The Divine Word Missionaries Australia Province has launched the Jubilee Year for the 150th anniversary of the Society of the Divine Word, the first of many Sesquicentenary events to be held throughout the year.
The occasion in Melbourne was a double celebration, also featuring the priestly ordination of Cuong Quoc Dang SVD, who will continue the missionary legacy when he takes up his first assignment to Angola.
The inauguration Mass of the SVD’s 150th anniversary year. PHOTO: SVD.
Brisbane Auxiliary Bishop Tim Norton SVD presided at the Mass and was ordaining prelate. He was joined by the Australian Provincial Fr Asaeli Rass SVD, other SVD priests and students, diocesan and visiting clergy.
The Mass, at St Martin de Porres Parish in Melbourne’s Avondale Heights, began with emcee for the celebration, Christopher Boss SVD, outlining the significance of the opening of the Jubilee Year.
“Today, the 8th of September, 2024, the Society of the Divine Word, also known as the Divine Word Missionaries, celebrates 149 years since St Arnold Janssen founded this religious congregation of missionaries, priests and brothers,” he said.
“From its humble beginnings in Steyl, the Netherlands, to today, the Society of the Divine Word has become one of the fastest growing religious congregations worldwide, blessed with almost 6,000 missionaries, working in 79 countries around the world.
“On this very special day, with gratitude, we celebrate the opening of the Jubilee Year of the 150th anniversary of the Divine Word Missionaries.”
This was followed by the presentation of four key symbols for the Jubilee: The Word of God, representing St Arnold’s dedication of his missionary religious congregation to Jesus, the Divine Word; the Globe, highlighting the fact that SVD members come from 76 nationalities and serve in 79 countries; the 150th Anniversary Logo which represents the 150 years of journeying as witnesses to the light of the Divine Word; and the Jubilee Candle, symbolising the Light of Christ.
The theme of the Jubilee Year is, ‘From Everywhere for Everyone: Witnessing to the Light’.
As the Jubilee candle was presented to Fr Rass and lit, Christopher said: “Called by God, we are sent to witness to the Light in the wounded world.”
“The lighting of this candle is to remind us of our universal call to witness to Christ, the Light of the World. And especially today, we the SVD of the Australia Province officially open the Jubilee of the 150th anniversary of the Society of the Divine Word under the theme, ‘Witnessing to the Light: From Everywhere for Everyone’.”
After lighting the candle, Fr Rass led the congregation in praying the official 150th Anniversary Jubilee Prayer, before the ordination Mass continued.
Later, he addressed the congregation, saying The Society of the Divine Word is the 6th largest missionary order in the Catholic Church, with members working in all continents except Antarctica.
“One hundred and forty-nine years ago, on the 8th of September 1975, a ‘child’ was born in Steyl, Netherlands, during the height of European colonialism, and an anti-Christian and anti-human totalitarian system in the 20th century. The ‘child’ was dedicated to the Divine Word and named after him, the Society of the Divine Word,” he said.
“Impelled by the love of Christ (2 Cor 5:14-15), St Arnold Janssen, our Founder, dreamt of a missionary movement capable of freeing people from the darkness of sin by the light of the Word and spirit of God’s grace.
“Since Christmas day almost 2000 years ago, the Word became flesh in Jesus of Nazareth to proclaim the kingdom of his Father’s love. Today we continue the same mission to bring the Good News to all nations and proclaim his father’s liberating love.”
The SVD Jubilee Year will run from September 8, 2024, to the 150th anniversary of Foundation Day on September 8, 2025, and will feature a range of celebrations in the Australia Province, which includes Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and Myanmar, and around the world.
Fr Yon Wiryono SVD, a member of the Province’s Sesquicentennial Team said the opening of the Jubilee Year was particularly special, being combined with Fr Cuong’s ordination.
“It was great that it took place in the parish where Cuong had completed his diaconate pastoral ministry, because it meant that many people, beyond the SVD family, could get to know about our SVD mission and our milestone this year,” he said.
“We are very grateful for the contribution of the St Martin de Porres Parish community, Fr Nhan Le and all parishioners for hosting the dual celebrations.”
Fr Anthony Le Duc SVD, a member of the Australia Province based in Bangkok, travelled to Melbourne for the celebration and said the inauguration of the Jubilee Year taking place as the prelude to the ordination of Cuong was simple, yet beautiful.
“It set the tone not only for the immediate event, the ordination, but for the various activities planned for the year. It invited us to take a journey for the whole year of the Jubilee,” he said.
SVD seminarian, Gusty Siga, said the ordination and anniversary celebration was “a beautiful event”.
“The presence of three choirs was really special – the St Martin de Porres Choir, the Vietnamese Choir and the Indonesian Choir, playing the Angklung, and Indonesian traditional musical instrument, was amazing,” he said.
“And then after the Mass, the Keysborough Vietnamese Youth performed a dragon dance outside, which was enjoyed by everyone.”
Gusty said that during the lunch the SVD confreres also officially launched the Jubilee song, entitled, ‘Witnessing to the Light’.
The Jubilee inauguration took place during the ordination Mass of Fr Cuong Dang SVD.
Jakub Doktor, a seminarian from Slovakia, who is in Australia as part of the SVD’s Overseas Training Program, said he was impressed by the almost 600 people who attended the Mass and for the lunch, provided by the community, which followed.
“I really enjoyed the multicultural aspects of the celebration,” Jakub said. “People came from everywhere, including four indigenous people from the Tiwi Islands, who travelled such a long way to support Cuong who had spent five months mission experience with them. They also performed two Tiwi Islands songs. It was just beautiful.”
SVD parishes around the Province marked the opening of the 150th Jubilee Year with a similar liturgical ritual, according to their own situation and celebrations have been planned throughout the Province during the anniversary year.
Four important webinars have been planned, focusing on the four characteristic dimensions of the SVD – Biblical Apostolate, Communication, Mission Animation, and Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation.
This is a slightly abridged form of an article published in In the Word, the e-publication of the Divine Word Missionaries Australia Province.