SVD
Generalate

Our Founder St Arnold Janssen, a man for all times,  established schools to prepare young boys to become missionaries. Arnold-Janssen-Gymnasium, which formed part of the Mission House of St. Wendel’s in Saar, in the southwest of Germany, was founded in 1898, as a traditional minor seminary. So also St. Rupert’s, Bischofshofen in Salzburg, Austria, in 1904. At the core of SVD identity lies the missionary call of our founder. His daring vision to send missionaries across cultural boundaries, even in the face of obstacles, was powered by deep prayer, intellectual commitment, and pastoral zeal.  As the Society spread its wings to other parts of the world, together with other missionary activities, seminary formation was initiated and given importance with similar zeal and enthusiasm. We are truly ever grateful to every committed and devoted formator, because of whom the Society today is one of the leading missionary congregations in the Catholic Church.

The heart of any religious congregation beats through its formation houses. For the Society of the Divine Word (SVD), formation is not just about preparing formandi for vows and ordination; it’s about sculpting hearts for mission. In a world that’s changing rapidly – religiously, culturally, and politically – our formation must respond with relevance, depth, and vision. We look at reality through global perspectives. Today all our PRM are intercultural and international. With over 5800 members serving across 77 countries, SVD is a truly global congregation. This global identity calls for a formation that is equally global in its spirit, intercultural in its method, and deeply rooted in the Word of God. SVD formation today is, therefore, not merely a topic of reflection, but a defining pulse of our future mission.

Formation is the soil where missionary seeds are planted, nurtured, and grown to maturity. It is where the Word becomes flesh in the lives of the formandi preparing to be Divine Word Missionaries. Truly, formation is the missionary heartbeat of the Society. The recently published, Ratio Formationis Generalis (SVD Formation Manual) paves way for the formandi to be deeply rooted and committed to one’s religious missionary vocation as a priest or brother. 

As the world continues to undergo a lot of changes, the Church too faces challenges of secularism, polarization, religious pluralism, environmental crises, mass migration and the effects of AI. Mission today isn’t what it was a few years ago. Hence, we are to form missionaries not just for our traditional ministries, but for prophetic dialogue with a synodal spirit, borderless service, and courageous witness. In this way we prepare them to be faithful and creative disciples in the wounded world.

We insist on the essential dimensions of SVD formation. Through Spiritual dimension we help the formandi to establish deep roots in God’s Word and to be grounded in Eucharistic life, regular prayer, biblical reflection, and a personal relationship with Jesus, in order to bear missionary fruit. This dimension is the inner engine that fuels lifelong missions.

Human dimension helps the formandi to experience emotional maturity, empathy, relational honesty, and psychological integration. Given our international nature, human formation prepares the formandi  to live joyfully in multicultural communities. Intellectual dimension trains minds as well as hearts. Our formation which is integral, includes appropriate philosophical and theological training, focussing on gaining pastoral intelligence – thinking with the Church and the Society keeping in mind the poor, marginalized and those at the peripheries. Through the pastoral / missionary dimension, we expose the formandi to diverse contexts and situations in order to embrace the world with Christ’s eyes.

As missionaries, we do live and serve in communities. Formation instils the values of shared leadership, mutual respect, collaborative decision-making, and international brotherhood. Our formation is a journey, not a one-time event. From candidacy to final vows, and to ongoing formation, it’s a lifelong journey. Personal growth doesn’t end at ordination / final vows – it evolves with mission, age, experiences and global trends. The intercultural character of SVD Formation teaches patience, openness, adaptability, experience and appreciation of diversity. It prepares our future missionaries for the reality of global communities and multicultural realities.

From initial formation, we equip our formandi to adopt and engage in prophetic dialogue. Amidst the people of other faiths, cultures, the poor, ideologies, and life situations, we train them to listen deeply and speak gently. Prophetic Dialogue has been a preferred mode of our mission in all situations. In the journey of formation, the role of the formators is crucial. They walk beside the formandi, listen with empathy, challenge with love, and discern with the Spirit. Their role is pivotal in shaping resilient, joyful, and faithful missionaries.

In our formation today, we echo the Church’s call for synodality—journeying together in communion, participation and mission. Through community meetings, feedback loops, and collaborative learning, formandi are empowered to be leaders who consult, discern, and unite. The fourfold characteristic dimensions of our Society become an integral part of formation and a way of life for the formandi.

The challenges that we face in formation today are our opportunities to further our commitment to the mission. Declining number of vocations in some of our zones remind us to engage in creative vocation promotion activities. The post-modern trends have given rise to individualism and digital distractions among the formandi. We need trained and experienced formators to accompany the formandi. There is an increased existential problem of cultural misunderstandings and shallow commitments among some of the young confreres. Yet, these are invitations for us to create, innovate and deepen our methods of formation programs–through psychological accompaniment, digital media awareness, pastoral immersion, and synodal discernment.

Our Brothers play a vital role in our missionary journey and have sustained our mission in many parts of the world through their experiences and prayers. They continue to support the formation programs by being close to the formandi, the youth, people and communities. From the beginning of our Society, our founder had a clear vision that through the power of the Holy Spirit, each confrere is called to be a missionary.

There are hopeful signs and positive indications of an optimistic future. Many formandi show incredible enthusiasm for mission, simplicity, and service. New models of online learning, international collaboration, exchange of formators and formandi are the realities in the Society. The Spirit is alive! Thus, SVD formation today is about empowering missionaries of hope, building bridges of dialogue, and setting hearts on fire with the Word of God. The Jubilee Year of the Catholic Church emphasizes that through our journey of faith and hope, we trust in God’s providence and share our hope with others. In a similar path, let us continue to invest intensely in our formation programs because the future of our mission – and our congregation – depends on the formandi we form today.

Fr. Superior General Anselmo Ribeiro, SVD
and the Leadership Team