Looking forward, looking back: Divine Word Missionaries turn 150
By Joseph Tulloch
In 1875, Arnold Jansen, a young German priest, founded the Society of the Divine Word.
Today, the Society has more than 5,700 missionaries, and is present in 79 different countries.
Its members, commonly known as Verbites or Divine Word Missionaries, are dedicated to the Society’s four “characteristic dimensions”: the Bible, communication, missionary work, and social justice.
They are also celebrating the Society’s 150th birthday. In view of the upcoming anniversary, Pope spoke to Fr Maxwell Wullar, a Ghanaian priest based in Rome, where he serves as the Society’s English-language Secretary.
Creative discipleship
The theme for the Society’s recent General Chapter meeting, Fr Wullar explains, was “Your Light Must Shine Before Others: Faithful & Creative Disciples in a Wounded World”.
As the Society celebrates 150 years, he says, its aim is to develop this model of 'creative discipleship' in each of its four characteristic dimensions.
In the missionary apostolate, this means “working with people of the ground”, particularly in “very rural areas where the Word of the Lord has not yet been adequately spread.”
In terms of communications, the Verbites are interested in promoting “responsible” use of social media, as well as helping to “develop an ethics” around artificial intelligence.
With regard to justice and peace, says Fr Wullar, there is “so much to do”, in particular with regard to climate change.
And, in their biblical apostolate, the Society is hoping to “really testify to the Word of God in the world", in particular by “identifying better with our name as Divine Word Missionaries”.
Recognising mistakes
All of this, Fr Wullar notes, is happening in the context of “a world with a lot of wounds, especially war and extreme poverty”:
As the Divine Word Missionaries approach their 150th anniversary, he adds, they have to acknowledge that some of those wounds “have been created by we religious, and the broader Church."The Verbites “want to recognise that fact”, Fr Wullar says, “and work, first of all, toward making amends.”
And, he says, they need to continue to “put into place structures that will prevent, from our side at least, the creation of new wounds for the people with whom we interact.”
Falling in love with the mission
As the interview drew to a close, Fr Wullar said he wanted to add one final point.
“I'm happy”, he stressed, “to be a Divine Word Missionary. As I’ve been working here in Rome in the Generalate, my eyes have been open to really see the kind of work our confreres have been doing all over the world. I said once to some friends that I've fallen more in love with the Divine Word Missionaries since I came here to Rome, because I've been exposed to the wonderful work that our congregation has done over the years, and is still doing, and will continue to do in the future.”
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