Divine Word Missionaries
SVD in Papua New Guinea
Since 1896 Divine Word Missionaries have lived and worked in Papua New Guinea, from the Sepik coast and Madang to the valleys of the Highlands, as pastors, teachers, broadcasters and neighbours.
Our mission in PNG
Papua New Guinea occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and is home to more than 800 languages. The Divine Word Missionaries came in 1896 and have stayed, serving in dioceses from the Sepik coast to the Highlands, among them Madang, Wewak, Mount Hagen, Kundiawa, Wabag, Goroka and Port Moresby.
Today more than 100 members from 14 countries, Papua New Guineans among them, make up the SVD community: bishops, priests, brothers and men in formation. Every three years they gather in a Chapter in Madang to evaluate and plan their life and ministry together.
They work in parishes, schools, a university, health care, media and seminary education, wherever the people of PNG and the Church need them.
Our story in PNG
1896
Led by Fr Eberhard Limbrock, six Divine Word Missionaries from Germany land at Madang on 13 August 1896 and soon settle on Tumleo Island, off the Sepik coast. The invitation had come from Rome and was welcomed by the founder, Arnold Janssen.
1897 – 1914
The first school opens in July 1897. Between 1900 and 1914 a chain of mission stations rises along the north coast, including Bogia. A support base in Sydney opens in 1900, and in 1906 the Holy Spirit Sisters arrive.
Early 20th century
The mission follows the Sepik and Ramu rivers inland, opening the way to exploration of the interior.
1934
After aerial reconnaissance reveals the Wahgi Valley in 1933, missionaries from America and Germany, among them Fr Henry Aufenanger, set out from Wilya with 72 local helpers. Fr William Ross, the first American SVD in PNG, would spend the rest of his life in the Highlands, walking from village to village to train catechists.
1942 – 1945
Japan's campaign for New Guinea brings occupation. By the end of 1942 mission stations are looted, occupied or destroyed and missionaries are taken prisoner. More than a hundred Divine Word Missionaries are martyred on the prison ships Akikaze and Yorishime Maru.
1945 – 1968
New missionaries, many trained at the Techny seminary in the United States, join the rebuilding. New dioceses, Mount Hagen and Goroka among them, are carved out of the old mission territory and entrusted to the Society. In 1968 Divine Word High School opens in Madang.
1975
In the year Papua New Guinea becomes independent, Leo Arkfeld SVD becomes Archbishop of Madang.
1979 – 1996
Divine Word High School becomes Divine Word Institute in 1979 and Divine Word University in 1996.
2021 – 2026
In 2021 the SVD celebrates 125 years in PNG, with the Superior General of the Society visiting Madang. In January 2026 the Diocese of Kundiawa hosts three days of celebration for 150 years of the Society worldwide and 130 years in Papua New Guinea.
Where we serve
Divine Word Missionaries serve in the archdioceses of Madang, Mount Hagen and Port Moresby and in the dioceses of Wewak, Kundiawa, Wabag and Goroka.
Madang Province
Where it all began in 1896. Home to the SVD Central House and Divine Word University.
East Sepik
Tumleo Island and the Sepik coast. Here the Word often travels by canoe.
National Capital District
Divine Word Missionaries also serve in the archdiocese of the nation's capital.
Western Highlands
An archdiocese and gateway to the Highlands mission, which began nearby at Wilya in 1934. The Catholic radio station Trinity FM broadcasts from here.
Simbu
The first Highlands diocese to welcome SVD missionaries, with stations from Denglagu to Mingende. Schools and health facilities followed.
Enga
A diocese that grew out of the Mount Hagen mission and serves the whole of Enga Province.
Eastern Highlands
A diocese serving the Eastern Highlands Province, carved out of the original mission territory.
How we serve
Divine Word Missionaries in PNG are involved in parishes, education, health, media and seminary education, and in the research and culture that help the Church listen to the people it serves.
i.
From cathedral parishes to bush stations, we celebrate the sacraments, train catechists and accompany communities.
ii.
Schools, catechist training and Divine Word University, where young people from across PNG and the Pacific study.
iii.
Health facilities established by missionaries care for communities, many of them far from town.
iv.
Catholic radio such as Trinity FM in Mount Hagen, and publishing through Word Publishing, producer of the Wantok newspaper, and Wirui Press.
v.
Founded by SVD and SSpS missionaries, the Melanesian Institute is a centre for studying Melanesian cultures and society.
vi.
Seminary education prepares new priests and brothers, including a growing number of Papua New Guineans.
Education
What began in 1968 as a Catholic high school in Madang has grown into a university for students from across Papua New Guinea and, increasingly, the wider Pacific. It is privately governed with some government support, ecumenical and coeducational, and aims to educate the whole person.
SVD and SSpS missionaries also started the Melanesian Institute, Word Publishing and Wirui Press, landmark institutions in the life of the country.
1968
Divine Word High School opens in Madang.
1979
It grows into Divine Word Institute.
1996
Divine Word University is established.
A shared mission
From the first journeys, local carriers, catechists and leaders were essential. Today the mission is carried by Papua New Guineans and missionaries from other nations, side by side.
From day one
Pioneer missionaries walked with local helpers and trained catechists village by village. Communities in the Highlands still remember the carriers and guides who made the first journeys possible.
Mission both ways
The SVD in PNG has sent 18 Papua New Guinean priests and brothers on mission to 12 different countries.
Reaching remote places
In the Diocese of Wewak the Word often travels by canoe, and supporters have helped missionaries buy boats and engines to reach distant villages.
Learn more
Three stories from the mission, each with its own page.
Sources and further reading
This page is a short summary compiled from public sources. Figures such as membership refer to the dates given.
One Society, many nations
From a former inn in Steyl to six continents: the story of the Divine Word Missionaries.