Volume 36 No. 2 | Winter 2026 8 Society Matters Three young missionaries take final vows and are ordained deacons Three young SVD seminarians professed their final vows as Divine Word Missionaries earlier this year and were ordained as deacons as they continue their journey towards the priesthood. Agustinus Buu Araujo Siga, SVD (Gusty), Antonius Kristanto Papalesa, SVD (Krisna), and Anthony Khanh Ngoc Nguyen, SVD (Khanh) made their final profession at St Paschal’s Chapel, Box Hill, in Melbourne on Saturday, March 21, before being ordained to the diaconate in the same chapel the following day. The three made their final vows, as nine of their fellow SVD students professed their temporary vows for one more year. In his opening remarks, Provincial, Fr Boni Buhaendri SVD, thanked each of them for their generosity in responding to the Lord’s calling to a consecrated life. He welcomed those family and friends gathered in the chapel as well as watching overseas via livestream, saying that in making their vows, the seminarians would “give yourself entirely to Jesus, vowing poverty, chastity and obedience”. Later, in his homily, Fr Boni, commenting on the Gospel reading from John’s Gospel, “I give you a new commandment, love one another just as I have loved you”, said that Jesus’ inexhaustible love for us is the love we draw from when answering the commandment to love others. “The nature of God is love, and therefore, we are challenged today to show that kind of love to one another without limit,” he said. “In times of difficulty, brothers, always remember the one who calls you today.” Fr Boni said that along with loving God and loving others, www.divineword.org.au A Newsletter of the Divine Word Missionaries Inc - Australia Province Donations to the SVD AUS Province Overseas Aid Fund can be made online at www.divineword.org.au or by mailing to Divine Word Missionary Appeal Office, Locked Bag 3, Epping NSW, 1710, Australia. +61 2 9868 2666 @svdaus Society Matters the foundations of religious life also include a firm commitment to prayer and to community life. At the conclusion of the Perpetual Vows Ceremony and the celebration of the Eucharist, Gusty spoke on behalf of himself, Krisna and Khanh, thanking everyone for being present, including Gusty’s parents who made the journey from Indonesia to Melbourne, and Krisna’s father, also from Indonesia, with Khanh’s family watching the ceremony online from Vietnam. “Today we have made our perpetual vows. That means we have promised our lives to God and to the Society of the Divine Word forever,” Gusty said. “When people hear the word ‘forever’, they sometimes look at us with a mixture of admiration and a little concern, like, ‘Are you sure about this?’ “But standing here today, surrounded by our families, friends, formators, community, we can honestly say, ‘Yes, we are sure’. “But we did not arrive here alone. It’s because of so many helping hands, so many supports that we’ve experienced throughout these years.” The following day, Gusty, Krisna and Khanh were ordained deacons during a Eucharistic celebration at St Paschal’s Chapel, presided over by Melbourne Auxiliary Bishop Thinh Xuan Nguyen. Bishop Thinh told the three young men that deacons are called to serve people and to proclaim the Word. “Today, Gusty, Krisna and Khanh, you are not simply receiving a title of deacon, you are receiving a mission, a mission to serve,” he said. Gusty, Krisna and Khanh have now received their first missionary assignments, which they will take up after their ordination to the priesthood in November. Gusty has been assigned to the Australia Province, Krisna to Ghana and Khanh to Slovakia.
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