Biblical Apostolate Coordinators from SVD provinces across the Asia-Pacific region gathered in Penang, Malaysia, recently for a Zonal Assembly.
The Assembly featured keynote speakers, along with time for sharing among the Biblical Apostolate Coordinators about their joys and challenges in living and promoting the Word of God in their own local contexts.
The Divine Word Missionaries had an active presence at the Ignite Conference 2026 in Brisbane, a youth gathering that offered attendees four days of faith, dynamic worship, and community.
Vocations Coordinator for the SVD Australia Province, Fr Joe Jacob SVD attended, along with Deacon Gusty Siga SVD, meeting the young participants and sharing the charism of the Society of the Divine Word with them.
The whole Church has recently celebrated the 100th anniversary of World Mission Sunday, a day which was inaugurated by Pope Pius XI in 1926.
Pope Leo’s theme for this year’s World Mission Day message was ‘One in Christ, United in Mission’ and in it, he thanks missionaries who have left their home and their families to share the Good News. The reality of this was brought home to me on a recent visit to our SVD mission in Balgo, Western Australia.
Three young men who took their final vows as Divine Word Missionaries earlier this year and were ordained as deacons say their diaconate is teaching them how to love and serve God’s people as they prepare for priestly ordination in November.
Deacons Gusty Siga SVD, Khanh Nguyen SVD, and Krisna Papalesa SVD have been serving in various parishes around Australia.
The Holy Redeemer Church in Buengkan Province, Thailand is both a place of prayer and Eucharistic worship and a centre of compassionate outreach for those in need.
Parish Priest Fr Pham Dinh Tuan SVD, who recently celebrated the 15th anniversary of his priesthood, is close to his parishioners, most of whom live a rural subsistence farming lifestyle.
Staff and students at the SVD’s formation house, Dorish Maru College in Melbourne, have farewelled secretary Vicky Cheung, whose presence extended beyond her professional duties to encompass the roles of mentor, friend and mother-figure.
Vicky retired this month after 17 years in the job and her deep contribution to the lives of many young missionaries-in-training was honoured at an emotional farewell function.
Promoting ‘Integral Human Development in a Fragmented World’ calls people to listen to the cries of the vulnerable and to engage in respectful creative dialogue and cultural renewal, said the speakers in the second instalment of the SVD Australia Province’s 2026 online lecture series.
Looking at the theme from the Magisterial and Interreligious Perspectives, the presentation featured distinguished scholars, Fr Sebastian M. Michael SVD and Fr Wilibaldus Gaut SVD.
The parish of St Clement Catholic Church in Chum Phae, in Thailand’s Khon Kaen Province is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.
Parish Priest, Fr Ben Bella SVD, said the relatively small parish is located in a rural area, surrounded by several villages with the church an important centre of faith and fellowship for the local people.
SVD seminarians at Dorish Maru College in Melbourne have put aside their textbooks for the winter academic break and have begun a program of formation workshops alongside parish pastoral placements.
The students, who come from a variety of different countries, say the workshops and practical pastoral experience is helping them to discern and prepare for life as a Divine Word Missionary.
The SVD Australia Province is set to host an engaging new online lecture series this year, exploring the theme, ‘Integral Human Development in a Fragmented World’.
The series, from the Province’s Mission, Education and Research (MER) team, will commence on May 16 with a foundational session on ‘Biblical and Mission Perspectives’, featuring distinguished scholars Roger Schroeder SVD and Vien V. Nguyen SCJ.
