Roger Kyaw Thu SVD, from Myanmar, is nearing the end of his initial formation to become a missionary priest and has been assigned to the Australia Province, saying he was attracted to missionary life by the idea of going to places where he is most needed.

Roger is to be ordained a deacon on October 1 at Our Lady of Africa Church in Chicago, Illinois, an SVD parish in the United States not far from where he has been undergoing his formation.

When I was a seminarian, we had an evaluation system called “Fraternal Correction”. My classmates would write positive things about me and also things to be improved about me. And did the same for them.

When Fr Niran Veigas SVD answered his vocational call to become a missionary priest, he could not have foreseen himself ministering in Russia and now the Tiwi Islands, but the Indian-born priest is embracing the new challenge of getting to know the people and helping to make a difference in their lives.

Fr Niran was born and raised in a Catholic family in the city of Mangalore, in southwest India and says he began discerning the possibility of being a priest as a young boy.

Theologian and Missiologist Fr Stephen Bevans SVD returned to Australia recently to give a range of presentations on the role of mission in meeting the needs of the world today.

Fr Stephen, who is the Emeritus Louis J. Luzbetak, SVD Professor of Mission and Culture at Chicago Theological Union, led the SVD annual retreats in locations around the province, delivered a presentation for Catholic Mission, and gave an online seminar for the SVD’s Mission, Education and Research initiative.

What’s the difference between a parish and a faith community in modern Australia? It’s a question worthy of consideration, writes Bishop Tim Norton SVD for the Brisbane Archdiocese.

Vatican documents around themes of ministry and community have a central focus on parish life. In Evangelii Gaudium (the Joy of the Gospel), Pope Francis writes that the parish “is not an outdated institution”. For Francis, the parish is a wonderful environment for hearing God’s word, for growth in the Christian life, for dialogue, proclamation, charitable outreach, worship and celebration. “It is a community of communities, a sanctuary where the thirsty come to drink in the midst of their journey, and a centre of constant missionary outreach (EG 28). Curiously, this description applies very well to some of our Archdiocesan faith communities.

The SVD’s Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation coordinators from across the Asia Pacific region met in Bangkok recently to share their work and resolved to further step up their commitment to collaborative efforts and sharing resources across the ASPAC Zone.

Vice-Provincial for the SVD Australia Province, Fr Albano Da Costa SVD attended the meeting which was being hosted by the AUS Province in the Thailand District.

Internationally renowned theologian and missiologist Fr Roger Schroeder SVD was in Australia recently, presenting a range of workshops on interculturality and spending time with a diverse range of people in SVD ministries in Sydney, Alice Springs, the Tiwi Islands and Brisbane.

During the first half of his time in Australia, he gave two talks and a day workshop around the theme of interculturality, which has been the central theme for the SVD and SSpS since their General Chapters of 2012 and 2018, respectively.

The SVD Australia Provincial, Fr Asaeli Rass, has been appointed to take part in the Synod of Bishops in Rome in October, an opportunity he describes as both humbling and exciting.

Fr Rass was named as one of the expert facilitators from the Oceania region to attend the Synod, following his role as a facilitator of the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania (FCBCO) gathering in Fiji earlier this year.