Working with migrant communities is a key focus of the SVD Australian Province. Many of our parishes contain large migrant populations and often many cultures are located within the one parish.

The SVD itself is a multicultural society and it is a central part of our charism to be with those who may be feeling marginalized or without a voice in their new country. The Divine Word Missionaries offer spiritual and moral support to migrant families including those who came as refugees, with the parish often becoming the centre where they can find support.

We offer Masses in various languages for different cultural groups, which brings comfort and joy to people struggling with a new language. And we help people to link up with English lessons, employment and other community services to assist them in forging their new life, as well as providing a supportive social outlet.

The SVD Australian Province is recognised as being a leader in the formation and training of missionaries.

SVD members and novices come to Australia from all over the world to complete their training, which involves both an academic program and spiritual formation. Situated at Dorish Maru College, Box Hill, the students undertake philosophy and theology studies at the Yarra Theological Union, and are immersed in religious community life and pastoral work.

Many missionaries serving in various parts of the world today retain a strong affection for and association with Australia thanks to their years of formation here.

A number of dioceses within the Australian Province have invited priests from overseas to assist them in caring for the pastoral needs of the people as local vocations to the priesthood fall.

The special multicultural charism of the Divine Word Missionaries has enabled us to offer the local Church our expertise and support in the ongoing formation of religious and diocesan clergy who arrive in Australia to embark on multicultural ministry and community life.

We work with dioceses and religious orders to provide workshops and ongoing formation to help newly arrived clergy settle in and engage in fruitful ministry.

We are part of an international community of SVD missionaries and members of the Australian Province regularly answer the call to work as missionaries in areas of need around the world.

Currently, there are a number of SVD AUS Province members and members who completed their training and formation in Australia, who are working overseas as missionaries. They are working with communities in need in Papua New Guinea, Japan, Indonesia, the USA, China, Brazil, South Korea, Argentina, Cuba, Hong Kong, Madagascar, South Africa, Romania/Moldova, and Russia.

Although their missionary circumstances and experiences will all be very different, the thing they have in common is that in accordance with the SVD Constitutions, they are assisting the local Church in bringing the love of Jesus – both practically and spiritually - to people who are poor and marginalized.

Being with and working with indigenous Australians is a priority for the Australian Province of the Divine Word Missionaries.

Aboriginal Australians, especially those living in remote areas, are among the most marginalized and disenfranchised groups in our society, and living in solidarity with the poor and the marginalized is an important part of our missionary calling.

Apart from our work with indigenous people in urban Australia, the SVD has committed itself to being with and working the indigenous people of Central Australia, primarily through the Our Lady of Sacred Heart Parish Alice Springs and the Santa Teresa Parish, about 90km outside Alice Springs.Our missionaries provide spiritual, moral and material support to those who live in Alice Springs, town camps and remote communities. We also run a weekly prayer service in Alice Springs prison and visit the families of those who are in prison.

An important part of our work is also to raise awareness of the plight of indigenous people and to advocate for justice on their behalf.

One of the primary works of our missionaries in Thailand is to care for people living with AIDs.

AIDS is on the rise in Thailand and poverty in the rural areas can be crushing. The Mother of Perpetual Help Center in Nong Bua Lamphu is run by SVD missionaries of the Australian Province. They also visit the sick in their homes and sponsor group meetings for people with AIDS. Education and awareness programs are another big priority.

Working with Mother Theresa’s Missionaries of Charity, the SVD missionaries have also established the Ban Mare Marie children’s home for children who have been orphaned by AIDS, bringing love, security and hope into their lives.

In recent decades, the Divine Word Missionaries have recognised that growing migrant populations, a decline in the numbers of diocesan priests and growing numbers of poor and marginalized people in urban areas has created a need for missionaries in parish life in our Province.

We have responded to this need by accepting invitations from Bishops around Australia, New Zealand and Thailand to take on parishes in their dioceses which face these challenges.

Typically our parishes are large and multicultural. In keeping with our Characteristic Dimensions, in addition to celebrating the Eucharist and other sacraments, we focus on preaching and promoting the Bible at Mass and through Bible study groups. Our parishes, led by parish pastoral councils, also have vibrant youth groups, social justice initiatives, interreligious dialogue with other faith groups in our communities, and great music. We are committed to bringing the love of Jesus to our parishioners, both spiritually and practically.

The road to becoming a Divine Word Missionary is a challenging, yet joyful one that includes education, formation, prayer, pastoral work and cross-cultural training.

Here are the steps you’ll take on your journey:

Pre-Novitiate

When a man first explores a call to life as a Divine Word Missionary, he will make contact with the Vocations Director, and after an initial period of inquiry and contact with the SVD, he will enter the Pre-Novitiate.

The pre-novitiate is seen as the first experience of community life for the candidate to the religious missionary vocation.

The candidate would be expected to have an adequate knowledge of the Catholic faith; to have successfully completed high school or its equivalent; to have developed a certain amount of personal independence through employment; to have maintained an active participation in relationship to Church; to have fulfilled the admissions screening requirements of the SVD.

The goal of the pre-novitiate is to enable the student to experience religious missionary life in community, deepen his own understanding of vocation and continue the initial learning about the SVD, its charism, its origins, history and mission.

Through daily prayer, scripture studies, spiritual direction, retreat and recollections, the pre-novice deepens his understanding of his relationship with God, himself, community, church and the world and enables him to grow in identification with God’s call to mission and ministry.

Regular meetings with the formation director and a supervisor help the pre-novice to reflect on his daily experiences of work, studies, recreation and pastoral experiences.

The pre-novice may take some courses in English, public speaking or in theological studies. As some of our pre-novices come from overseas, learning and experiencing Australian culture takes priority in this initial stage of our SVD formation.

Novitiate

The Novitiate provides a special time and environment for the nurturing of a growing vocation. The Novitiate builds upon what is already underway in a person’s life. It serves to mature and clarify a vocation in accordance with the religious lifestyle and the special charism of the SVD.

During this time, the Novice must deepen his understanding of and commitment to his own vocation. This is a time of serious personal and community discernment, the aim of which is to allow the novice to make a mature and free decision whereby he publicly commits himself to the religious missionary life of the Society as a student for the priesthood or for brotherhood in the SVD.

The Novitiate experience is designed to strengthen the novice’s commitment to the Christian way of life. This entails a personal relationship with God through a discipline of prayer, a desire to place one’s gifts and talents at the disposal of others through ministry, and active involvement in the Church.

The Novitiate Program is also designed explicitly to develop the novice’s understanding and living of religious life within the particular charism of the Society. The emphasis here is on the heritage, vows and way of life of the community. This lies at the heart of the Novitiate formation.

The Novitiate experience is finally designed to support and enhance the novice’s growth as a human person. This includes the continued development of the personal qualities and capabilities necessary for living and working with others.

The Novice is expected to attend daily community prayer and Eucharist as well as periods of private prayer. He involves himself in regular household duties.

Regular input from the Novice Director and other capable persons as well as attendance at the Kairos Inter-Novitiate Program in Sydney are also part of this commitment. Some pastoral activity, especially toward the end of the Novitiate, is recommended. Private meetings between the Novice and his Director are a feature of this time. The Novice is introduced to the keeping of a personal and spiritual journal.

Days off for the novice during the year are opportunities when the students can move away temporarily from the regular routine. A thirty-day retreat is usually undertaken half way through the program. A second, shorter retreat is done as preparation for taking first vows.

Post Novitiate

During Novitiate the student discerns his vocation within the Society, which will lead him to making a public commitment to live according to the apostolic counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience, according to the Constitutions of the Society of the Divine Word. For the next 5-7 years, at the beginning of the academic year, (usually on March 25,) every SVD seminarian or brother in formation makes a commitment to live religious life according to the SVD Constitutions for one year. With the intention to commit oneself for life, assisted by professional formation personnel, his community and personal reflection and prayer, the student makes a choice to live religious life for one year. The temporary character of living religious life gives the student the freedom "to choose again," until he is ready to say his "Yes" for life, at the end of his initial religious formation.

Although the focus of post-novitiate formation may appear to be on academic pursuits, in fact it is very much in the line with the SVD Constitution 503: "Our formation is total and integral: it seeks to bring about human maturity, professional competence, and committed faith." The SVD Australian Province Formation Program makes it even clearer: "As a single thread, running through our whole formation, missionary service and religious life form a unity in our vocation. The missionary mandate determines the form of our religious life and the spirit of the evangelical counsels permeates our whole missionary work." In the spirit of dialogue and focused on our missionary call, our formation program promotes a balanced and wholistic approach, rooted in one's culture, community forming, directed towards apostolic service and open to the needs of the world.

While the number of Australian and New Zealand born vocations has decreased significantly, other students from overseas have brought new riches and challenges. In recent years we have had seminarians from countries of birth including Angola, Australia, China, Tonga, Vietnam, Fiji, Korea and Papua New Guinea pursuing their missionary formation at Dorish Maru College in Melbourne.

The formation community in Melbourne gives witness to international and multicultural living. Drawing upon our scholars from around the world, we have also been able to make an innovative academic contribution to the Yarra Theological Union, particularly in the field of missiology.

Academic Program

The academic program is based at Box Hill in Melbourne, Victoria. Our students study philosophy and theology at the Yarra Theological Union. Those students who are able to meet the requirements will, in the course of their studies, earn a Masters of Theology Degree from the Melbourne College of Divinity.

Students also need to fulfil two years of an Overseas Training Program (OTP) which is normally done after three years of full-time study at YTU. Some students training to become SVD Brothers, undertake other professional courses at universities. The full course of studies in preparation for priestly ordination, apart from the OTP, is normally completed in five-and-a-half years of full-time study.

Every Christian, through the sacrament of Baptism, receives a call or vocation to serve God and humanity, and to help build God’s Kingdom in the circumstances of their own life.

This vocation can be lived out in a variety of ways – as a married or a single person, or as a priest, a religious brother or sister.

How do I know what my vocation is?

Identifying your vocation most often comes about through a process of discernment and that process can begin in childhood and continue well into adult years. Discernment means to listen, to stay close to God, to pray, to remain open and to truly seek out the vocation that God is calling you to.

Could I have a vocation to be a Divine Word Missionary?

We hope so! If you do have a vocation to become a Divine Word Missionary you will be joining one of the biggest, fastest growing, energetic and most ethnically diverse Catholic orders of religious men in the world.

Founded by St Arnold Janssen in 1875, the Society of the Divine Word now has more than 6000 members serving in more than 70 countries around the world.

These men have responded to God’s call by becoming missionaries in the most demanding ministries of the Church. As Divine Word Missionaries, we work first and foremost where the Gospel has not been preached at all or only insufficiently and where the local Church is not viable on its own (SVD Constitutions 102).

God speaks to us in God’s own manner, usually using ordinary things and experiences in life to extend thoughts and to awaken our dreams and hopes.

• What is your dream for your life and for your place in God’s world?
• Have you responded to God’s call?
• Are you open to challenge and adventure?
• What is your mission?
• As Divine Word Missionaries, “Our Mission is His Mission”. Would you like to be a part of this Mission?

If you believe God might be calling you or someone you know to the life of a missionary priest or brother, our congregation might be the right fit for you.

If you’d like to find out more, please contact:

The Vocations Director, Fr Yon Wiryono SVD. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

A missionary spirit is not confined to those people who join a missionary religious order. In fact, with our baptism, we are all called to be missionary, to help bring about the Kingdom of God on earth through the circumstances of our own lives.

Some lay people find that they are in a life situation where they can become lay missionaries either in Australia or overseas, through volunteer organisations like PALMS Australia or through associations with other organisations.

Others may spread the Gospel through Parish ministries, including teaching children the faith as a catechist, being a Lector at Mass, getting involved in social justice initiatives, or helping people to understand the faith through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.

Simply living in the spirit of Jesus Christ is a powerful witness to those around us and marks us out as a missionary in the modern world.

You can support us as Missionary priests and brothers by staying in touch with us and our activities and spreading the news about our works.

If you would like to receive our monthly e-newsletter where we share our stories and you can get to know our people and their ministries, you can subscribe for free on the homepage of our website.

If you can support our overseas missionary work financially, please click here to make a secure donation. Thank you!