The Society of the Divine Word has elected a new Superior-General, Fr Budi Kleden SVD, during a General Chapter which affirmed a commitment to the Word of God, renewal, and lay partnerships.

Speaking after his election, Fr Budi, from Indonesia, identified two key priorities as the Bible and the poor.

“We should not forget the Word of God and the poor and always find the inspiration and strength in the Word of God in our work for and with the poor, seeing in the face of the poor the face of the Lord Himself,” he said in his first homily after being elected.

He also underscored a commitment to renewal and a “heart that feels the pain of the people, especially the poor and the oppressed”.

Fr Budi was born in Indonesia in 1965 and entered the Society in 1985. He made his first profession in 1987 and was ordained in 1993. He  studied in San Gabriel and his first mission was to Switzerland from 1993-1996 then moved to Ledalero, Indonesia, a member of the Province Council of the Ende Province for three years before he was elected to the General Council in 2012.

The capitulars at the General Chapter also elected Fr Jose Antunes Da Silva SVD from Portugal as Vice-Superior of the Society of the Divine Word, along with Xavier Thirukudumbam as Admonitor, and Guy  Mazola, Jude Raymund Festin, Eryk Koppa, and Anselmo Ricardo Ribeiro as Council Members.

AUS Provincial, Fr Henry Adler SVD, says the General Chapter largely affirmed and confirmed the priorities set at the last Chapter, six years ago, but that the invitation to renewal for all provinces, regions, missions and individual members received greater emphasis.

“The call to renewal came through very strongly, and is a challenge for us all as we return home to our provinces, to keep creating opportunities for that renewal to come about,” Fr Henry says.

He says the presence of lay people at this General Chapter was also significant.

“It was very promising to have our lay partners there, represented at the Chapter. It was obvious that this is something that is really picking up for us around the world, more in some provinces than others, but there is a general growth in lay partnership,” he says.

“There are now many groups collaborating with us and engaging in a variety of ways with the Divine Word Missionaries and the Arnoldus spirituality – that is the spirituality of our founder, St Arnold Janssen and the founding generations of both the SVD and the Holy Spirit Sisters.

“There was certainly a lot of excitement around the idea of collaborating and working together.”

Fr Henry says while there was a desire from the lay people present to unify or bring together the lay partners into a single, formalised entity, the Chapter resolved to give the lay participation more time to grow and develop under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and to look at the question again at a future Chapter.

Fr Henry says the Chapter theme ‘Rooted in the Word’, brought out a very strong affirmation of the Divine Word Missionary identity and an encouragement for the capitulars to go back to their provinces and to make the Word of God an even bigger priority in the life of their communities.

“The Chapter suggested that provinces and individuals look at ways we could bring something new to our experience of the Word in our daily lives, as well as in our engagement with lay partners, parishes and people we encounter,” he says.

“Basically, we said we want to be more who we say we are – missionaries of the Divine Word. We want that to be a fundamental part of our lives.”

Fr Henry was joined at the General Chapter by Fr Anthony Le Duc, the AUS Province delegate.

PHOTOS

TOP RIGHT: Fr Henry Adler with newly elected SVD Superior-General Fr Budi Kleden at the General Chapter.

MIDDLE LEFT: Aus Province delegate to the General Chapter, Fr Anthony Le Duc with Fr Bedi.

BOTTOM RIGHT: Fr Henry (front left) taking part in the General Chapter proceedings.