The SVD Queensland District gathered recently for its annual five-day retreat — described as a precious time of spiritual renewal, reflection, and fraternity.
The retreat took place at the Santa Teresa Retreat Centre in Brisbane last month under the theme, ‘SVD Mission Collaboration’.
The Divine Word Missionaries played an active role in the recent Australian Catholic Youth Festival in Melbourne by sharing the SVD missionary charism with young Catholics, promoting vocations, and gaining inspiration from them, as well.
Province Vocations Director Fr Yon Wiryono SVD attended with seminarians from Dorish Maru College and for the first time, the SVD collaborated with the Indonesian Catholic Community in Melbourne, highlighting the value in lay people and Religious working together to promote vocations.
The SVD Australia Province has a new Provincial Council to help provide collaborative leadership over the next three years.
The new Provincial Councillors were recently appointed by the SVD Generalate in Rome, following their nomination at the local level.
One of the highlights of the Mission Symposium 'Missio Dei: An Ecumenical Conversation' which took place in Melbourne this month was the launch of 'SVD Mission in Contexts: Creative Responses in a Wounded World'.
A Synodal Church is a listening Church, and the whole point of Synodality is mission, said Archbishop Mark Coleridge in the fifth and final Jubilee Webinar hosted by the SVD Australia Province.
Archbishop Coleridge, who is the Archbishop Emeritus of the Archdiocese of Brisbane and an accomplished Biblical scholar, spoke on the theme: ‘Witnessing to the Light: From Everywhere for Everyone – from a Synodal Perspective’.
The Provincial Assembly for the SVD Australia Province is underway this week, with about 70 missionaries from Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and Myanmar gathering together in Melbourne, along with guest speaker Fr Antonio Pernia SVD, a former Superior-General.
The Assembly began with an opening liturgy on Monday afternoon and will continue through to Wednesday. It also brings to a close the Society of the Divine Word’s 150th Jubilee celebrations in the Province, and it will be followed by an ecumenical mission symposium later in the week, co-hosted by the SVD and the Australian Association for Mission Studies.
Fr Boni Buahendri SVD has been appointed as the new Provincial Superior of the SVD Australia Province for the next triennium, and will take up his new role in January, 2026.
Fr Boni, who is currently parish priest of St Mark’s Parish, Inala, said that while the role of Provincial has many challenges, he accepted it with humility and hope and looked forward to working together as a team with members of the Province, the communities that they serve, lay collaborators and friends.
As you receive this edition of our ‘In the Word’ e-news, members of the SVD Australia Province are gathering together in Melbourne for a Provincial Assembly and the celebration of the closing of the 150th Jubilee Year of the Society of the Divine Word.
This coincides with the recent announcement that Fr Boni Buahendri SVD has been appointed as the next Provincial from January next year. All of these threads coming together at the same time are powerful reminders that mission is never stagnant. It is, guided by the Holy Spirit, always on the move.
Dear confreres, lay mission partners and staff,
With great joy I congratulate you on our 150th Jubilee and feast day of the birth of Our Lady.
Before Jesus ascended into heaven, following his resurrection, he gave his followers an instruction which has become known as the Great Commission: ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation.’ (Mark 16:15).
As the Society of the Divine Word celebrates its 150th Anniversary, it is useful to consider what that commission means for carrying out Christ’s mission. Of course, it means many things, but one thing it tells us clearly is this: Communication is Mission.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY
In the spirit of reconciliation, the Society of the Divine Word, Australia Province, acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea, sky, and community.
We acknowledge their skin-groups, story-lines, traditions, religiosity and living cultures.
We pay respect to their elders, past, present, and emerging, and extend that respect to all indigenous peoples of New Zealand, Thailand, and Myanmar.
We are committed to building with them, a brighter future together.