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It was H.E. Bishop Patricio H. Alo, D.D., Bishop of the Diocese of Mati, who invited the Vocationists to come to the Philippines, particularly to Mati, Davao Oriental. It was the dream of the good Bishop to have a seminary in his diocese. However, because of the scarcity of priests, this remained just a dream. Meeting the Vocationist Sisters for the first time in 1993, the good Bishop became interested in the work that the Vocationists are doing and so invited the Fathers and Brothers to come for a visit. In 1994, Fr. Nicola Martino, S.D.V. was sent by the Superior General, Fr. Raffaele Castioglione, S.D.V., to visit Mati and meet with the Bishop.
This first group of aspirants went to the Queen of Apostles College Seminary in the nearby diocese to begin their first year in Philosophy. In Mati, the Vocationists admitted the first ten seminarians to the St. Therese of the Child Jesus Pre-College Seminary, which is both a Vocationary and a Seminary at the same time.
The Vocationists are in two houses now, in Mati, and another one in Davao City, which is about 220 kilometers from Mati. The house in Davao City serves as the house of studies for the Vocationist students who study Philosophy and Theology at the St. Francis Xavier College Seminary and the St. Francis Xavier Regional Major Seminary. In June of the year 2000, the Vocationists are hoping to open the St. Therese of the Child Jesus College Seminary.
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The first Vocationists arrived in the Philippines in
September, 1995. First, they went to Maasin, Southern Leyte
where the Vocationist Sisters opened their formation house in
1993. In October, 1995, with the arrival of Fr. Raffaele
Castiglione, the Superior General, they proceeded to Mati, Davao
Oriental in the southernmost part of the whole Philippine
archipelago where they would establish the first Vocationary,
which was formally inaugurated on June 29, 1996. 
In 1995, when Fr. Nicola Martino and Bro. Lorenzo Gomez (now
Fr. Lorenzo) arrived in Mati, the seminary was half built and
abandoned. With faith and courage, the construction of the
seminary went on. In the later part of March of 1996, the first
group of young aspirants came to Mati from Maasin, Southern
Leyte and Mati. It was the most difficult time for the first
group of Vocationists and aspirants. Nevertheless, they
persevered. On June 9, 1996, Bro. Jeremy Soldevilla, S.D.V., a
Filipino who has just made first vows, arrived from the United
States, where he just finished his novitiate, to join the first
two Vocationists, to complete the team of the pioneers. 
To this day, there have been about thirty young pre-college
seminarians who have had their initial formation with the
Vocationists in the Vocationary-Seminary in Mati and many are
still coming. The Vocationist community also has grown from
three religious in the beginning. Now, there are three professed
religious (two in perpetual vows and one in temporary vows),
four novices (three Filipinos and one Indian), two postulants
and five Vocationist aspirants.