The SVD - What Is It?

The Society of the Divine Word is a religious congregation of priests and Brothers founded in Holland in 1875 by St. Arnold Janssen as a foreign missionary society whose members work “first and foremost where the Gospel has not yet been preached at all or only insufficiently, and where the local Church is not yet viable on its own” (SVD Constitutions).

Members work in the following countries:

Europe: Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy (International Headquarters), Moldavia, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Serbia, Siberia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine, Yugoslavia.

North America: Canada, Mexico and the United States (AR, CA, DC, IA, IL, IN, LA, MA, MO, MS, NJ, PA, TN, TX, WI, WV).

Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua, Cuba, Montserrat, Jamaica, Nevis, St. Kitts.

Latin America: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Uruguay.

Asia: China, East Timor, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand.

Oceania: Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea.

Africa: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Chad, Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

The Society of the Divine Word has more than 6,000 professed members, including 45 bishops, 3,820 priests, 653 Brothers, 82 Brothers in temporary vows, 1,043 major seminarians and 407 novices worldwide.

These impressive numbers witness to the declaration stated in the prologue to the Society’s Constitutions: “God’s loving grace has gathered us from various peoples and continents into a religious missionary community dedicated to the Divine Word and named after Him, the Society of the Divine Word” (SVD Constitutions).