The Te Awakairangi Parish in the Lower Hutt region of New Zealand’s Wellington Archdiocese is a large, culturally rich and diverse parish where the people are warm and welcoming and committed to a missionary outlook which is deeply grounded in the primacy of evangelisation.

Established in 2015, the parish is comprised of four churches and has been in the pastoral care of the Divine Word Missionaries since January 2024.

SVD students at Dorish Maru College in Melbourne, together with other new arrivals in the Province have expanded their understanding of life in Australia during a month-long Summer Acculturation Program.

The Program was held at beach-side St Leonards, near Geelong in Victoria, and aimed to give the participants, who come from a range of cultural backgrounds, a firm grounding in living and working in the multicultural society of Australia.

The second Jubilee Online Lecture hosted by the SVD Australia Province this month highlighted the need for authentic Christian witness and a commitment to go out to the peripheries of both Church and society in living out Christ’s mission.

The keynote presenter at the webinar was Fr Stanislaus Lazar SVD, with Fr Albano Da Costa SVD responding on the theme of ‘Witnessing to the Light: From Everywhere for Everyone – a Mission Perspective’.

The SVD Australia Province celebrated Word of God Sunday recently in a variety of different ways, honouring St Arnold Janssen’s devotion to the Word, as expressed in the naming of his missionary order The Society of the Divine Word.

Biblical Apostolate coordinator for the Province, Fr Elmer Ibarra SVD, said the Sunday of the Word of God was celebrated in Australia on February 9, the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

As this edition of ‘In the Word’ goes out, we are preparing to enter the Season of Lent next week. Once again, it feels like were just enjoying the Christmas season, and here we are already preparing for Easter.

The Church’s liturgical seasons are a real gift to us, helping us to enter into and make present the key events in the life of Christ, which happened more than 2000 years ago, but still bring fresh meaning to our lives today.

The summer holiday period saw the SVD seminarians from Dorish Maru College in Melbourne swap the classroom for a range of practical and pastoral experiences - from parish placements to work experience in jobs as diverse as farm worker, handyman and restaurant hand.

Formator of Scholastics, Fr Linh Nguyen SVD, said the summer placements aimed to give the students pastoral and workforce experience, as well as deepen their cultural understanding and English language skills.

Taking part in the Siloam Program for spiritual direction was “a journey of growth” for Fr Yon Wiryono SVD, which he says has not only helped him see the reality of his life through the lense of spirituality, but confirmed his call to help others see that reality in their lives, too.

Fr Yon, who is the Vocations Director for the SVD Australia Province, said the transformative experience of the program is already helping him in his ministry and priestly vocation.

The Central West Catholic Cluster is a grouping of parishes in North Queensland’s Rockhampton Diocese, where you will get a warm country welcome and lots of hospitality.

The Divine Word Missionaries took up pastoral care of the Central West Catholic Cluster last year, with the arrival of Fr Peter Bang SVD.

The Society of the Divine Word has this month celebrated the feast days of its two SVD saints, St Arnold Janssen and St Joseph Freinademetz, with the occasions taking on special significance during the SVD’s 150^th Jubilee Year.

The Australian Province of the Society of the Divine Word celebrated the feast days with special Masses and social gatherings of confreres, SSpS Sisters, parishioners, lay partners and partners in mission, while in Rome the day was marked by the release of a new book, entitled ‘Treasures of the Past and Experiences of the Present’.

Happy New Year to all and welcome to the first edition of ‘In the Word’ for 2025.

We are embarking on a big year, with the 150^th anniversary in September of the SVD’s Foundation by St Arnold Janssen, under the theme of Witnessing to the Light, and the Jubilee of Hope being celebrated across the Universal Church.