The SVD Thai District recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Divine Word Missionaries’ presence in Thailand.

The anniversary was marked during a gathering of the confreres for their quarterly recollection, where, in a spirit of prayer they gave thanks to God for blessing the Thailand mission over the years.

The young people of St Maximilian Kolbe Parish in Marsden, Queensland, recently brought Pope Francis’ plea for ecological conversion to life when they hit the streets with garbage bags in hand, for Clean Up Australia Day.

“It was Laudato Si’ in action,” says Parish Priest, Fr Sunil Nagothu SVD, of the Pope’s encyclical on ‘Caring for our Common Home’.

After 10 years as a  missionary in Kenya, Fr Mariusz Kubista SVD has arrived in Myanmar, saying he is keen to get to know the people and help establish the AUS Province’s  new mission in the south-east Asian nation.

“My hope personally is to fulfil the will of God,” he says. “But for the mission started here, I would say my hope is to reach out to people in their local language, both in the written and spoken form.”

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was among the special guests who attended the vibrant and colourful Multicultural Fiesta at St Mark’s Parish, Inala, recently.

The day was a celebration of the many different cultural groups who make up the St Mark’s community and included a multicultural Mass, followed by entertainment from different groups and the sharing of food from the many cultural groups present.

The roof of St Maximilian Kolbe parish in Kingston-Marden, Queensland is freshly adorned with rows of solar panels – a concrete sign of the parish community’s commitment to playing its part in preserving God’s creation in the spirit of Pope Francis’ Laudato Si.

Parish Priest Fr Sunil Paul Nagothu SVD says parishioners have worked hard to raise funds to support the transition to renewable energy, with the purchase and installation of the solar panels now providing a sustainable power solution for the parish.

There’s nothing like adversity to bring people together, and the parishioners of Holy Spirit Parish in the Archdiocese of Wellington, New Zealand, know this only too well, having enjoyed the ecumenical hospitality of their Anglican neighbours since their church was damaged by earthquake.

Fr Dom Flores SVD, who spent the first three months of this year working in the parish, says this ecumenical spirit was one of the many highlights of his time in New Zealand.

St Mark’s Parish, Inala, celebrated its 60th anniversary this month with a special Multicultural Mass, followed by a day of entertainment, food stalls, fun and fellowship.

The parish was established in 1956 as the Parish of the Divine Word, with Fr Aloysius Kasprus SVD as Parish Priest. Over the 60 years, the parish has been in the care of both the Divine Word Missionaries and the Archdiocese, taking the name St Mark’s in 1961.

As a recently ordained missionary priest from India, Fr Kommareddy Rajasekhar Reddy (Fr Raja) says he is on a big learning curve – arriving in Australia and taking up his first appointment in a parish – but says the welcome of the people is helping him adjust to his new life.

Fr Raja has been appointed as Assistant Priest at St Agatha’s Parish, Pennant Hills in Broken Bay Diocese, and says the parishioners and parish staff, Parish Priest Fr Paul Durkin, and the Diocese, have been wonderful to him since he arrived.

The Australian Province of the Society of the Divine Word reaches across to Thailand, where our members work with poor and marginalised communities in a range of areas, including parish work, teaching, and care for children and adults living with AIDs.

Divine Word Missionaries are present in the Brisbane Archdiocese, the Rockhampton Diocese and the Townsville Diocese in Queensland.

Most are actively involved in pastoral work, either in parishes or, for the retired members, in helping out with Masses, giving retreats, spiritual direction, mental health ministry, chaplaincy and prayer formation for adults. The Queensland parishes have strong multicultural communities and the new Rockhampton mission will also involve ministry to Aboriginal communities.