Fr Boni Buahendri SVD this month marked the 25^th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood with a multicultural Mass and celebration hosted by the parishioners of St Mark’s Parish, Inala in Queensland.

Fr Boni said the celebration was a time to give thanks to God for his missionary vocation and to all the people he has journeyed with along the way.

Working in a large, multicultural parish in the Wellington Archdiocese, New Zealand, has both challenges and joys, but for Fr John Quang SVD, it’s one of the best assignments he’s ever had.

“I love it in New Zealand. I’m really happy here,” he says.

Students from the SVD formation house, Dorish Maru College, have closed their text-books for another academic year and are heading off to local parishes to gain first-hand pastoral and intercultural experience.

Seven newly arrived students who have been undertaking their English-language courses or their first year of Theology studies at Yarra Theological Union will participate in the SVD Students Summer Acculturation Program.

The people of Holy Family Parish came together in Ingleburn recently to welcome their new parish priest, Fr Henry Adler SVD.

Holy Family Parish is a big, vibrant, multicultural parish on Sydney’s south-western outskirts, comprised of the two communities of Ingleburn and Minto.

The rural atmosphere and a warm welcome from the local community has ensured that Fr Francois Andrianihantana SVD is feeling right at home in his first missionary assignment in Emerald, Queensland.

Fr Francois, who was born and raised in Madagascar, was ordained to the priesthood in Melbourne on November 27 and arrived in Emerald Parish in January this year.

Two Divine Word Missionary priests were installed as Parish Priest and Associate Pastor in a Townsville pastoral community last month in ceremony conducted by Bishop Timothy Harris who invoked the example of the Holy Trinity as a model for community and parish life.

Fr Joseph Reddy SVD and Fr Clement Baffoe SVD were installed as pastors of the Ministerial Region of the Good Shepherd in the coastal North Queensland city.

It’s been a period of fond farewells and new beginnings for Fr Sunil Nagothu SVD, as he hands over the leadership of St Maximilian Kolbe Parish in Marsden, Queensland and prepares to take up a new ministry at the Janssen Spirituality Centre in Victoria.

Fr Sunil has been Parish Priest at St Maximilian Kolbe for seven years and was farewelled by his parishioners in a heart-felt celebration earlier this month.

The St Mark’s Inala community came together in all its multicultural richness recently at a special Mass to celebrate the 65^th anniversary since the establishment of the parish.

The day was extra joyful because it marked the first time since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic that the church was filled to capacity.

Mission is about more than bringing God’s love to people in far-off lands – it’s also about sharing God’s love with people closer to home, in our parishes and communities, and it’s a responsibility for all Christians.

Fr Asaeli Rass SVD is the Provincial of the Divine Word Missionaries AUS Province, which covers Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and Myanmar, and he says there’s never been a more exciting time to be engaged in mission.

When Fr Rajaskhar Reddy SVD, found himself stranded at home in India during the COVID border closures, he saw first-hand how hard-hit the Indian people were by the impacts of the virus.

Fr Raja was in India for three months’ home-leave at the beginning of this year and was due to return to his parish in Thailand in March, but just a week before his departure, Thailand announced it was closing its borders.