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News & Events

NZ Church reopening altar 150“Finally we got a real church, not a barn!” the faithful of the St Patrick’s church community in Wainuiomata, New Zealand, exclaimed when the church reopened after extensive earthquake repairs.

Cardinal John Dew, the Archbishop of Wellington, blessed and reopened the newly renovated and strengthened building last month. Local Maori leaders, Anglican pastors and community members and parishioners from right across the Parish of the Holy Spirit were also present.

Thailand chapter 150Nine Divine Word Missionaries working in the Thailand District of the SVD AUS Province gathered together recently for their Local Chapter meeting.

The meeting was part of their preparations for the Provincial Chapter meeting, to be held in Sydney in February, and the 18th General Chapter, to be held in Rome later next year.

Fr Elmer Biblical Apostolate 150Helping people to access the Bible, understand its ongoing relevance, and apply it to their daily lives is the chief hope of Fr Elmer Ibarra SVD in his new role as Bible Coordinator for the AUS Province.

Fr Elmer says he is delighted to be taking up his new position because it is central to the life of the Divine Word Missionaries.

 

Jim Knight and Vincent Mai 150Fr Vincent Mai SVD was born in Saigon, Vietnam, and since being assigned to the SVD AUS Province, has ministered in Alice Springs, Santa Teresa, and now Katherine, in the Northern Territory. Here Vincent shares his story, along with his hopes for his new parish assignment in the Top End.

"My hopes for ministry in Katherine are that, in my role as priest, I can share and proclaim the Good News for my sisters and brothers here as much as possible."

 

When the going gets tough staircase 150One of the faithful religious nuns who was present on my farewell day from a mission experience I took part in during 2010 dropped a card into my hands which is for me an all-time inspiration: “Life is a journey consisting of different steps of staircases.

Whenever you get to one set of stairs, there will always be a platform leading to another. Don’t get discouraged on the way. Take every step as a challenge and move forward”. These words of encouragement and zeal kept me going even when the going got tough.

 

Sunil solar panels 150The roof of St Maximilian Kolbe parish in Kingston-Marden, Queensland is freshly adorned with rows of solar panels – a concrete sign of the parish community’s commitment to playing its part in preserving God’s creation in the spirit of Pope Francis’ Laudato Si.

Parish Priest Fr Sunil Paul Nagothu SVD says parishioners have worked hard to raise funds to support the transition to renewable energy, with the purchase and installation of the solar panels now providing a sustainable power solution for the parish.

 

Truc group in Rome 150A renewed commitment to sharing resources for SVD Mission and Communications around the world was one of the chief outcomes of a special meeting held in Rome recently.

The Mission Secretary for the SVD AUS Province, Fr Truc Quoc Phan, was among a group of Directors of Mission Offices and Communications Offices from various nations who attended the special gathering.

 

Fr Gregory Pinto SVDMembers of the SVD AUS Province and Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters joined together in July for their annual retreat, based on the theme of ‘A holiday with the Lord’.

The retreat was led by Fr Gregory Pinto SVD, who travelled from Rome, where he is currently serving his second term as a member of the General Council of the Divine Word Missionaries.

 

Friday, 28 July 2017 18:02

"Our Languages Matter" - they sure do

Fr Henry Adler SVD close hs 150The Australian Indigenous celebration of NAIDOC Week this year was especially meaningful to me because of its theme, which was: “Our Languages Matter”. Perhaps it struck an extra chord with me because of our SVD parish of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in Alice Springs being involved with the launch of the Arrernte Language Short Bible during NAIDOC Week, which, after 30 years in translation, was a wonderful achievement.

But further than that, it spoke to a truth that we, as Divine Word Missionaries give great priority to, and that is, that all languages certainly do matter to those people who speak them and they should matter to all who wish to engage with people of another culture.

 

Wednesday, 28 June 2017 18:25

Joy as Arrernte language Bible launches

Arrernte Bible 150A significant milestone for the people of Central Australia will be celebrated this Sunday with the launch of the Bible translated into the local Arrernte language – a project which has taken more than 30 years to come to fruition.

The ‘Angkentye Mwerre’ Eastern and Central Arrernte Shorter Bible will be launched by the local Aboriginal people of Santa Teresa and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish, Alice Springs, in a special Mass on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday in NAIDOC Week.

 

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