Saint John Neumann Migrants Centre/FaceBook Page. A Case Study of a Cyberchurch

Abstract

This paper analyzes how the Saint John Neumann Migrants Center and its FB page function as cyberchurch or as a virtual extension of the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Shrine in Baclaran, Philippines. It examines how the FB page/Center responds to the spiritual, religious, and social needs of its members, as well as, how this transnational religious organizational structure impacts on migrants’ relations with the receiving and sending societies. A case study method was employed through non-participant observation of the FB Page/Center, and interviews with informed respondents, including victim-survivors from the Middle East. As mediator of a transnational religion, the SJNMC FB page simultaneously reflects and goes beyond the extended transnational religion prototype identified by Peggy Levitt and exemplified by the Catholic Church. Since it caters primarily to overseas Filipino workers who are only working abroad for the duration of their contract, it strengthens more migrants’ ties with the home country.