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Monday, 29 January 2018 11:26

January feast day celebrations for SVD saints 

St Arnold’s feast day was on January 15, the date of his death in 1909 in Steyl, Holland. He was the founder of the Divine Word Missionaries, as well as two orders of Religious Women, the Servant Sisters of the Holy Spirit and the Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration.

St Arnold began his priestly life as a diocesan priest in his home country of Germany, but these were difficult times for the Catholic Church in Germany. Bismark unleashed the ‘Kulturkampf’ with a series of anti-Catholic laws, which led to the expulsion of priests and religious and to the imprisonment of many bishops.

With the support of a number of bishops, Arnold inaugurated the mission house on September 8, 1875 in Steyl, Holland, and thus began the Divine Word Missionaries. On March 2, 1879 the first two missionaries set out for China. One of these was Joseph Freinademetz.

St Joseph stayed for many years in China, during turbulent political and cultural times, and he faced many challenges, but he came to know and love the Chinese people and was loved by them in return.

“I do not consider missionary life as a sacrifice I offer to God, but as the greatest grace that God could ever have lavished upon me,” he said.

Meanwhile, back in Steyl, from practically the very beginning, a group of women, including Blessed Maria Helena Stollenwerk, served the mission house community as volunteers. But their wish was to serve the mission as Religious Sisters. The faithful, selfless service they freely offered, and a recognition of the important role women could play in missionary outreach, urged Arnold to found the mission congregation of the “Servants of the Holy Spirit,” SSpS, on December 8, 1889. The first Sisters left for Argentina in 1895.

Today, the members of the Society of the Divine Word, the Missionary Sisters and the Perpetual Adoration Sisters number about 10,000 and are present in 80 countries around the world. The Divine Word Missionaries are the largest international missionary congregation in the Catholic Church.

Rector of the SVD Marsfield Community in Sydney, Fr Mikhael Loke, says the SVD and SSpS communities came together on St Arnold’s Feast Day for a Mass celebrated by Fr Frank Gerry SVD.

“Frank gave us a very inspiring homily during Mass about some important aspects of St Arnold’s life and how those examples can inspire us and guide us in our missionary work serving God’s people,” Fr Mikhael says.

“He also mentioned briefly the life example of St Joseph Freinademetz, Blessed Maria Helena and Blessed Joseph SSpS.”

Celebrations for St Joseph’s Feast Day included a Mass celebrated by Fr Wim Valckx SVD and a social dinner.

Other SVD and SSpS communities in the Province celebrated the Feast Days in a similar way in their own location.

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