Born in India, Father Lourdu Raju Chavvakula SVD has been working as a missionary in Hungary since 2005. He did his theological studies in Hungary, professed his perpetual vows in 2010 and was ordained a priest in 2012. After working as an assistant parish priest for one year, he was appointed the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation coordinator for six years to work with the Romani (gypsy) community. Since 2019, he has been mission secretary for the Hungary Province.
Father Jerome Alburo SVD was born in the southern Philippines. He was ordained a Divine Word Missionary priest on Dec. 3, 2016, in Tagaytay City. His first assignment was to Madagascar. After spending two years studying French and Malagasy, he spent five years as assistant parish vicar at St. Tamaro Parish in Ambatondrazaka. Now back in the Philippines - Southern Province, he is a chaplain at Holy Name University in Bohol.
Father Daniel J. Bauer SVD recently celebrated his golden jubilee as a priest. Ordained in 1974, he was born in Toledo, Ohio, and was educated in Divine Word Missionary institutions in Ohio, Iowa and Chicago. He holds a master’s degree in philosophy from Depaul University and a doctorate in comparative literature from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Fr. Bauer has lived in Taiwan for 41 years. Now retired, he taught for 36 years at Fu Jen Catholic University in Taipei as an associate professor of language and literature.
Father Carlos Javier Villavicencio Paladines SVD was born in Zamora, Ecuador, in 1980. He joined Divine Word Missionaries in 2006 and professed his first vows in 2009. He studied philosophy and theology at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, where he obtained a degree in dogmatic theology. He completed his Cross-Cultural Training Program in Angola, where he stayed for two years. He professed his perpetual vows in 2020 and was ordained to the priesthood in 2022. He was assigned to Ecuador, where he currently serves as parish priest at Santa Marianita de Jesús parish in the Diocese of Machala.
Father Koffigan Emmanuel Dogble SVD was born in 1981 in Togo. He was ordained a Divine Word Missionary priest in 2014 and assigned to Kenya. He was briefly assistant priest at St. Peter Parish in Ruai before becoming assistant parish priest at Divine Word Parish in Kayole in 2016. While there, he became director of the parish’s affiliated institution, Diwopa Health Centre. He was also the parish’s youth chaplain. In July 2020, he was appointed treasurer of the Kenya Province, a position he still holds.
Father Robert “Bob” Riemer SVD was born in Chicago. After attending Divine Word Missionary seminaries in Wisconsin and Iowa, he was ordained at St. Mary’s in Techny, Illinois, in 1960. His first assignment was to Japan. In Nagasaki, he worked among survivors of the atomic bombing. Later, he went to Nagoya in central Japan for a career in education. Over the course of 40 years, he served as chaplain of students, professor of American studies, president of Nanzan University, and principal of Nanzan International High School. After retiring from academic work, Fr. Riemer worked as a chaplain for hospice care at Holy Spirit Hospital in Nagoya. Currently, he resides in Divine Word Seminary in Nagoya.
Father Edoh Adolphe Anato SVD was born in Togo in 1985. He began his formation as a Divine Word Missionary in his home country in 2010. After his postulancy, he went to America to complete his studies in Epworth, Iowa, Techny, Illinois, and Chicago. He also spent two years in Panama as part of the Cross-Cultural Training Program. He professed his final vows in 2020 and was ordained to the priesthood on May 22, 2021. After his ordination, he returned to Togo to serve for three years as a parochial vicar in a parish in Lomé. In September 2024, he transferred to the Brazil - Amazon Region and now serves as a parochial vicar in a rural town called Jamanxim in the state of Para.
Father Anselmo Ricardo Ribeiro is the current superior general of the Society of the Divine Word. Originally from Rio de Janeiro, Fr. Ribeiro joined Divine Word Missionaries in 1998, made his first vows in 1999 and made his perpetual vows in 2004. He was ordained to the priesthood in 2005 and assigned to the Brazil - North Province. His duties there included serving as rector to the Juiz de Fora residence, serving as provincial superior and serving as a member of the executive committee of the PANAM Zone. He was a member of the General Council in Rome before being elected superior general in 2024. His term will end in 2030.
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