“We have never been more alive”: A Story from New Zealand
How one priest’s realization that something had to change helped set a Christchurch parish on a new course
Bishop Brian Mascord: Join us this October at Renewed & Sent
Bishop Brian Mascord of the Diocese of Wollongong has a special invitation for parish leaders across Australia and the Asia Pacific. As his diocese prepares to host Renewed & Sent: Parish Renewal Summit this October, Bishop Brian shares his hope for parishes to become ever more vibrant communities of faith—places of encounter, discipleship, worship, mission, and hope. Watch his invitation…
Welcoming our new CEO
Divine Renovation is grateful to welcome Brett Powell as our new Chief Executive Officer.
This appointment follows a season of careful discernment, prayer, and consultation. Throughout the search process, we were accompanied by the prayers of our staff, board, and partners around the world.
We are deeply thankful for that spiritual support.
“It Made a Huge Difference”: A Parish Renewal Testimony
Mario didn’t just find a parish — he found a mission. In this…
Bishop Rene Ramirez RCJ: A Heart Remade for Mission – A Story of Parish Renewal
A little over a decade ago Bishop Rene Ramirez, a priest with the Rogationists of the Heart of Jesus priest (RCJ), had never served as a parish priest. Listen as he shares his conversion of heart for evangelization and the process of leading parish renewal in his previous parish, Holy Family Parish – Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne, Australia.
In the Valley of Dry Bones: A Letter from New Zealand
When I was training for priesthood and close to ordination, I spent some time in Napier with an older priest who was preparing to leave ministry as I was preparing to enter it. Tim Hannigan, one of the last Irish priests in NZ had become a firm friend and mentor to me. Well after he had departed this life, I remember returning to his grave for a chat – to ask him what was to become of me. I was struggling and I asked for his help, his prayers. I felt lost, I was depressed, racked with anxiety, I guessed I had probably misread my priestly calling – I didn’t realize it was so crushing. There I was in a cemetery; I was in Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones. At a loss for what could be done in a parish, I figured that life in a monastery might be my best option to run to.
Parish life was doing me in.
And then, one day, I heard a message that was to change my priestly ministry and give me hope.
Transformation in New Zealand: Hope and Renewal Summit
Before sharing what happened over the weekend of the Hope and Renewal Summit, it may help to give…
From Death to Life: A Letter from Australia
Not long ago, I received a letter from a parishioner that pierced me deeply. He wrote bluntly: “I don’t want to be part of a moribund parish.” I never heard of the word moribund, so I did not initially bother. Then later on, I deeply reflected on the word. Moribund basically means dying. He actually told me in that letter, he did not want to be part of St Kilian’s because it’s dying.
The word hit me hard.
Evolving in Darwin: A Story from Australia
Six years ago, Father Dave stepped into the role of parish priest for the first time. As a member of the Missionaries of God’s Love, his vocation had been focused on formation for novices. But now he was in Darwin, Australia, at Holy Spirit Parish.
He was told by a couple of local priests, “Don’t expect anything to happen in Darwin.”
Fr. Tien Cao: Answering the call of renewal in rural New Zealand
“The Lord gives me new strength, new energy and new people along the way.”
In the heart of rural New Zealand, in a parish spread out 100km, Father Tien and his team are bringing hope and renewal through a focus on mission.
