The Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters in Australia and Fiji are celebrating the 125th jubilee of their congregation, which was founded in Holland by St Arnold Janssen, the founder of the Society of the Divine Word, and established in Australia at the end of World War II.

In preparation for the Jubilee, which will be formally celebrated with a Mass at the Holy Spirit Chapel in Carseldine, Brisbane on December 7, the Sisters have arranged a workshop with Sr Mary John Kudiyiruppil SSpS, from India, to reflect on the congregation’s call to Mission, both in the past and now.

Fr Asaeli Raass SVD has returned to the Northern Territory to take up a new ministry as Head of Catholic Mission and Faith Formation in the schools of the Darwin Diocese – a challenging role, but one he says he is excited about.

Fr Raass is no stranger to the Territory, having worked in Central Australia from 2003 to 2008 amongst 17 Aboriginal Catholic communities, as a chaplain to the Eastern and Central Arrernte people.

At their recent Executive Committee meeting, members of the Conference of Leaders of Religious Institutes in NSW [CLRI(NSW)] expressed dismay at the policies of both major parties that have condemned asylum seekers, attempting to reach Australia by boat, to 
indefinite detention at Manus Island and Nauru. 

President of CLRI(NSW) Sr Laureen Dixon rsc said: “Many of our members have lived and worked in detention centres in Papua New Guinea and other places and know that the health, safety and welfare of asylum seekers are at grave risk in all offshore detention centres. The recent tragedy at the Manus Island detention centre in which one man died and many more suffered serious injuries has borne out that knowledge”.

As a young person making her mark in the corporate world, working in Mission had never entered Lana Turvey’s mind – that is, until Providence led her to a job at Catholic Mission, which she says allows her to employ her corporate skills not to acquire personal wealth, but in the service of the wider world.

“Over time, I’d worked out that I wanted to do something that made use of my commercial skills but actually engaged me in the bigger world,” she says.

Chaplaincy to migrant groups is a particular focus of the Divine Word Missionaries AUS Province, and for the Slovak community in Sydney, that commitment has resulted in a warm and loving pastoral relationship over many years.

SVD AUS Provincial, Fr Henry Adler has been the spiritual leader of the Slovak community of Sts Cyril and Methodius in Lidcombe for two years, but the relationship between the Slovaks in Australia and the Divine Word Missionaries can be traced back to the 1970s, with the appointment of Fr Jan Krasnansky SVD to work with the growing numbers of Slovak immigrants in Sydney.

The Australian Province of the Divine Word Missionaries celebrated recently as three young men publicly professed their Perpetual Vows, with Provincial, Fr Henry Adler SVD, saying the occasion was a particular blessing because religious professions are rare events in the world today.

Bernadinus (Bedi) Tertius Asmon, Prakash Brayan Menezes, and Trien Phat Nguyen professed their Perpetual Vows as Divine Word Missionaries on Saturday, March 15 at St Paschal’s Chapel, Box Hill. That ceremony was followed by their ordination to the diaconate on Sunday, March 16. Both ceremonies were attended by confreres, family and friends.

The people of Central western Queensland are doing it tough as drought continues to threaten their livelihoods and well-being, but Fr Ronaldo Rodriguez SVD, says he has been heartened by the generosity of people across the Diocese of Rockhampton and beyond to offer a helping hand to his suffering parishioners.

Fr Ronaldo has pastoral care for the Catholic communities of Blackall and Tambo Parish, which fall under the Western Deanery.

As I write this message, the Church has entered fully into the season of Lent, and is also marking the first anniversary of the election of Pope Francis.

Lent is always a good time to take spiritual stock and I have been thinking in these recent days of the wonderful example that Pope Francis is being to all of us who seek to live Christ’s mission.

I think, if asked what they find most striking about Francis, many would say it is his simplicity. 

The Divine Word Missionaries are delighted to be part of an exciting new book from Catholic Mission, in collaboration with Catholic Religious Australia, in which 12 Australian leaders from various Catholic ministries examine and respond in faith to Pope Francis’ recent apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, The Joy of the Gospel.

The book, entitled Living the Joy of the Gospel: The Francis Effect contains personal reflections on the Pope’s beautiful letter, and also proposes ways in which the Holy Father’s message can be lived more fully in the Church in Australia.

The SVD AUS Province’s Philippines Disaster Appeal prompted an outpouring of love and solidarity, with the funds being directed not only to immediate emergency relief, but also to the ongoing task of rebuilding villages, lives and livelihoods.

Provincial, Fr Henry Adler SVD, says that over $58,000 was raised during the appeal in the wake of devastating Typhoon Haiyan.

“It was a remarkable response from people, to raise that sort of total at very short notice, and right before Christmas,” Fr Henry says.