In San Pio Village, Cebu, young children play happily in a playground that they themselves helped to design.

It is a world away from the rubbish tip where they used to live and play, and it is just one of many sights in the Village that causes Sydney man, Ron Natoli to give thanks to God for a dream that has come to fruition.

Are you interested in Mission? Would you like to hear from expert international missiologists and theologians on the history, present and future of Mission?

Then why not register now for the International Mission Symposium to be held in Melbourne this October.

A group of outstanding missiologists and theologians will gather in Melbourne later this year for a symposium entitled ‘Mission Beyond Ad Gentes’ – to mark the golden jubilee of the Second Vatican Council’s decree on Mission.

The International Mission Symposium is a joint initiative of the Divine Word Missionaries, the Yarra Theological Union and the Australian Association of Mission Studies. It will take place on October 2-3 at Box Hill, Melbourne.

Fr Liam Horsfall SVD died peacefully on Saturday, August 8, feast day of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop.

Fr Liam's funeral will be held on Thursday, August 13, at 1pm. Click for details.

Uili Uvea SVD's journey towards his missionary vocation had plenty of ups and downs, and was derailed for a while when he got caught up in a wild youthful life of peer pressure.

To celebrate National Vocations Awareness Week (Aug 2-7), Uili shares the story of his journey and his amazing, life-changing encounter with the grace of God.

The Founding Generation of the Arnoldus Family has formed the inspiration for reflection at the annual Provincial retreats for members of the Divine Word Missionaries and Holy Spirit Sisters this year.

The retreats have been held in Thailand, Alice Springs, Boronia (Victoria) and Marsfield in Sydney, and have provided a much needed time for the prayer, reflection and recharging of the batteries that is so necessary for missionary life.

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish in Alice Springs celebrated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday earlier this month with a Mass which was deeply imbued with the culture of the Arrernte people of Central Australia.

Parish Priest, Fr Asaeli Raass SVD, says the Mass was a great celebration of faith and culture, drawing from the theme for NAIDOC Week: “We all stand on Sacred Ground”.

The Divine Word Missionary community at Marsfield in Sydney hosted a day of intercultural hospitality when a group of students from a SVD school in Japan paid a visit.

The students, from Nanzan Primary School, located in the heart of Japan, in and around the city of Nagoya, are in Australia on a cultural visit, staying with Australian families and practising the English language.

It was an occasion of great joy when Chanthavong (Toub) Anisong took his first vows as a Divine Word Missionary, becoming the first person from Laos ever to do so.

Toub, who is joining the SVD AUS Province, took his vows in the Philippines, where he has been in the Novitiate. He is due to arrive in Australia next month for further studies and formation.

Papua New Guinea has long been home to Christian missionaries from all around the world, but now two young SVD missionaries from PNG are being sent out to Argentina – a development they say shows the growth and maturity of Christianity in their country.

Fr Vincent Guawi SVD and OTP student John Sine SVD will join nine other PNG-born SVD missionaries who are already on missionary assignments in far-off lands.