A year ago, we began the SVD Jubilee Year. Before the final event, which will mark the beginning of a new cycle in our history, I would like to address with affection and respect those who made possible the mission that we Divine Word Missionaries have carried out during these 150 years: our benefactors, collaborators and friends, writes SVD Superior-General Fr Anselmo Ribeiro.

The celebrations of this jubilee have allowed us to take up once again the original charism of Fr. Arnold Janssen, source of our identity and inspiration for our current mission. We also return to Steyl, the place chosen by our founder to establish a missionary house. This small village became the cradle of the first community, which over time transformed into a worldwide missionary congregation under the leadership of Fr. Arnold Janssen himself.

The arrival of the Divine Word Missionaries at the Ministerial Region of the Good Shepherd in Townsville, Queensland marked a significant change for the community, but now, three years down the road, parishioners have not only embraced the SVD’s missionary outlook but shared their own strong faith as well.

The SVD was invited to the Townsville Diocese by Bishop Timothy Harris to undertake parish ministry both in the suburbs of the city and also with the First Nations peoples of Palm Island.

Young people in SVD parishes and migrant chaplaincies in Australia will be invited to join an exciting new initiative, ‘SVD Youth’, which launched in Queensland on Sunday.

The SVD Youth is an offshoot of the SVD AUS Province’s Vocations Ministry and aims to gather young people together for mission formation and to nourish and support them in their spiritual journey.

The SVD AUS Province’s newest mission in Myanmar is continuing to unfold, as the missionaries get to the know the people, the language and the place.

The Divine Word Missionaries have been on the ground in Myanmar for almost two years now, following an invitation from Cardinal Charles Bo SDB to establish a Bible ministry in his Archdiocese of Yangon.