A Time of Grace: The General Visitation to the AFRAM Zone
A successful and comprehensive General Visitation (GV) to the AFRAM Zone concluded on November 30, 2025. This intensive sexennial exercise, which began on 28 July 2025, served as a profound time of grace and a vital expression of the Society’s communion. The Visitation reflected the Generalate’s deep commitment to the personal, communal, and missionary well-being of nearly 700 SVD members in the Zone, including those in the initial formation.
Verbo Divino Global Education: A “New” SVD Mission Priority
The XIX SVD General Chapter 2024 formally approved a Recommendation that the education ministry be recognized as a new priority among our SVD missionary apostolates worldwide. For a good number of provinces, in fact, education is already a well-established priority. What’s “new” is the realization that the time has come for a more comprehensive SVD approach to education ministry, one that provides for the articulation of common orientations, contextualized missiological frameworks, and institutional collaborative endeavors across PRMs worldwide.
The Mission and Integrity of Creation
We have returned to normal. On September 8, we concluded the Jubilee Year. What inspiration and motivation do we carry forward for our mission? How can we bear witness to the Light as faithful and creative disciples in a wounded world shaken by multiple crises, including the worsening ecological crisis?
Caring for creation is part of our mission and heritage.
Faith Remembered, Future Embraced: The Lessons of the Jubilee
As we are closing our sesquicentennial Jubilee, we are invited to reflect once more on this milestone of our history. Our “150th Anniversary Prayer”, translated into many languages, has been used in all our PRMs since we started our Jubilee in September 2024 with the opening Eucharistic celebration in Steyl.
SVD Formation Today: Nurturing Missionaries for a Prophetic Calling
We are celebrating the 150th anniversary of our Society with the theme, “Witnessing to the Light; from everywhere for everyone,” thanking God for His blessings, renewing our commitment to Missio Dei, and deepening our formation through creative, faithful service inspired by St. Arnold Janssen.
The Quest for Identity: Divine Word Missionaries’ Journey
Like most other religious institutes, our congregation has been engaged in the quest to refine its identity and its expressions throughout its 150-year long history. The Generalate publication “Witnessing to the Word” (#5, VI 1980) titled “SVD Identity: Religious-Missionary,” defined the SVD identity as the integration of religious life and missionary vocation. This identity was meant to be expressed through a rigorous practice of the evangelical counsels and missionary work according to the well-established traditional Catholic models. This rather straightforward perception of identity and mission prevailed until the end of the XX century.
To Pope Francis, in Grateful Memory
We, the Missionaries of the Divine Word, in communion with the whole Church and with people of goodwill who have worked with him toward a better world, unite in these words of gratitude to our shepherd. As religious and lay members of the Divine Word Family, we have walked alongside him during these 12 years of his pontificate. The legacy that Francis leaves to the entire Church is vast. Here, we can only outline a few aspects to help express our recognition and gratitude.
Our Priorities for the Sexennium 2024-2030
Dear Confreres,
We have been celebrating the yearlong Sesquicentennial Jubilee of the Foundation of our beloved Society at different levels and in a variety of ways befitting our community contexts and involving the people we serve and our partners in mission. We cherish with gratitude the amazing story of our providential journey of 150 years as Divine Word Missionaries in responding to the mandate of the Missio Dei. This occasion has created opportunities to tell our stories, learn lessons from our history and seek more creative and faithful ways of responding relevantly to different situations and generations.
A Journey of Hope in a Wounded World
For the Jubilee Year 2025, Pope Francis consigned the Bull of Indiction, Spes non confudit. “Hope does not disappoint” (Romans 5:5). He envisions a pilgrimage of hope, both for those traveling to Rome and for those celebrating in their local Churches.
Called to Become Faithful and Creative Disciples of the Light in a Wounded World
As we enter 2025, we seek divine guidance as disciples of the Light. In keeping with Pope Francis’ call to rekindle hope in this Jubilee Year, we also begin the 150th anniversary of our history, reaffirming our commitment to bring hope to all.
