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.
The SVD Australia Province is embarking on a period of communal discernment in the lead-up to the Provincial and Council elections for the next triennium.
The discernment process aims to infuse the Provincial Elections with Pope Francis’s vision for a synodal Church in which the Spirit-led participation of all is valued and necessary.
One heart, many faces we have been called to serve Christ and one another. What a blessing to have the honour of celebrating the 150th Jubilee Year of our SVD existence! We definitely have a lot to celebrate looking back at the past 150 years of grace, struggles and growth, writes Fr Roger Kyaw SVD.
As I just embarked on my first mission a few months ago, I don’t feel like I have a lot of ministerial experiences yet to share. Rather I want to reflect on my encounter with the light in the SVD in the past 10 years.
The summer holiday period saw the SVD seminarians from Dorish Maru College in Melbourne swap the classroom for a range of practical and pastoral experiences - from parish placements to work experience in jobs as diverse as farm worker, handyman and restaurant hand.
Formator of Scholastics, Fr Linh Nguyen SVD, said the summer placements aimed to give the students pastoral and workforce experience, as well as deepen their cultural understanding and English language skills.
The Society of the Divine Word has this month celebrated the feast days of its two SVD saints, St Arnold Janssen and St Joseph Freinademetz, with the occasions taking on special significance during the SVD’s 150th Jubilee Year.
The Australian Province of the Society of the Divine Word celebrated the feast days with special Masses and social gatherings of confreres, SSpS Sisters, parishioners, lay partners and partners in mission, while in Rome the day was marked by the release of a new book, entitled ‘Treasures of the Past and Experiences of the Present’.
The birthday of our Mother Mary, 8th September, also marked the Foundation Day of the Society of the Divine Word.
In 2024 it also marked the opening of the SVD Sesquicentenary Jubilee (the year of celebrations leading up to their 150th anniversary in 2025), with the theme “Witnessing to the Light: from Everywhere for Everyone”, writes Fr Peter Bang SVD.
The SVD Australia Province launched its Jubilee Year Online Lecture Series this month, exploring the Jubilee theme, ‘Witnessing to the Light: From everywhere for everyone’ from the Biblical perspective.
The webinar featured a keynote presentation from Fr Wojciech Szypula SVD, the coordinator of the SVD Generalate Biblical Apostolate in Rome, with a response by Fr Elmer Ibarra SVD, coordinator of the Biblical Apostolate from the Australia Province.
The theme of our Jubilee Year, “Witnessing to the Light, from Everywhere for Everyone,” has resonated deeply within my heart and mind as I am applying for Perpetual Vows and First Assignments, writes SVD student Peter Wang.
It reminds me this is a call to all of us in the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) with a renewed commitment to our core identity and mission.
One of the great gifts and important fields of study during my priestly formation was the study of “Cultural Anthropology”. It was seen as one of the foundation stones for our future missionary life as an SVD. The awareness of what it means to live in a particular culture, that it is ‘like an iceberg with only the tip showing but most of it being not visible’, made us aware of the complexities involved in knowing one’s own culture, let alone learning another culture.
And yet, as a missionary that is what we are meant to do. We not only learn another language when one goes overseas, but we make every effort to learn everything we can about the new people we are asked to serve. Their values, their social structure, their customs, their beliefs, their rituals, and yes, their light and darkness.
On September 8, Good Shepherd Parish in Kirwan came alive with joy and spiritual fervour as the community gathered for two significant events: The Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the inauguration of the 150th Jubilee celebrations of the Society of the Divine Word (SVD).
This special day was a powerful reminder of our unity in faith, our love for Mary, and our gratitude for the Global Missionary work of the SVDs.