Fr Gideon Awudi3 150A new SVD missionary has arrived in Australia from Ghana and is looking forward to doing God’s will among the people of the AUS Province.

Fr Gideon Awudi was ordained to the priesthood in August last year and this is his first assignment as a Divine Word Missionary.

Fr Kazimierz PNG 150When Fr Kazimierz Niezgoda SVD left Poland as a young man to be a missionary in Papua New Guinea he figured he would stay there his whole life, and now, 51 years after he arrived, he still has no plans to leave.

“I was committed,” he says. “I knew I would stay.”

Henry Headshot 2019 150 Light backgroundIt’s marvellous the power that words can have to focus our attention and efforts, especially when they are distilled down into a motto.

This has certainly been the case for me since learning of the new motto for the Society of the Divine Word: ‘Faithful to the Word, One with the People’.

Dorish Maru 30th anniversary 150It’s an unassuming building in suburban Melbourne, but Dorish Maru College, has been a powerhouse of missionary formation since it was established 30 years ago.

Dorish Maru College (DMC), the formation house of the Divine Word Missionaries AUS Province, opened its doors in 1988 and since that time has formed and trained hundreds of missionaries who are now serving all around the world.

Fr Truong Thailand 150“Joy is all around. I just have to be open to it,” says Fr Truong Thong Le SVD, as he takes up his first missionary assignment in Thailand.

Fr Truong, who was born in Vietnam and raised in the United States, has recently arrived back in Thailand as a fully-fledged SVD missionary priest, after spending time there as a student as part of the SVD’s Overseas Training Program (OTP).

 

Marius Razafimandimby SVD 150Born in a small town in Madagascar, Marius Razafimandimby could not have imagined in his childhood that he would one day be living in Australia and completing his final studies towards becoming a Divine Word Missionaries (SVD) priest.Born in a small town in Madagascar, Marius Razafimandimby could not have imagined in his childhood that he would one day be living in Australia and completing his final studies towards becoming a Divine Word Missionaries (SVD) priest.

But, he says that coming across the world to complete his formation at the SVD formation house, Dorish Maru College in Melbourne has broadened his horizons.
“Missionary life is a widening of everyone’s horizon,” he says.

 

 

Marius Razafimandimby SVD 150Born in a small town in Madagascar, Marius Razafimandimby could not have imagined in his childhood that he would one day be living in Australia and completing his final studies towards becoming a Divine Word Missionaries (SVD) priest.

But, he says that coming across the world to complete his formation at the SVD formation house, Dorish Maru College in Melbourne has broadened his horizons.

Editorial pic Francois dAssise SVD 150Growing up in Madagascar in a community that could only celebrate Mass once every three months because of a shortage of priests, Andrianihantana Francois d’Assise felt the initial stirrings of a call to the priesthood.

It wasn’t until high school, when he joined a school holiday missionary activity conducted by a Divine Word Missionary (SVD) priest that he began to consider the idea of becoming a missionary priest.

Fr Erwin Schmutz SVD 150Fr Erwin Schmutz SVD has worn a few different hats over the last 60 years – priest, missionary, medic and botanist to name just a few – but as he celebrates his Diamond Jubilee, he says it is the people he has lived amongst and ministered to that stand out for him.

Fr Erwin was born in Ingolstadt, on the River Donau in Bavaria, Germany, and spent 30 years as a missionary in Indonesia, then some years as a German Airforce chaplain, before arriving in the SVD AUS Province where he was chaplain to Adelaide’s German community for many years.

 

 

 

Keiji and Joseph final vows 150It was a joyous time in Japan recently when two young men took their final vows as Divine Word Missionaries.

Joseph Hy SVD and Keiji Arata SVD both spent some time in the AUS Province during their formation, an experience they say had a big impact on their understanding of missionary life.

 

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25 Dec
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

In the spirit of reconciliation, the Society of the Divine Word, Australia Province, acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea, sky, and community.

We acknowledge their skin-groups, story-lines, traditions, religiosity and living cultures.

We pay respect to their elders, past, present, and emerging, and extend that respect to all indigenous peoples of New Zealand, Thailand, and Myanmar.

We are committed to building with them, a brighter future together.