When Fr Olivier Noclam SVD farewelled his parish in Santa Teresa, Central Australia for his new assignment in Rome early this year, he did not realise he would soon be watching first-hand as the white smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel, announcing the election of a new pope.

Fr Ollie, who comes from Vanuatu and is now assigned to the SVD Generalate in Rome, said the opportunity to farewell Pope Francis and welcome Pope Leo XIV along with thousands of other people from all over the world was something he will always remember.

As I write this message, we are still celebrating the election of a new pope, Pope Leo XIV, following the death at Easter time of Pope Francis.

It is wonderful to note that Pope Leo is a missionary, from the Augustinian order, and in his first address to the crowds in St Peter’s Square he called for a missionary Church.

The simplicity and heart-to-heart encounter of a visit by Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Charles Balvo to Palm Island made the event truly extraordinary for all those who were part of it, says Parish Priest Fr Manh Le SVD.

Archbishop Balvo, who is American and is a veteran of several decades in the Vatican’s diplomatic service, made the trip to Palm Island, now known by its traditional name of Bwgcolman, during his visit to the Diocese of Townsville earlier this month.

Many years ago, I was reading an article on Catholic Digest. The title was “Why do I believe in the Assumption of Mary?” The author whom I can’t recall was a Protestant. His premise was that in the Old Testament, the prophet Elijah at the end of his life went to heaven body and soul in a chariot of fire while he left Elisha to carry on his ministry. So, he concluded that if this happened to Elijah, then why not to Mary who is the mother of Jesus.

As you receive this edition of In the Word in your inbox, we are preparing, with the rest of the Church, to respond to Pope Francis’ invitation to celebrate an Extraordinary Mission Month throughout October.

This coincides with the annual celebration of World Mission Sunday on October 20, but Pope Francis has called us to an even more active awareness and promotion of mission this year to commemorate the centenary of Pope Benedict XV’s Apostolic Letter Maximum Ilud, published in November 1919.

Fr Anthony Le Duc SVD is based in Bangkok, part of the SVD AUS Province, and when Pope Francis visited nearby Myanmar on November 29, he was at the Papal Mass and managed to get a few great photos of the Holy Father on his phone, which he posted to social media.

Here, he reflects on whether in getting those photos, he missed the opportunity for a more personal encounter with the Pope.