Fr Anthony Le Duc SVD is based in Bangkok, part of the SVD AUS Province, and when Pope Francis visited nearby Myanmar on November 29, he was at the Papal Mass and managed to get a few great photos of the Holy Father on his phone, which he posted to social media.

Here, he reflects on whether in getting those photos, he missed the opportunity for a more personal encounter with the Pope.

About 80 young people from SVD parishes and chaplaincies in Alice Springs, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney made the pilgrimage to the Australian Catholic Youth Festival in Sydney early this month, an event they say “changed hearts” and “opened minds”.

The youth kicked off their ACYF experience with a vigil gathering at the St Arnold Janssen Chapel in Marsfield, which was broadcast on Facebook Live, before heading to Homebush for the Festival.

Different cultures came together in music and song to celebrate the birth of Jesus at Multicultural Christmas Carols, hosted by the Divine Word Missionaries in Sydney and Brisbane.

The SVD Marsfield Community hosted its annual Christmas Carols Festival and St Mark’s Parish, Inala hosted an ecumenical, multicultural Carols evening in Brisbane.

While most of Australia prepares to hit the beach, 11 Divine Word Missionary seminarians are spreading out across Australia over Christmas and the summer period to spend time in parishes, gaining valuable pastoral experience and cultural exposure to help them in their missionary formation.

Three of the seminarians from Dorish Maru College are undertaking their summer pastoral ministry in Alice Springs and Santa Teresa, while others will go to Inala Parish in Brisbane, Macquarie Fields Parish in Sydney, and Preston and Noble Park Parishes in Melbourne.

Christmas is almost upon us and summer in Australia is in full furnace-like swing. It’s a far cry from the snow-bound Christmases of my home country Germany, but the sounds and the smells of an Aussie Christmas have an allure all of their own.

Of course, it’s not all cricket and prawns on the barbie. Australia’s Christmas traditions have been enriched over the years by the people from many different cultures who have made their home here and who do Christmas in their own special ways.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has today given its final report to the Governor General. Many of the findings and recommendations will have significant impact on the way the Catholic Church operates in Australia.

“We acknowledge with gratitude the courage of all those survivors who have come forward to the Royal Commission,” Sr Ruth Durick OSU, President of Catholic Religious Australia said.

As I write this message, we are about to head into Advent and a new Church year. It’s always a good to time to slow down, reflect, look back on the year that’s been and look ahead to what is to come.

In Advent, we look ahead to the incarnation of Our Lord Jesus Christ and to his second coming. We recount the great story of Salvation History and God’s relationship with humanity, which reached its fulfilment when God became human in the form of the Christ child.

Maciej Zielinski is an Extreme Cross-Country runner from Poland who likes challenges in life and he’s looking forward to the experiences that will come his way during his two years in the SVD AUS Province, as part of the Overseas Training Program.

“I’ve been here for two months and I’m very happy to be here and to be working hard on my English,” 24-year-old Maciej says.

Fr Kevin Cantwell SVD has launched a book of reminiscences of his time as a missionary in Papua New Guinea, in which he says the focus is not on him, but on the people of PNG, the missionaries who have served there, and the lay catechists and local church members.

Fr Kevin, who turned 90 in October, was a missionary in PNG from 1976 to 2003, first on the Sepik River and then in the Highlands, having been transferred there at the age of 48, after 16 years of appointments in Australia, including a time as Provincial.

When the Superior-General of the Divine Word Missionaries, Fr Heinz Kuluke, visited the SVD AUS Province recently, he had one key message for both confreres and partners in mission: “Thank you”.

“I am here to thank you,” he said. “I am always touched by the dedication of our missionaries and the many mission partners who support us in so many different ways.”