St Anne’s Parish, Palm Island is a small but mission-focused faith community built on outreach, presence, and accompaniment for the island’s mostly First Nations residents

Parish Administrator, Fr Manh Le SVD, says his ministry is largely one of personal encounter, taking the time to share in conversation with the people of the island as they go about their lives.

Fr Ennio Mantovani SVD has been remembered as a dedicated missionary priest whose life and ministry touched the hearts of many, especially through his years of committed service in Papua New Guinea and Australia.

Fr Ennio returned peacefully to the Lord on October 18 in Sydney, Australia and his Requiem Mass took place on Tuesday, October 28 at the St Arnold Janssen Chapel in Marsfield.

A two-day ecumenical mission conference held in Melbourne this month brought together academics, missiologists and mission practitioners from Australia and beyond to engage in conversation about the history, development and current realities of being a missionary church.

‘Missio Dei: An Ecumenical Conversation’ was a joint project of the Australian Association for Mission Studies (AAMS) and the Society of the Divine Word and took place from October 2-3 at St Paschal’s, Box Hill.

The Divine Word Missionaries Australia Province has celebrated the culmination of the Jubilee Year marking the 150^th anniversary of the founding of the Society of the Divine Word with a Thanksgiving Mass earlier this month.

It brings to completion a year of celebrations to mark the SVD Jubilee across the Province, in Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and Myanmar, under the theme: ‘Witnessing to the Light: From Everywhere, for Everyone’.

I am incredibly proud to have been part of the historic event of the canonisation of Peter To Rot, a Melanesian from Papua New Guinea, writes Vanuatu-born Fr Olivier Noclam SVD. His canonisation marks a significant milestone as he becomes the first Pacific native saint, inspiring many within our community and beyond.

The ceremony took place in St Peter's Square on October 19, and was officiated by Pope Leo XIV. It was a momentous occasion, and I was deeply moved to see the flags of the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea flying among the crowds, symbolising the unity and pride of our Melanesian nations. During the service, a member of Peter To Rot’s family brought forward the relics of the saint, creating a powerful link to his spiritual legacy.

As we celebrated World Mission Month in October, under Pope Francis’s theme: ‘Missionaries of Hope Among all Peoples’, the SVD Australia Province came together in Melbourne for the triiennial Provincial Assembly, and it truly was a time of Missionary Hope.

With my term as Provincial drawing to a close, along with our 150^th Jubilee Year celebrations, I came away from the Assembly with a grateful heart.

Pope Francis's Laudato Si’ became a voice in the wilderness echoing for the care of our common home. Everyone has to share in the task of healing the wounds and abuses inflicted on our Mother Earth, reflects Fr Jun Perez SVD for the Season of Creation.

We, the human beings, who are called to be stewards of God’s creation, what have we done to all the creatures in our midst? They are part and parcel of our existence. We need to co-exist in this planet we called home.

A Synodal Church is a listening Church, and the whole point of Synodality is mission, said Archbishop Mark Coleridge in the fifth and final Jubilee Webinar hosted by the SVD Australia Province.

Archbishop Coleridge, who is the Archbishop Emeritus of the Archdiocese of Brisbane and an accomplished Biblical scholar, spoke on the theme: ‘Witnessing to the Light: From Everywhere for Everyone – from a Synodal Perspective’.

The Provincial Assembly for the SVD Australia Province is underway this week, with about 70 missionaries from Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and Myanmar gathering together in Melbourne, along with guest speaker Fr Antonio Pernia SVD, a former Superior-General.

The Assembly began with an opening liturgy on Monday afternoon and will continue through to Wednesday. It also brings to a close the Society of the Divine Word’s 150^th Jubilee celebrations in the Province, and it will be followed by an ecumenical mission symposium later in the week, co-hosted by the SVD and the Australian Association for Mission Studies.

Fr Boni Buahendri SVD has been appointed as the new Provincial Superior of the SVD Australia Province for the next triennium, and will take up his new role in January, 2026.

Fr Boni, who is currently parish priest of St Mark’s Parish, Inala, said that while the role of Provincial has many challenges, he accepted it with humility and hope and looked forward to working together as a team with members of the Province, the communities that they serve, lay collaborators and friends.