Presented at the 8 th NCCRE 2019: Youth Studies in Education, Religion and Formation St. Louis University, Baguio, Philippines April 25,26 & 27, 2019 MisKa Youth Formation: the MFCMFI (Mother Francisca Catechetical and Missionary Formation Institute) Experience Jolino Bagaipo 1 , Joan Christi Trocio-Bagaipo 2 1 FEU High School 2 University of Santo Tomas jolinobagaipo@yahoo.com.ph Abstract: The Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena established the Mother Francisca Catechetical and Missionary Formation Institute(MFCMFI) in 1987 to respond to the call of the Church for renewed integral evangelization through its Bachelor in Secondary Education major in Religious Education Program. Since the Institute’s inception to date there has yet been no adequate exploration on the helpfulness of its formation program to the graduates. Exploratory-descriptive in nature, this paper delves into the helpfulness of the MFCMFI’s Religious Education program to the life and work status of the graduates, herein referred as the MisKa. Utilizing online survey technique, this paper particularly investigate on the factors and motivations of the respondents in deciding to enroll and graduate under the Institute’s Formation program, the extent of influence, relevance, contribution and helpfulness of the formation program to the respondents’ life and work status and the respondent’s perception on the helpfulness of the four pillars of the Institute’s formation program, namely, pray, play, study and serve, to their lives in general. Data gathered reveals that the specific formation activities categorized under the four pillars are perceived by the respondents generally helpful to their life, current work status, personal and professional growth. MFCMFI Religious Education Program is perceived by the MisKa graduates as highly influential and very relevant and that to be a graduate of the Institute makes them very happy and very satisfied and it motivated them to be fully committed to their current work. Key Words: Religious Education; Youth Formation; Catechetical Formation Program; Catholic Youth; Vocation 1. INTRODUCTION One fine day in October of 2016, a group of graduating Religious Education students of Mother Francisca Catechetical and Missionary Formation Institute defended their thesis 1 , which claims that the primary reason why students entered the Institute was the scholarship offering. The data further reveals that while such was the primary reason for entering, the sense of mission started to grow in them as they continue on in the formation. The author of this study, who was the research adviser of the foregoing thesis, and a graduate of the program himself, developed the desire to delve into other factors and motivations for choosing to enroll and 1 Elisan, S. M., Gargar, J. L., & Tion, C. R. (2016, October). Factors in Joining the Mother Francisca Catechetical and Missionary Formation Institute. Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. eventually deciding to graduate from the Institute, and the impact of their stay in the Institute to their life in general, hence this investigation. With the hope to respond to the call of Pope John Paul II for renewed integral evangelization, as underscored in the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines (PCP II, 1992), The Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena launched a scholarship program for young students who have the desire to serve in the Church as missionary catechists, through the Bachelor’s Degree Program in Religious Education of Siena College, Quezon City. The scholarship program, under the Mother Francisca Catechetical and Missionary Formation Institute (MFCMFI), primarily aims to train religion and values education student-teachers imbued with Christian leadership and a sense of mission, dedication, and commitment to respond to the evangelizing mission of the Church through the practice of their teaching profession, especially in the rural areas.