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Ministry

A young Hindu man in India has just left the doctor’s office after having received free treatment for his lingering infection and is surprised to find out that the doctor who treated him was also a Catholic priest and a Divine Word Missionary, Fr. Pat Pais, SVD. Thousands of miles away another Divine Word Missionary, Fr. Lawrence Correa, SVD, walks from his U.N. office in New York City to approach a United Nations delegate regarding an issue before that international body concerning social justice. In Memphis, Tennessee, six Divine Word Missionaries – Two Vietnamese, one African-American, one Korean, one Croatian and one Argentinean – live together in an international community while taking care of the pastoral needs of six parishes. The Memphis Diocese is under the direction of another Divine Word Missionary, Bishop J. Terry Steib, SVD. Still another continent away Fr. Tam Tran, SVD, works with Aboriginal people in Australia. At Fu Jen University in Taipei, Republic of China, a Divine Word Missionary, Fr. Frank Budenholzer, SVD, Ph.D., prepares an advanced class in chemistry. In Thailand, Bro. Damien Lunders and two other Divine Word Missionary brothers assist at a center for men and women afflicted with the scourge of AIDS. These examples are only a few of the ministries in which Divine Word Missionaries serve throughout the world.

The Society of the Divine Word (SVD) is the only major religious congregation of men which has shown steady growth in the Church over the last 30 years. Currently, there are over 6,000 SVD priests and Brothers working in more than 65 countries around the world. The growth of the Society can be attributed to many factors, one being the Society’s ability to respond to the changing needs of the Church and the people it serves. St. Arnold Janssen, the founder of the Society of the Divine Word, had a strong personal interest in science and thus felt it essential that the missionaries in his congregation be well-educated and have a range of professional skills to assist in the development of missionary work throughout the world. This emphasis on education, in addition to the internationality of the Society, has helped the Society grow as it ministers to the needs of those across the globe.

Divine Word Missionaries are involved in primary evangelization, in parish work in mission churches, or work with immigrants in first-world countries. They teach in primary, secondary, or university settings. SVDs serve in formation programs which prepare future priests and brothers. Divine Word Missionaries work in the areas of communications, Biblical apostolates, various technical trades, social justice issues, administration, and business. With openness to the direction of the Holy Spirit and the needs of the modern Church, the possibilities for a young man who aspires to become a Divine Word Missionary are endless.

Click on the globe to see where in all the world you can find Divine Word Missionaries!

The following are a few of the ministries where one might find an SVD serving the Church:

• Adult, Youth & Family Programs and Services
• Peace and Racial Justice
• Evangelization
• Bible Training
• Retirement centers for Priests and Brothers
• After School Youth Programs
• Teen Counseling
• Conference and Retreat Centers
• Drug/Alcohol Counseling
• Seminary Formation
• Chaplaincy in Prisons and Hospitals
• Family Counseling
• Pastoral and Sacramental Ministries in Parishes
• Economic Development and Self-Sufficiency Programs
• Lay Leadership
• Healthcare Ministries
• Education in Primary, Secondary, and University Settings
• Religious Education Programs
• Food Pantry and Shelter Assistance

The real ministry of the missionary though is not through his academic credentials or training, but rather that he is first and foremost a “religious” – a man of prayer and faith. The most important part of the ministry of any Divine Word Missionary is beautifully expressed in the Preamble of the Constitution of the Society of the Divine Word: “He made the goodness and kindness of God visible in his life and service to all.” No higher complement can be paid to any missionary.