Flavie L. Villanueva is a Filipino Catholic priest and social activist. A member of the Societas Verbi Divini (SVD) congregation, he founded the Arnold Janssen Kalinga Center in 2015 to provide “dignified care and service” to the poor and homeless, offering food, showers, counseling, and livelihood support to help them rebuild their lives with self-respect.

Personal Information
Complete Name –> Father Flaviano “Flavie” Antonio Lopez Villanueva
Birth Date –> December 17, 1970 (Age )
Hometown –> Philippines

Family
No information

Biography
Fr. Flavie Villanueva is a self-confessed drug addict starting at age 14 and continued even after graduating from college and joining the corporate world. He sought help in 1995 at a hermitage in Tagaytay City, which he credits as his road to redemption. After turning his life around, he volunteered as a lay missionary in Bicol before entering the seminary in 1998. He was ordained a priest in 2006.

His career is distinguished by his profound commitment to serving the marginalized and advocating for human dignity. In 2015, he founded the Arnold Janssen Kalinga Center in Manila, which provides “dignified care and service” to the poor and homeless, offering food, showers, counseling, and livelihood support. The center’s flagship program, KALINGA (Kain-Aral-LIgo-naNG-umAyos, meaning Eat, Learn, Bathe, to be Well), reflects his holistic approach. Furthermore, Fr. Flavie is a vocal critic of the drug war of former President Rodrigo Duterte. He established Program Paghilom (Healing), which organizes the exhumation, cremation, and inurnment of victims of the drug war, providing psycho-spiritual intervention, livelihood, and education for the widows and orphans left behind. This work led to him being charged with sedition in 2021, though he was acquitted two years later in 2023. His lifelong mission and dedication to the poor and oppressed were formally recognized when he was named the Philippines’ recipient of the 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Award, often regarded as Asia’s highest honor.

Awards
2025 – Ramon Magsaysay Award
2021 – Human Rights Tulip Award (Netherlands)

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