SJS bagged the Overall Champion Award at the 42nd Hearts on Fire: Abra Gospel Festival themed “Heeding to the Cry of Creation” on February 25, 2023, held at the Divine Word College of Bangued Gymnasium.

Songwriting
Rev. Fr. Floro Bautista’s “Paginanaenkayo” won 2nd Place and Sem. Mark Rainniel M. Daguiomen’s “Dika Agbuten, Ipatpategka” won 3rd Place in the Songwriting Competition.

Poster-Making
Sem. Robert Lenroe A. Sierra placed 2nd in the poster-making competition with his entry entitled, “Heeding the Cry of Creation is rooted in the Care and Concern for Everyone”.

Photography
Seminarians swept all the places in the Photography Competition. For the second time around, Sem. Christian Gabriel B. Barbosa ranked first with his entry entitled “Irritatingly Beautiful”. Sem. Mark Rainniel M. Daguiomen’s  “Hope through the Smoke” ranked second, while Sem. Yossef V. Flores’s Ziplock Coffin ranked third.

Choral Competition
The SJS Choir’s interpretation of Paginanaenkayo was awarded first prize in the Choral Competition, making the SJS Choir record its fifth consecutive win in this particular competition.

Dance Drama
The Josephites’ portrayal of “The Parable of the Tenants” also won first place in the Dance Drama Competition.

Bible Quiz Bee
The SJS Bible Quiz Bee Team ranked 3rd among the competitors. The team included Genesis Ace Velasquez (G10), Jan Erol Monde Bisares (G10), Cymhere Jesuah M. Valencia (G9), Lourde Yuri A. Tarinay (G9) and Yeshua Marius C. Collo (G7).

The seminary's Senior High School Department held the First Philosophical Research Symposium on the " The State of the Truth in Socio-Politics", on February 17, 2023. Frt. Christian Plurad, the instructor for philosophical paper writing, delivered the keynote lecture on “Post-truth in Socio-Political Context”. The Grade 12 students who are taking up the course also presented their research papers. Seminarians Aron Jericho B. Cantil and Venice Jerdian T. Bringas talked about “Cronyism and Nepotism in Socio-Political Sphere in the Philippines”. Furthermore, seminarians Lil Ambrose Dimitri A. Badajos and Derick Nicola Babo M. Lumaang discussed “The Proliferation of fake news and Philippine Democracy.”

​The said symposium which was held at the Saint Joseph Seminary’s Social Hall was participated by five Diocesan Schools namely: the Little Flower High School of Peñarrubia, Our Lady of Guadalupe High School of Lacub, Queen of Peace High School of Canan,  Queen of Peace High School of La Paz, and the St. Mary High School of Pidigan.

Rev. Fr. Pablito Tagura, SVD, of Class 1978, will be ordained bishop on Feb. 17, 2023 at the Christ the King Mission Seminary (CKMS) in Quezon City, by his eminence Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, pro-prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization.
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Bishop-Elect Tagura was born in Tayum, Abra, on Jan. 15, 1962 but he grew up in Tagodtod, Lagangilang, Abra. He attended St. Joseph Seminary from 1974 through 1977. He pursued his priestly formation at the Christ the King Seminary and was ordained priest on Dec. 17, 1988.

Pope Francis appointed him as the Bishop of the Vicariate of San Jose-Mindoro on December 17, 2022. He will be installed in his ecclesiastical office by Archbishop Charles Brown, Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, on February 25.