Fr Truc Quoc Phan SVD has bid a fond farewell to the parishioners of Emerald Parish in Queensland’s Central Highlands to move to Sydney and take up the role of Mission Secretary for the SVD Australia Province.
Fr Truc has been Parish Priest of St Patrick’s Parish in Emerald and its surrounding communities for six years, with his farewell Masses across the vast rural district having seen him drive a total of 900km.
Greetings from Nemi, in Italy, where I am attending a workshop for 35 newly elected Provincial, Regional, and Mission (PRM) Superiors of the Society of the Divine Word.
So far, it has been an inspiring and invigorating gathering, under the theme of ‘Synodal Leadership in Service of Missio Dei’.
Not long ago, we celebrated Easter. During the Easter season, we reflected on the story of the Risen Christ appearing to his disciples. Jesus whom they encounter after the resurrection is not the same Jesus they spent time with during his life and ministry with them, but, is, rather, the Resurrected Jesus, the Risen Lord, The Christ.
Today the Church celebrates the solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, one of the most basic tenets of our Christian belief and underlying principle of our faith.
On April 21, 2001, the Arnold Janssen Chapel in Marsfield, NSW was blessed and officially opened by Bishop Peter Ingham, then Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney.
Twenty-five years later, this milestone was celebrated by the community that gathered for Mass on April 26 this year, Good Shepherd Sunday, writes Pia Tenedero.
The SVD missionaries in Thailand and Myanmar are well-loved and appreciated by both the local bishops and the people, reported Fr Boni Buahendri SVD, after his first visit there as Provincial.
Fr Boni began his trip in Myanmar, before moving on to Bangkok and then the Diocese of Udon Thani in Thailand.
Catholics from Fiji and other Melanesian islands who are living and working on the west coast of the United States of America have been learning about synodality and ‘listening in the Spirit’, thanks to a visit from Fr Asaeli Rass SVD.
Fr Rass, who completed his term as Provincial of the AUS Province at the end of last year, has been visiting the US with the Archbishop of Suva, Peter Loy Chong.
Integral human development is not just an abstract concept, but a lived practice of building bridges in our fragmented world, the SVD Australia Province’s first Mission, Education and Research webinar for 2026 heard this month.
The online presentations are exploring the theme, ‘Integral Human Development in a Fragmented World’, with the first session focusing on ‘Biblical and Mission Perspectives’, featuring distinguished scholars Roger Schroeder SVD and Vien V. Nguyen SCJ.
Before his earthly departure, Jesus in his farewell discourse to his disciples (Jn 14) assured them that not only would he not leave them orphans, but he also introduces them into his spiritual family, a spiritual family that has many rooms able to accommodate all, and is life giving.
The SVD Australia Province celebrated Good Shepherd Sunday – World Day of Prayer for Vocations by launching a new suite of vocations materials, urging young people to begin a dialogue with God about where their life is going.
Vocations Director, Fr Joe Jacob SVD, said the new brochures, posters and social media materials helped explain what a vocation is and also issued an invitation to consider life as a Divine Word Missionary.
