a key will require a change of locks and multiple copies of keys, all of which will be charged from the one who lost it.
d. since the Collegio could be involved, to its detriment, in case of accidents and hygienic problems, pets are not allowed inside the Collegio compound.