Divine Stories

From distrust to awe, trucker converts to Catholicism in West Virginia.

Food pantries managed by Divine Word Missionaries serve as a lifeline for families in West Virginia. In addition to national inflation, many West Virginians suffer from persistent poverty, the type of poverty that lasts for generations. Missionaries like Father Thien Duc Nguyen SVD provide food that keeps them fed when federal government assistance runs out. Annually, Father Thien buys more than 200 turkeys for Thanksgiving. This year, he and his volunteers anticipate that they will need many more to meet the need. During the past year, they have been helping between 330 and 350 families each month. You can provide a Thanksgiving meal for someone who is suffering.

I have the privilege of working with the Hispanic immigrant community on the beautiful islands of Antigua and Barbuda in the Caribbean. It has been both a joy and a challenge. While it brings me great joy to see the progress and success of our programs and spiritual care, it also can be difficult to witness the hardships that these diligent people face.

Our missionaries strive to live in intercultural harmony both within the society and on mission with those from other cultures. We call it, “Prophetic Dialogue,” by what we mean interacting respectfully with people from other cultures and traditions. Welcoming, understanding and accepting the rich cultural diversity of its members and people we serve.

My experience of emigrating from Colombia to the United States was very good. I had a visa, so I did not have any problems entering the country. I have been a member of the parish for the past fourteen years and have been active in many areas.

This story is about three people: a teacher, a student, and a pastor who is an SVD missionary. It is set at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Community in Lakewood, New Jersey, which has one of the largest Hispanic communities in the Diocese of Trenton.

Many of our missionaries are privileged to work alongside some extraordinarily talented members of the parish staff. One such missionary is Fr. Bob Kelly, SVD, who serves as the pastor of Our Lady of Africa Parish in Chicago. He works closely with staff member, Ladell Johnson, whose gifts for serving others in challenging and painful circumstances are seemingly limitless.

Very few of us have to cope with the challenge of living in a neighborhood with a high crime rate. Beyond that, very few of us will ever have to cope with the loss of a child. Genoria had to cope with both. When her daughter was killed in the crossfire between two gangs, our SVD priests came to her aid. Read more about her story and how your support helped.

Fr. Thierry Koula, SVD completed his formation program at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, was ordained in 2016, and is now serving in Chad in Central Africa.

The food pantry at Risen Lord Church in Maysel, Clay County, West Virginia is just one example of how we are responding. It used to provide food for 105 children a week through its backpack program at an elementary school in Clay County. When the local schools closed at the beginning of the pandemic, it served 1,167 students during the first week.