Dorish Maru College in Melbourne is well known as the SVD seminary and formation house for the AUS Province, but it is also a house of welcome for other missionaries who are undertaking further studies, or language studies to help them in mission assignments to a range of countries.

Rector of the House at Dorish Maru, Fr Michael Hardie SVD, says this hospitality and support is one way the AUS Province helps support the wider world of Mission.

It was a joyous occasion in Thailand recently when members of the SVD Thai District joined Bishop Joseph Luechai Thatwisai of Udon Thani Diocese to celebrate the restoration of the Thai Martyrs church in Thuan Kham.

After 10 years of neglect, without a priest, Fr Vinh The Tran SVD, who is pastor at a larger parish in the Ban Dung area took an interest in bringing the sacraments back to the almost 60 families who had been active parishioners at the little church.

Fr Liam Horsfall SVD has been farewelled from his longstanding chaplaincy duties at St Patrick’s College, Shorncliffe and Mercy Aged Care, Nudgee, with warm tributes and thanksgiving from both communities.

Fr Liam, who is 89 this year, has been chaplain for the two communities for 20 years, but some current health challenges have prompted him to ease back on his regular commitments.

The Divine Word Missionaries have a long history of chaplaincy for migrant communities, and some of the confreres involved with chaplaincy ministry came together recently to explore how the AUS Province can continue to best meet the growing needs of these communities.

Provincial, Fr Henry Adler SVD, says the meeting of chaplains aimed to look at what was already being done and to consider possibilities for the future.

The first instalment of funds has made its way from the SVD AUS Province to cyclone-devastated Vanuatu and is already making a difference to the lives of the local people who have lost so much.

Mission Secretary, Fr Truc Quoc Phan SVD, was accompanied to Port Vila by Fr Olivier Noclam SVD, who is from Vanuatu, and then made his way to outlying Tanna Island, which was one of the areas worst hit by Cyclone Pam in March.

Renowned missiologist, academic and speaker, Fr Stephen Bevans svd will return to Australia in May as a keynote speaker at the ‘Mission: one heart many voices 2015’ conference in Sydney.

Fr Stephen is the Louis J. Luzbetak svd, Professor of Mission and Culture at Chicago’s Catholic Theological Union and a renowned teacher and author on Mission. As an SVD missionary he worked for nine years (1972-1981) in The Philippines. He was a popular presenter at the inaugural ‘Mission: one heart many voices’ gathering two years ago.

Former AUS Provincial, Fr Tim Norton SVD, returned to Australia recently to lead a series of workshops on interculturality.

Fr Tim, who is now based at the SVD retreat house at Nemi, outside Rome, has been in Indonesia for the past three months, learning the Indonesian language. While in ‘the neighbourhood’, he returned to Australia to share his knowledge and experience on intercultural living and ministry. 

The newly appointed Vocations Director of the SVD AUS Province, Fr Elmer Ibarra SVD, says that personal witness to the joy of missionary life will be the cornerstone of his approach to promoting vocations.

“I love my life as a SVD, and I want to share that joy and to invite people to join us,” he says.

SVD confreres have been gathering in Australia, New Zealand and Thailand for Local Chapter meetings, where they report on their ministries, highlights and challenges ahead of the AUS Provincial Chapter meeting in Sydney in June.

Provincial Local Chapter Coordinator, Fr Asaeli Raass SVD, says the meetings are an important component of providing input from Divine Word Missionaries “on the ground” in a wide variety of ministries and activities.

When Fr Albano Da Costa SVD leaves to take up further studies in Rome next month, he will be looking forward to the challenge of what’s to come, but says he will also miss the parishioners, clergy and lay leaders who brought him so much joy in New Zealand.

Fr Albano, who holds a Masters in Philosophy, has been asked by the SVD AUS Province to move to Rome for two years to study for his Licentiate in Missiology.