The SVD commitment to walking with the poor and the marginalised is lived out in Australian suburbia, as well as overseas missions, and Fr Sunil Nagothu SVD and Fr Adrian Jenani SVD are enjoying both the joys and challenges of parish life in the Logan area of southern Brisbane.

Fr Sunil was appointed Parish Priest of St Maximilian Kolbe Parish, Kingston/Marsden, one year ago. 

The release of Pope Francis’ Message for World Mission Day marks the countdown to this world-wide celebration, set down for October 19.

In his message, the Holy Father reminds us that: “All the members of the Church are called to participate in this mission, for the Church is missionary by her very nature: she was ‘born to go forth’.”

When Fr Ennio Mantovani SVD set out from Europe as a young missionary priest in 1962 he planned to bring the light of the Gospel to the people of Papua New Guinea. When he arrived, he found the light was already there, in the people and the culture.

Now, over 50 years later, he has launched a new book in which he says his life as a missionary has taught him that God is present among all people, everywhere, loving them as he loves each and every person.

A joyful welcome to Fr Pham Dinh Tuan SVD who was installed as the new pastor of St Michael’s Church in Nong Bua Lamphu in northern Thailand recently, was soon overshadowed by the tragic news that 13 young Vietnamese people had been killed on their way to a camp to be held in the parish.

Fr Tuan was installed as parish priest at a Mass at St Michael's, followed by the traditional tying of strings around his wrists by parishioners as a goodwill gesture. 

After living with the Divine Word Missionaries in Sydney and Melbourne as a postulant, Steve Desveaux is packing his bags to undertake the next step of his vocational journey in the United States, a situation he describes as literally a dream come true.

Steve will undertake the novitiate program in Techny, Chicago, and says he is really looking forward to the challenge.

Leaders from each of the SVD communities within the Australian Province, together with the Provincial Council, gathered in Sydney this week for a Leadership Workshop designed to identify how to put into practice the congregation’s priorities for the next six years.

At its General Chapter meeting in 2012, the SVD AUS Province identified five key priorities or congregational directions for its mission activity.

The SVD AUS Province’s first postulant from Laos, Chanthavong Anisong (Toub), is set to enter the Novitiate this month, in an important step forward for his vocation.

Toub, 33, has been living with the SVDs in Nong Bua Lamphu in Thailand, which is a part of the AUS Province, and will undertake his Novitiate in the Philippines.

A broad-based group of religious and lay people has joined forces to form ‘Partners in Mission’, aimed at working together to support mission in both prayerful and practical ways.

A working party of interested partners met recently at the Divine Word Missionaries offices in Sydney, to formulate a mission statement for the group and plan a way forward.

Actions speak louder than words in most of Papua New Guinea Culture. It is customary that when a person does something good, words do not express fully the appreciation. One has to reciprocate with actions.

A common practice is the idea of saying thank you with action, rather than words. The Catholic Archdiocese of Mt Hagen recently organised a special pilgrimage to say thank you for 80 years of the Gospel in the Highlands.

Walking with people on the margins is a central focus of the Divine Word Missionaries, and two young SVD students, from Argentina and Mexico, are spending two years of their formation in Australia to do just that, as part of the Overseas Training Program (OTP).

Arturo Manuel Barrios from Argentina and Simon Dominguez Prospero from Mexico, have arrived in the AUS Province to immerse themselves in pastoral life here, and both say their experiences so far have helped them to become better missionaries.