100th anniversary of the coming of the first SVD missionaries in the Philippines

Our banner presents to us in a graphic way the reasons for our celebration. At the bottom we see three different colors - red, white and blue, the colors of the Philippine flag. Very prominent is the number 100 in yellow-orange, indicative of the 100th anniversary of the coming of the first SVD missionaries in the Philippines. The year 2009 thus marks the centennial of the SVD presence in our country.

The theme of our centennial celebration is "Witness to the Word". Being Divine Word Missionaries, it belongs "to our charism to spread and preach the Word to all people. And one of the most effective ways of doing this is simply to be a "witness to the Word". As we celebrate the 1 00 years of our presence In the Philippines, we have three objectives: "We remember... ", "We rejoice… " and "We renew…"

This year, 2007, as we come together to launch our centennial celebration, we remember our founder, St. Arnold Janssen, who brought the SVD to life 132 years ago. We remember him making the big decision to send the two SVD missionaries, Frs. Ludwig Becker and Johann Scheiermann, to the Philippines in 1909. We remember, too, all the other SVD missionaries who later came and touched our lives, who worked hard and sacrificed much to make the Philippine SVD what it is today. And we remember how, 25 years ago, the mission here had so grown that it was deemed ripe to constitute the three Philippine Provinces (North, Central and South).

In 2008, as we continue our centennial celebration, we rejoice because God has been so kind and generous to us. We rejoice that our founder has become a saint, together with our very first missionary, Joseph Freinademetz. We rejoice as we celebrate the centennial of their death, St. Joseph on January 28, 2008 and St. Arnold on January 15, 2009. We rejoice because God is constantly showing us his loving care and concern as we continue to carry on with our mission.

And in 2009, as we remember our past and rejoice over our bountiful blessings, we celebrate our 100 years of presence in the Philippines and renew our commitment to the Word. In renewing ourselves we consider the four characteristic dimensions of our Congregation and focus on them. We dedicate the first year of the triennium, 2007 to Mission Animation and Communication; 2008 to JPIC (Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation); and 2009 to the Bible. As a sign of our renewal, we commit ourselves even more intensely to the poor and the marginalized, the sick and the outcasts, the children and all those whom our Lord cares for and loves boundlessly.