By Fr Sunil Nagothu SVD
The Society of the Divine Word, popularly known as the Divine Word Missionaries (SVD), is celebrating 150 years of service in the Lord’s Vineyard with the theme ‘Witnessing to the Light: From Everywhere for Everyone’. It has grown from a humble foundation on September 8, 1875 in Steyl, the Netherlands to an international religious order of 6,000 priests, brothers serving in 79 countries. In this context I thought of sharing some of my personal experience of being part of the SVD mission in New Zealand, with the SVD confreres with whom I worked and some of the insights I gained along the way.
I was appointed in January, 2000 to a parish called St Anne’s Newtown in the Archdiocese of Wellington. I was not the first missionary assigned to the Wellington mission. I am aware of the pioneer missionaries who laid the path for future missionaries to come and be part of this great mission in Aotearoa.
I was appointed as an assistant priest to work with Fr Gerry Burns, a local diocesan priest. Gerry, out of his personal interest, joined the St James mission society and served as missionary in Peru for a few years. I was fortunate to have worked with him, as his outlook as a parish priest was different from others. He was a great mentor, and I learned many valuable lessons for my future missionary work. It was in St Anne’s parish that I met for the first time many people from the Pacific Islands. This is where I 
was challenged to rethink some of my preconceived ideas about priestly ministry. This is also where I gained confidence about the concept of collaborative leadership, concern for social justice issues, and the formation of laity in our parishes.
My own experience is just one of many in the SVD’s mission to Aotearoa New Zealand. And, as we celebrate the SVD’s 150th Jubilee Year, we remember all those who have been ‘Witnesses to the Light’ of Jesus Christ in this part of the world. Certainly, the Jubilee theme of being ‘From Everywhere, For Everyone’ rings true for the mission in NZ. Not only did our SVD missionaries come from many nations around the world, but we also ministered with people from many places, especially around the South Pacific, and we were all the richer for this exchange of culture.
In the context of New Zealand (Aotearoa), biculturalism refers to the unique relationship between the indigenous Māori people and the other ethnicities that call this land their home.
In 1985, just over 40 years ago, Bishop Denis Browne of Auckland invited the Divine Word Missionaries from Australia to work among disadvantaged young people in his archdiocese. The first three SVDs to take up this challenge were Bill Burt from Australia, Johnny Cervania and Vic Cisneros both from the Philippines. They lived in Otara, where they ran a youth hostel which operated as an alternative residence for young offenders. Later they were joined by Paul Kanda, the first Papua New Guinean 
Divine Word Missionary. The SVDs are presently represented in Auckland by Alejandro de la Sotta Dominguez, who is parish priest of St Bernadette’s Parish, Mt Wellington, as well as chaplain to the Latin American Community.
Not long after the mission in Auckland began, the Divine Word Missionaries accepted Cardinal Tom Williams’ invitation to work also in the Archdiocese of Wellington. Two priests, Michael Madigan from Ireland and Cesar Espineda from the Philippines, joined the Archdiocese’s youth ministry team with an energetic young diocesan priest, John Dew (who later went on to become the Archbishop of Wellington and a Cardinal). In 1985, the SVD took responsibility for St Michael’s Parish, Taita. The Divine Word Missionaries served there until 2005. They then took up the pastoral care of St Patrick’s Parish, Wainuiomata.
In the following years, the Archdiocese of Wellington witnessed some structural changes, as parishes were amalgamated to provide better service for the changing face of those communities. The Archdiocese also placed a strong emphasis on empowering lay people to live out their baptismal calling through a collaborative leadership model. The Divine Word Missionaries are now responsible for the the two expanded parishes which embrace the, Te Awakairangi, parish based at Lower Hutt, and Te Wairua Tapu, based at Petone. Many priests from around the world have been members of the 
SVD team in the Wellington Archdiocese, including Sunil Paul, Ho Tran, Raymond Soriano, Andrew, Stef Ndun, Joseph Vu, Elmer Ibarra, Albano Da Costa, Linh Nguyen, Marlon Maylon, John Quang, Alejandro de la Sotta Dominguez, Akuila Taliauli, Raja Kommareddy and Uili Uvea.
For many years, Bernard Espiritu, a Divine Word Missionary originally from the Philippines, was the National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) ministering in close collaboration with all the six dioceses in NZ.
There are just two NZ-born Divine Word Missionaries: Michael Hardie, who is a member of the SVD Australia Province, based in Sydney, and Philip Gibbs who is the president of the Divine Word University in Madang, Papua New Guinea.
When I look back over the 40 years of SVD presence in New Zealand, still a district with the Australia province, I can see that the mission has been true to our apostolic charism and a lot has been accomplished in terms of serving culturally diverse and multi-ethnic communities and the province has been enriched by what we have received from multi-cultural faith communities.
Each in our own way, we have tried to be faithful and creative witnesses to Christ’s light and to encourage and empower the people to be Witnesses to the Light within and among them. As missionaries from many countries, working in a multicultural landscape, we have embodied the theme, ‘From Everywhere, For Everyone’, but have also had the gift of receiving the richness of faith, cultural dialogue and interculturality from the communities in which we have been sent and continue to be present. May this Jubilee Year be a time of celebration and thanksgiving for 40 years of SVD mission in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
PHOTOS
TOP RIGHT: Fr Sunil Nagothu SVD is pictured with Fr Joseph Vu SVD and parishioners at a Multicultural Mass in Wellington, New Zealand during his mission assignment there.
MIDDLE LEFT: Fr Albano Da Costa SVD, Fr Elmer Ibarra SVD and Fr Bernard Espiritu SVD are among the SVD missionaries who have served in New Zealand over the last 40 years.
MIDDLE RIGHT: Provincial, Fr Asaeli Rass SVD (backrow left) is pictured with Fr Alejandro (Alex) de la Sotta SVD and members of Auckland's Spanish community, to which Fr Alex is chaplain.
BOTTOM LEFT: Fr Raja Kommareddy SVD, pictured with parishioners from a range of multicultural backgrounds at Te Awakairangi Parish in Lower Hutt, New Zealand, where he is parish priest.