The Alice Springs community celebrated the 50th anniversary of the opening of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart church and 90 years of Catholic sacramental life in Central Australia recently with the unveiling of a new stained glass window depicting Jesus and Mary in Aboriginal art.

The huge window, based on the painting of local Arrernte woman Kathleen Wallace, was unveiled during a special ceremony on Saturday, October 12. The jubilee celebrations continued on Sunday, with a Mass celebrated by Bishop of Darwin Charles Gauci.

The Divine Word Missionaries, together with members of other culturally diverse religious congregations, are sharing their experiences of interculturality as part of a Catholic Religious Australia initiative to support congregations in preparing for the future.

The Interculturality: Leadership, Community Life and Ministry initiative is part of CRA’s Emerging Futures program.

A new book on missionary life, by Fr Ennio Mantovani SVD, was launched during the SVD Mission Day activities in Melbourne this month.

Fr Ennio’s book, 'Sixty Years of Priestly and Missionary Life: The History of a Journey', is a reflection on his priestly and missionary life and on the changes that took place in the understanding of both the priesthood and the missions.

Three missionaries from the SVD AUS Province are taking part in a revamped Dei Verbum Biblical Pastoral Course in Italy, along with participants from all around the world.

The two-month course, which runs through to early November, is designed as an ongoing Biblical formation program for those engaged in the Biblical Apostolate.

The growth of the SVD lay partners groups around the world continues to bring fresh energy to the Society of the Divine Word, and one initiative they have undertaken is to promote an international ‘Prayer Bridge’ to mark the World Day of the Poor.

The worldwide prayer initiative was an idea conceived by the lay partners of the SVD in Germany and embraced by lay partners and SVD members in a range of countries and this year it will take place on Sunday, November 17.

In asking the Church to celebrate an Extraordinary Mission Month this October, Pope Francis is calling each one of us to live out our baptismal calling to carry forward the mission of Jesus Christ, says Fr Truc Quoc Phan SVD.

Fr Truc is the Mission Secretary for the Divine Word Missionaries’ AUS Province, a job which entails both living and promoting Christ’s mission locally and internationally.

Throughout the month of October this year the Universal Church is celebrating Extraordinary Missionary Month (EMM) which includes World Mission Sunday, on 20^th October.

The multicultural community of St Mark’s Parish, Inala, turned out in force recently for the official installation of their new parish priest, Fr Boni Buahendri SVD.

Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge celebrated the Installation Mass and more than 600 people were there to take part in the occasion.

Every year, the Society of the Divine Word celebrates its founding day on 8 September, which coincides with the Nativity of Mary. This year marks the 144th anniversary since St. Arnold Janssen formally established this missionary society, which presently has over 6,000 members serving in more than 80 countries around the world. I am writing this reflection from Thailand, where the Society has made its presence since exactly 20 years ago.

Unlike the founding day of our Society, we do not know the actual date on which the Blessed Virgin Mary was born. If I am not mistaken, despite the countless apparitions of Mary around the world over the centuries, she has never revealed this little piece of information to us. However, the Church has chosen a particular day in the liturgical calendar in order to celebrate Mary’s birthday, just as the Church has done the same with the birthdays of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ.

The Divine Word Missionaries will kick off the Extraordinary Month of Mission next month with the annual SVD Mission Day, to take place in Melbourne on Saturday October 5, exploring the theme, ‘A Missionary Impulse Capable of Transforming Everything’.

Guest speakers at the Mission Day Seminar to be held at Yarra Theological Union in Box Hill will be husband and wife leaders in education and mission, Therese and Jim D’Orsa. The day will also include a celebration of the Eucharist at St Paschal’s Chapel and a shared multicultural meal at the SVD’s Dorish Maru College.