WORKING TOGETHER IN MISSION

Feast of the Foundation of the Society of the Divine Word 8 September 2026

Dear Confreres, Lay Mission Partners and Associates. Greetings from our AUS Mother house, Epping, Sydney.

On behalf of the leadership team of the AUS Province, with a grateful heart I greet each one of you on this special day, as we celebrate the Foundation Day of the Society of the Divine Word. For me personally, this day is more than a celebration of our history. It is a moment to pause and give thanks-for each one of you, for your life and vocation, for your generosity in mission, and for the many ways, often quietly and without recognition, that you contribute to making the presence of the Divine Word known in AUS Province and felt in our communities and in the places where we serve.

When I look at our AUS Province today, I am deeply grateful for the richness of our diversity. We come from different countries, cultures, generations and experiences. We have different gifts and perspectives, yet we are united by one vocation: to participate in the mission of God as followers and servants of the Divine Word.

On this Foundation Day, I want to say to each of you: Thank You. Thank you for your faithfulness, your patience, your commitment, and your willingness to continue serving even when mission is difficult and the future is uncertain.

As a Province, I believe that one of the most important invitations before us today is to walk together or commonly called 'Synodality'. Synodality is not simply a Church program or a new way of organizing our activities. For me, it is a way of being missionary. It calls us to listen to one another, to share our experiences honestly, to respect different perspectives, and to discern together where the Spirit is leading us in our beloved province, AUS.

As Provincial, I am also learning that leadership is not about having all the answers. It is about listening, accompanying, discerning and walking with others. I therefore invite all of us, SVD confreres, lay mission partners and associates-to continue building a Province where no one feels that they are walking alone.

Let us create communities where we can speak openly and listen respectfully; where our younger confreres are encouraged to share their hopes and questions; where our senior confreres are valued for their wisdom and experience; and where our lay partners and associates are recognized not simply as helpers in our ministries, but as genuine partners in the mission of Christ. I believe that the Spirit speaks through each of us, and sometimes especially through those whom we are least inclined to hear.

Therefore, on this Foundation Day, I would like to invite each of you to join me in renewing our commitment to a synodal way of doing mission. Let us walk together. Let us listen to one another. Let us listen especially to those whose voices are often ignored. Let us listen to the cry of the poor and the suffering. Let us listen to the young and to those searching for meaning. Let us listen to the Earth, which is also crying out for our care. And above all, let us listen to the Spirit of God, who continues to call us beyond our comfort zones and into new missionary frontiers. May we have the courage to respond-not alone, but together.

Finally on behalf of the leadership team of the province, I entrust all of us to the loving care of the Divine Word. May Jesus, the Word made flesh, teach us to be close to people, especially those who are suffering and forgotten.

May St. Arnold Janssen continue to inspire us with his trust in Divine Providence and his courage to respond to the missionary needs of his time. May St. Joseph Freinademetz teach us the humility to enter deeply into the lives and cultures of the people we serve and to say with his spirit, "I want to become one with them."

And may the Holy Spirit guide our AUS Province, helping us to discern together where God is calling us and how we can serve His mission more faithfully.

With gratitude for each one of you, I wish you all a blessed and joyful Foundation Day. May God bless our confreres, our lay mission partners and associates, our families and communities, and all those whom we are privileged to serve.

Fr Boni Buahendri SVD,

Provincial.

PHOTOS

TOP LEFT: Fr Boni Buahendri, Provincial of the SVD Australia Province.

BOTTOM RIGHT: St Arnold Janssen, founder of the Society of the Divine Word.