5 Volume 34 No. 3 | Spring 2024 Society Matters Brazilian priest elected as global leader of Divine Word Missionaries Fr Anselmo Ricardo Ribeiro SVD from Brazil, has been elected 14th Superior General of the Society of the Divine Word. The Society of the Divine Word (SVD) capitulars, gathered at the recent 19th General Chapter in Nemi, Italy have elected Fr Anselmo to become the Superior General of the congregation for the six years from 2024-2030. Fr Anselmo joined the Society of the Divine Word in 1998. He made his first vows in 1999 and his perpetual vows in 2004. He was ordained priest in 2005. He has served successively as Provincial Councillor in the Province of Brazil North, Rector of Juiz de Fora Residence in Brazil, Provincial Superior of the Province of Brazil North, member of the Executive Committee of the PANAM Zone and most recently as General Councillor in Rome. The Society of the Divine Word, founded by Saint Arnold Janssen in 1875 in Steyl, Holland, is a global congregation of priests and brothers. Known as the Divine Word Missionaries, the congregation, which has almost 6,000 members in five continents, is actively engaged in various ministries including pastoral work, education, biblical apostolate, communication, justice, peace and integrity of creation, and other specialised ministries. Images courtesy of Photo Mission World The photographs are a donation by their authors for use exclusively in publications of the Divine Word Missionaries (SVD) Photo Credit from left to right: Jozef Gwozdzz SVD, Andrzej Danilewicz SVD, Krzysztof Walendowski SVD, SVD Generalate Media, Adam Klinikowski SVD Alto, Bolivia’s second-largest city. The SVD also operates two boarding schools, St Joseph’s and Guadalupe, in St Ingnacio de Velasco, and a hostel facility called Arque, which is owned by the Archdiocese of Cochabamba. PARAGUAY Divine Word Missionaries provide services to the local Church through pastoral care to urban and rural parishes. The parishes are the platforms that help the SVD to reach those who have been marginalised or displaced. Divine Word Missionaries minister significantly in the area of education and have five regular schools and two agricultural schools. CHILE Years of oppression of indigenous people, especially the Mapuche, has led to the current struggles — sometimes violent — for dignified treatment and for the recovery of lands that were usurped by the Chilean state and handed over to European immigrants. Divine Word Missionaries in Chile have been working in schools since 1902. In Chile the SVD mission has had two major priorities in the last four decades: mission work among the indigenous and the operation and creation of homes for minors. One of the SVD parishes is in the indigenous territory of Quepe, and three missionaries work there. FRENCH GUIANA Divine Word Missionaries assume the indigenous mission in the Amazon as a cause of the whole Church. The SVD is in a phase of expanding its work in collaboration with the “Frontier Mission,” a project sponsored by the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil, in French Guiana. While the SVD AUS Province is not at this time supporting specific projects in South America, your donations to the Overseas Aid Fund support development projects in a range of other countries. Please see Page 8 for details. Br Krzysztof Walendowski SVD with local people in Bolivia Fr. Anselmo Ricardo Ribeiro is elected as the superior general of The Society of the Divide Word.
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