Fr Kevin Cantwell SVD, who recently celebrated 65 years as a priest, says his vocation came to him as a bolt out of the blue, and once received, it never wavered, giving him a lifelong sense of certainty which he believes “must have been a matter of grace”.

“My vocation was solid from the moment I received it. It came to me one morning in just a minute or two. I didn’t think about it or weigh up the pros and cons or anything like that. I had no hesitation about it,” he said.

“You are part of our Tiwi people; you are part of our Tiwi family.” These were the words spoken by one of the Traditional Owners of the Tiwi Islands earlier this month during the official installation of Fr Niran Veigas SVD as parish priest on Bathurst Island.

Fr Niran was installed at Our Lady of Peace and St Therese - Wurrumiyanga, Tiwi Islands by Darwin Bishop Charles Gauci in an emotionally moving and culturally rich Mass almost two years after the Divine Word Missionaries arrived in the Tiwis.

Happy Easter to you! In this Easter season we continue to celebrate the Good News that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead – Alleluia!

As missionaries it is this good news of Jesus’ love for us and his victory over death and sin that we seek to share and it is news that is sorely needed in our wounded world.

A new book on caring for our common home has been written and published for a Vietnamese audience, with a number of Divine Word Missionaries from the Australia Province and beyond contributing their knowledge and skills to it.

Entitled, ‘Caring for Our Common Home: A Christian Mission - A Human Responsibility’, the book was edited by Fr Anthony Le Duc SVD, who is a member of the Australia Province based in Bangkok.

Parishioners at the Immaculate Conception Church in the Thai village of Sangkhomphatthana will enjoy their Easter celebrations under a brand new roof – the final part of a long-running renovation project that will keep them dry in the rainy season and cooler in the heat.

Fr Truong Le SVD said the church, located near the Mekhong River bordering Laos, had been in need of a few roof and ceiling ever since he arrived in the parish four years ago, but a damaging storm during the rainy season made the project more urgent.

Cuong Quoc Dang SVD’s profession of final vows as a Divine Word Missionary in Box Hill, Melbourne, this month, followed by his ordination as a deacon, were pivotal moments in a winding, but grace-filled vocational journey.

Accompanied by his mother and parish priest, who travelled from Vietnam to share in the joy of the occasion, Cuong was also surrounded by fellow Divine Word Missionaries and other religious and lay people connected to the SVDs.

For each of us, this has been a unique experience of Lent and Holy Week, reflects Fr Asaeli Rass SVD.

When I arrived in Myanmar few days ago, much of the suburbs of Yangon were still in darkness and reports of ongoing armed conflict in northern Shan, Rakhine and Kachin are adding uncertainty about the future of this beautiful country.  I too am conscious of what’s happening in Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Palestine, and science has not completely eradicated COVID-19. It is shocking to think how much the world has changed in such a brief time. Now we enter all of this, into the epic stories of the Paschal Triduum.

An international gathering of SVD Lay Partners in Italy was an “inspirational and transformative” event for Helen Festejo, who represented the Australia Province.

“It was very enriching,” Helen said of the meeting which took place in Centro Ad Gentes, Nemi, outside of Rome, from mid-February to early March.

Well, here we are, about to enter into the Paschal Triduum, those most sacred three days in which we immerse ourselves in the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

When I think of Easter, I think of hope. Hope that through the resurrection, the brokenness and the woundedness we see in our lives and in our world will not have the final word.

The Divine Word Missionaries in the Indian state of Odisha are running a range of projects to support people living in the marginalised slum communities and to give them the education, skills, motivation, leadership animation, and financial assistance to help lift them out of poverty, reports Society Matters mission magazine.

Fr Rasal Xess SVD, the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Coordinator for the SVD India East Province (INE) said the urban poverty is characterised by exclusion, including inadequate and insecure housing and basic services, limited access to services like health, nutrition and water sanitation.