Society
Of The Divine Word

The commemoration featured liturgical celebrations, symbolic gestures, historical representations, and moments of profound reflection, where the richness of a charism that transcends cultures, languages, and borders became visible. It was a time to give thanks for the journey traveled, to honor those who sowed with faith, and to renew the commitment to a mission that continues to be urgent, relevant, and transformative.

It is in this context that this publication was born, gathering a series of narratives that combine word and image to bring to life the key moments of this missionary history. From the beginnings in Steyl to the arrival on Paraguayan soil; from the first boats on the Monday River to the flags of the world waving in our communities, each scene is a living testimony of the Gospel incarnate in history and among peoples.

These narratives not only recount facts: they convey the soul of the mission. They reflect silent dedication, lived interculturality, trust in Providence, and the fire of the Spirit that continues to send forth. Today, 150 years after that first step, we keep walking—grateful, hopeful, and certain that the Word continues becoming life among the people.

Images that tell the mission: history, faith, and shared life

Images speak—sometimes more than words. And when mission becomes living history, each photograph, each scene, and each symbol turns into a narrative that connects the past with the present and projects us into the future.

This publication is not merely a historical overview. It is a spiritual journey that takes us to the humble origins of a great missionary work and to the corners of the world where that dream still beats. From the small house in Steyl to the banks of the Monday River, from the silent steps of the first missionaries to the flags of the world waving on Paraguayan soil, every story presented here is embodied memory, lived faith, and charism in motion.

Behind every image are real people: men and women who left their land to announce the Gospel, children who carry flags with hope, communities that welcomed with faith, and a Spirit that continues to blow with force. These scenes do not only show us what was: they inspire us to continue walking, to continue building an open, missionary, and intercultural Church.

Because the mission does not end. Each image is an invitation to remember, to give thanks, and above all, to continue.

The Mission House of Steyl – December 8, 1875: The humble beginning of a mission without borders

In this image, the Mission House of Steyl, with its simple architecture and bare bricks, rises as a sanctuary of beginnings. No golden domes or striking stained glass windows. Only a door opening into history and a date that changed the course of thousands of lives: September 8, 1875.

It was here that St. Arnold Janssen, with more faith than resources, founded the Society of the Divine Word. It was a bold gesture for his time, driven by a deep conviction: that the Word must be proclaimed “to all, everywhere, and by all means.”

The image conveys stillness, but it holds within a spiritual dynamism. Each stone, each window of this house witnessed the birth of a missionary vision that would soon cross continents, languages, cultures, and challenges. From this modest corner of Steyl, men and women would set out to the most remote places of the world, carrying with them the living Word of God.

Today, as we look at this house, our hearts are filled with gratitude—not only for what it represents as the cradle of the SVD, but also for the spirit still breathed within its walls: humility, prayer, dedication, and a radical trust in Providence.

It was not a palace. It was a house. But in it was born a mission as vast as the world. And from within it, a promise first resounded—a promise still alive 150 years later.

St. Joseph Freinademetz and the flag of China: My language is Chinese, my homeland is China, my life is for them

In this image, filled with memory and meaning, the portrait of St. Joseph Freinademetz appears beside the flag of China, as if the past still beats in the present. His gaze—serene yet firm—seems to cross time and continents, contemplating the land he loved, served, and where he gave his life.

The flag waves strongly. Its red and golden tones highlight the courage of this first Divine Word missionary, sent in 1879 from Steyl to a faraway and unknown China. He carried no riches or power—only the Gospel, the language of love, and an unbreakable will to become one with the people he was called to serve.

Every fold of that flag could tell a story: of learning, of encounter, of deep incarnation. Joseph Freinademetz did not just preach in China; he became Chinese with the Chinese, learned their language, lived their culture, and died among them—loved and remembered as one of their own.

This image is more than a tribute: it is a testimony. It represents the moment when mission ceased to be theory and became concrete life. And inscribed upon it, alongside the flag, resounds his immortal phrase: “The language of love is the only one that everyone understands.”

In every missionary sent forth today, in every community that humbly embraces the faith, the spirit of Joseph Freinademetz lives on. He was not only the first—he was the seed of all.

Arrival at Monday – January 28, 1910: Calm waters, profound mission

The scene is serene. A wooden boat glides gently along the waters of the Monday River, surrounded by reverent silence and vegetation still unaware of the history about to begin. It is January 28, 1910, and on that boat travel the first Divine Word Missionaries heading into the unknown, with one certainty in their hearts: faith is also sown with steady and silent steps.

At the front, Fr. Francisco Müller gazes at the riverbanks. The river is both mirror and path; each stroke of the oar moves them away from the secure and closer to the missionary dream of St. Arnold Janssen. Beside him, other brothers share the weight and the hope, while the waters of Paraguay embrace them with Guaraní hospitality.

But not everything was easy. Upon reaching Monday, the promised land turned out to be a swamp: dampness, mud, and silence. Far from giving up, they decided to continue upstream in search of firm ground. There, near the mouth of the Hilariocué stream, they planted their faith in the form of humble huts built of palm leaves, sustained by prayer and courage.

This image does not show a triumphant landing, but an act of silent bravery. There were no crowds or applause. Only the echo of the water, the song of the jungle, and eight men convinced that from that hidden corner of southern Paraguay, the Gospel could flourish.

Every boat that arrives with love carries the weight of history. And this one, arriving on January 28, 1910, carried the missionary seed that still bears fruit today.

Arrival of the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit – August 15, 1920: With the waters of the river came the tenderness of mission

The sky was still damp from rain when a small boat appeared at the bend of the Monday River. It was August 15, 1920, the feast of the Assumption of Mary, and the mission land was receiving more than visitors: the first Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit were arriving.

The waters shone like mirrors polished by faith, and over them arched a majestic rainbow, as if the heavens themselves were celebrating the arrival of these brave women, bearers of comfort, education, and compassion. The jungle, silent witness to so many arrivals, quivered with joy under the birds’ song and the whisper of the trees.

Among them came Sister Bertha, with a simple cross around her neck and a smile as wide as her vocation. In her eyes shone both the reflection of the river and the firmness of one who knows she has been sent to love and to serve. With her came other sisters, hands ready to teach, to heal, to pray, to accompany—to live.

The image captures that eternal instant: the crossing of an invisible threshold between call and surrender, between journey and encounter. From the shore, the Divine Word Missionaries awaited them with contained joy. The mission of Monday—still young and challenging—at last received the feminine heart of the Church, come to tenderly care for what had been sown with such effort.

There was no thunder, yet there was glory. No thrones, but an altar of moist earth and enkindled souls. The rainbow blessed. The river embraced. And the history of the mission was divided in two: before and after the arrival of the Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit.

St. Arnold Janssen, the flag of Paraguay, and the flag of the Vatican: A vision that reached the heart of America

The image of St. Arnold Janssen, founder of the Society of the Divine Word, stands framed between two flags: that of Paraguay, vibrant and proud, and that of the Vatican, symbol of the universal Church. This visual triptych speaks of roots, mission, and destiny, like a fulfilled prophecy.

Arnold does not appear alone. He is accompanied by the colors of a land which, though far from his native Germany, was profoundly marked by his work: Paraguay, the country that welcomed the first Divine Word Missionaries in 1910. More than a century later, that flag waves as a living tribute to those who arrived by boat, cassocks soaked with faith and backpacks filled with hope.

On the other side rises the Vatican flag, white and yellow, representing the communion of this charism with the Church’s universal mission. Between the two, Arnold, with serene countenance, seems to look toward the future: a community of missionaries, religious, laity, and young people, working together, guided by the Word made flesh.

This image is more than ceremonial: it is a visual narrative of how a spiritual intuition born in Steyl became concrete presence in Guaraní lands, with Paraguayan accent, peasant hands, and Latin American heart.

Flags do not only represent countries. Here, they represent souls, paths crossed by faith, and a history written with dedication. The image invites us to keep walking, as Arnold dreamed: with courage, with dialogue, and with the Gospel lived in daily life.

The flags of the world on Paraguayan soil: One Spirit, many faces

In this image, the wind waves gently over a row of colorful flags. They are not just national symbols; they are faces, languages, stories, and vocations that have taken root in Paraguayan soil. They are the flags of the home countries of the Divine Word Missionaries and the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit, who today walk, serve, and joyfully proclaim the Gospel in this Guaraní land.

Each banner represents a life given, a heart that crossed borders to share the Good News with a new accent, but with universal love.

And most moving of all: it was the children of the communities who presented each flag, one by one, with small hands and big hearts. With their traditional outfits, innocent smiles, and determined steps, they became spokespeople of the future, carriers of a profound message: the mission continues in them.

At the center waved the flag of Paraguay, which welcomes them as children, and the Vatican flag, which sends them forth as sowers. Around them, the other flags did not compete—they dialogued, embraced, and complemented one another, forming an authentic missionary rainbow, a visible testimony of the richness of interculturality.

No border can halt the call. No language can close the heart, when the message is love. In every parish, school, urban or rural community, missionaries from every continent live, share, and become one with the people who have received them in faith and hope.

This photo is not only a snapshot of the event. It is a visual testimony of missionary charism in action: many cultures, one Spirit. Many flags, one mission. “That they may all be one” (Jn 17:21). And in Paraguay, that unity is lived daily—under the colors of the world, the smiles of children, and the cross of the Word made flesh.

Conclusion: A story still being written with each missionary step

As we contemplate these images and relive their stories, we do not only look back. We also look within… and ahead. The mission, sown with tears, faith, and hope in distant lands, now flourishes in new generations, in living communities, in concrete gestures of service and fraternity.

Each photograph presented here is a footprint of the past, but also a light that guides the present. From the house of Steyl to the roads of China, from the first steps in Paraguay to the presence of diverse faces under one banner of love, the mission continues.

St. Arnold Janssen, St. Joseph Freinademetz, the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit, and so many missionaries who have given their lives for the Gospel, still speak to us today. They invite us to live with boldness, humility, and openness to the Spirit. They remind us that mission knows no borders when it is born from the heart of God.

May these visual narratives not be mere remembrance, but also a call. May each reader, each observer, feel part of this story still being written—with love, with dedication, with faith.

Because where there is a willing heart, the mission continues.