The SVD AUS Province is gearing up to celebrate World Mission Sunday on October 19, with activities planned right across the Province to mark this special day of grace and joy.

In the lead-up to October 19, the annual SVD Mission Day will be held at the Yarra Theological Union, on Saturday, October 4, exploring “The Impact of Christianity on African Traditional Religions”. Meanwhile, parishes and groups are invited to visit our website and download a liturgy resource kit aimed at creating a meaningful celebration of World Mission Sunday. 

When Fr Rodrigo de la Rosa SVD left the missions of Brazil in 2003, he thought his missionary life had come to an end, but God had other plans for him, and those plans have brought him to a new mission, in a cluster of parishes around Mackay in Queensland.

Fr Rod says his mission, which sees him undertake the pastoral care of four large parishes in the Mackay region of the Rockhampton Diocese, has been a joy to him, not least because it was so unexpected.

For many years now the Divine Word Missionaries have been commited to interfaith dialogue and interfaith living and learning, and so in the wake of the recent terrorist raids in Sydney and Brisbane, we find ourselves looking at the situation with a unique perspective.

Certainly the first thing that needs to be said is that we support the law enforcement authorities in their work of preventing crime. Where problems arise is when people begin to confuse criminal activity with the presence and lawful activity of all Muslims. 

Is your parish, group or organisation celebrating World Mission Sunday on Sunday, October 19?

If you are seeking liturgical resources to help celebrate the day, look no further. We are delighted to provide a fully downloadable resource for your use.

It was a joyful occasion for the Divine Word Missionaries Australian Province when three young missionaries were ordained to the priesthood in a beautiful, multicultural celebration at St Paschal’s Chapel, Box Hill.

Trien Nguyen SVD, Prakash Menezes SVD and Bedi Asmon SVD were ordained priests on Saturday, September 13 by the Bishop of Darwin, Most Rev Eugene Hurley.

It is with great joy and thanksgiving that we prepare for the ordinations of three SVD confreres this Saturday, September 13.

Deacons Trien Nguyen SVD, Prakash Menezes SVD and Bedi Asmon SVD will be ordained to the priesthood at St Paschal's Chapel, Box Hill at 10am.

The Divine Word Missionaries AUS Province mourn the death of their brother in religious life, Fr Victor Stevko SVD, and pray for the eternal repose of his soul.

For funeral arrangements, read more.

The 100th anniversary of the World Day of Migrants and Refugees is a joyful a day to reflect on the richness that migrants and refugees bring to Australia, New Zealand and the region, but also to ask ourselves, ‘how can we be more welcoming?’

The St Arnold Janssen Chapel in Marsfield, Sydney, is planning a full day of ‘Multicultural Sunday’ celebrations to mark Migrant and Refugee Sunday on August 31.

"'To live life to the full' - that has been my motto and is my driving force in continuously responding to God’s calling to me as a religious missionary priest of the Society of the Divine Word (SVD)."

As we celebrate Vocations Awareness Month, the Province's new Vocations Director, Fr Elmer Ibarra SVD shares with us his personal journey, from childhood illness to a nursing career and now life as a missionary priest.

To be effective in Mission, we need to take time, as Jesus did, to withdraw from the demands of our busy lives and connect again with the Living Water that sustains us, and that’s exactly what the members of the Australian Catholic Disability Council did in the desert around Alice Springs recently.

Fr Asaeli Raass SVD led a retreat for the Council based on the theme of spiritual dryness and living water – an experience made all the more meaningful by its focus on the cool, calm waterholes which are found in the desert country of Central Australia.