In December, Father General Anselmo Ricardo Ribeiro SVD, the Society of the Divine Word’s first South American-born superior general, visited the Chicago Province. Six months into his six-year term, he graciously answered questions from Theresa Carson, director of Public & Media Relations. Father Guilherme Andrino SVD provided translations between Portuguese and English.

Thank you, Father General Ribeiro, for making time to talk about your position as superior general of the Society the Divine Word and the congregation’s unique role in the Catholic Church. What were your first thoughts after the final ballot when you realized that you had been elected superior general?

When the election result was announced, I didn’t have time to think about much. To get to that moment, we had a process of individual discernment and a lot of group work. In addition, I was involved with the international preparatory commissions for the General Chapter. [Once every six years, the Society of the Divine Word undergoes an extensive discernment and planning process that begins in the local SVD communities and culminates in elected delegates gathering outside of Rome to determine the direction of the congregation for the next six years.] So, at the time of the election, I felt committed to that chapter assembly and to the decisions it was making. My answer could not be different, I said yes.

What do you hope to accomplish in the first year as superior general?

It's hard to talk about expectations and accomplishments. We must always keep in mind that the Holy Spirit is the protagonist of the mission. Each superior general with his General Council has sought to be faithful to what the previous General Chapters have asked of them and, at the same time, has sought to respond to the challenges of the moment.

In the last six years, we have had something totally unexpected, which was the Covid 19 pandemic, not to mention the consequences of the last wars that are still ongoing. I have the impression that these events will be considered in the future as a watershed. Therefore, I think that from here, we need to seek a new path for the mission.

One of our tasks as a leadership team is to encourage SVD missionaries and all lay mission partners and stakeholders involved in the mission to set foot in this new reality of the 21st century. It seems that we are talking about the future, but in fact, we are already 25 years away from the last century. In other words, it is about coordinating our present in this new time. In short, we need to review our missionary methods and plans for the present context. We have 150 years of mission, and we want to be able to continue working in evangelization in the years to come.

As Divine Word Missionaries minister to a wounded world, what do you see as the world’s deepest wounds?

We are part of a large family that includes the missionary Servants of the Holy Spirit, the Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration, and the Lay Associate missionaries. We still have a network of collaborators in the mission who are our benefactors, employees, friends and our family. I have no doubt that our presence around the world makes a huge difference in people’s lives. Father Heinz Kulüke, former superior general, used to say that the world would be poorer without our presence. That is true.

Our last General Chapter (2024) listed current wounds, such as social and cultural, economic and political, physical and psychological, and environmental wounds. There are still wounds within the Church itself and in our congregation. But before discussing each of them, the capitulars affirm that the wounds that contemporary people experience lead us to a gesture of empathy, to alleviate pain, suffering and to heal them. And he also states that by embracing our own wounds as SVDs, we become sensitive to the wounds of others.

From what I have seen, our missionary presence, as well as that of the other members of the family of St. Arnold and many of our collaborators, has been a breath of fresh air to those who suffer, while at the same time it has transformed us throughout our history.

A 2018 America magazine article stated, “When Pope Francis speaks about a poor church for the poor, he echoes the best of Catholic social teaching and Latin American theology, sharing the heart of Jesus’ message.” What else can the universal Church learn from our Latin American brothers and sisters?

The Catholic Church is always enriched by different world realities, including those of Latin America. In recent years, the Church has been more open to the representation of these realities. Being in Rome, I see how the structures of the Church have welcomed lay people, women, religious and leaders from the most distant places. An example of this is the appointments that Pope Francis has made to the College of Cardinals.

In terms of ecclesial experiences, I see that the Church, as a whole, can be further enriched by the contribution of Latin American lay men and women. I had a missionary experience in Mexico in the early 2000s. In Chiapas, our parish with more than 60 communities could only function with the participation of catechists.

Another contribution of the Latin American churches is that of welcome and inclusion. No one should be abandoned. The understanding of synodality as communion-participation-mission has been experienced by communities in the central and southern Americas for a long time. I was born in 1974, and I have known no other model of Church than that of engaged communities, where laity, religious and clergy walk together.

Finally, the Latin American cosmovision brings with it a care for nature and sensitivity to those who suffer. If a brother or sister suffers, something must be done to alleviate that suffering or transform the reality that causes that pain or exclusion. In the same way, Creation is part of life, or rather, we are all part of creation, and consequently, we must treat it as a “mother.”

You are known for motivating the laity and encouraging collaboration between Divine Word Missionaries and laypeople. Why have you championed this trend?

I believe I answered this question earlier when I spoke about my experience in the Church. I have not known any other model than that of the effective participation of the laity. Over time and with my missionary formation, I was able to understand that this commitment of the laity is actually a consequence of the baptism that we have all received and the missionary vocation that stems from it.

In my family, we were all committed to our small community. Catechists, animators, service to the poor, prayer groups. We didn’t have a full-time priest in the parish; it was the lay men and women who coordinated everything. So, I can say that I am the fruit of this reality, and I continue to believe that promoting the missionary vocation of the laity is nothing more than reminding them of the baptismal commitment of each one.

Pope Francis has called everyone to be missionaries. How is the Society of the Divine Word uniquely prepared to help people recognize their role as missionaries?

Since the 2012 General Chapter, the Society of the Divine Word has recognized that formally associated lay groups are part of Arnold’s family. But that’s not all. From the time of our foundation, St. Arnold Janssen had the collaboration of lay people who were committed to the mission. Today we are expanding our understanding of mission and, as I have already said, through our baptism we are all summoned and sent to witness to new life in Jesus Christ.

The Society of the Divine Word has been promoting the formation and spiritual accompaniment of these lay people who wish to commit themselves more directly to our charism. In the same way, in our parishes and institutions we commit ourselves to forming young people and families in the perspective of mission, giving them “tools” in the areas of communication, the Bible, missionary animation, and justice, peace and the integrity of creation.

Other Divine Word Missionaries have said that you have a gift for recognizing others’ talents and placing them where they are needed. What do lay partners offer?

Thinking about the laity, whether they are liberal professionals, workers, fathers of families, involved in social issues or active participants in political issues, they will always help us to broaden the vision we have of reality. We don’t know everything and, even if we know a lot, we can’t act alone. The experience of faith takes place in community; our mission happens in collaboration; the transformation of reality happens through partnerships. The laity offer us a vision of reality that we often do not manage to have.

How do you envision the role of laypeople in the Catholic Church in the future?

They are in their places of life and mission—in the world of arts, work, culture, education, in the family. From the trips I have made—visiting our provinces, regions and missions—I can say that there are many Christians who live their faith in their daily lives and in their particular contexts. With this I say that the Church is there with each one of them.

On the other hand, within the ecclesial structure, I still do not see the presence of these lay people and, in some cases, nor the appreciation of what they represent in the Church. I imagine that in the future the laity will be able to contribute effectively to the processes of discernment and decisions within the Church. This will be done based on the life experience they have, in the realities where they are inserted.

The Aparecida Document of 2007 calls for a missionary focus, calling to all people to be missionaries, meeting people where they are and having a special focus on migrants and the marginalized. These themes also have been present in the SVD General Chapters during the past 16 years. How do you account for these similarities? Did one influence the other? Is it the work of the Holy Spirit?

When we talk about the Church and the Society of the Divine Word, we are all in the same boat. We suffer the same storms and are driven by the same wind. We serve the Church in the mission that is God’s. In a special way, we go to the geographical and existential peripheries.

Quoting what the Second Vatican Council said: “The joys and hopes, the sorrows and anxieties of the people of today, especially the poor and all those who suffer, are also the joys and hopes, the sorrows and anxieties of Christ’s disciples.” In this way, what the Congregation of the Divine Word has reflected on and the way it has acted is a response to the calls of the Spirit to the Church.

Some say that the Synod will lead to a new institutional model for the Church. How might that model look?

It seems ironic to think that the Synod on Synodality brings great novelty to the Church while what is proposed is precisely to return to the evangelical model, centered on Christ, where everyone shares his gifts and is committed to the mission. The key words of this process are communion, participation and mission. Communion in Christ, participation of all and witness to the Gospel. I think it is the original model of the Church. Does this lead us to rethink the institution? That’s good! So, we must think about all the institutions within the Church, including the model we have as a congregation.

To be a missionary one must regularly discern God’s will, which is a lifelong process. How do you personally approach the discernment process?

Discernment is a gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church. All of us, the baptized, are the Church. This gift is given to us for the good of the community and must be exercised in community. In the general visits that I have made in the last six years, I have always stressed the importance of community discernment through listening to God’s will through His Word, the reality that surrounds us, and sharing with our brothers and sisters.

Personally, I seek to discern in this way, and I am still learning. It is not easy, because there is much that interferes with our listening to God’s will. In communication, we say that there are noises. That is why I say that I am learning and, for that, I must exercise this practice of listening with my community. In the end, there is always a feeling of consolation. We seem to have reached a point where we don’t have to say anything anymore, and we look at each other with the satisfaction of having arrived together at a certain place. I think here we have something of the Spirit blowing and comforting.

Thank you again for making time to answer these questions. Is there a question that I did not ask that you would like to answer?

I would like to say something about the moment that the Society of the Divine Word is experiencing, that is, its Jubilee Year. We are celebrating the 150th anniversary of our foundation. This period that began at our Motherhouse in Steyl, Netherlands, will extend until September 2025 with a solemn thanksgiving in Rome. It’s a way of saying that we left Steyl for the world, that we are from all parts to all people.

On behalf of the entire Society of the Divine Word, I would like to express our great joy for this historic moment and thank God for all that He has done for us, missionaries of the Divine Word, and through us. By using us for mission, God has been shaping us as a missionary community.

And, finally, I thank each benefactor, collaborator and partner of our missionary journey. From the beginning, it has been like this; we have had and have people committed to the mission who walk with us and without whom we could not get to where we are. On behalf of the entire Society of the Divine Word, our thanks and prayers for all of you.