Mentoring Programme

At St Paul’s, there are a number of people that mentor students that are candidates for priesthood in the Catholic Order of Divine Word Missionaries. The Divine Word Missionaries are a congregation of men with an active presence all over the world. The training base for the SVD in the Australasian region is in Box Hill at the Dorish Maru College of YTU.

We assist the students by reading and correcting their grammar and English expression. We also enjoy discussions on matters of common interest or critical non-judgemental topics such as issues of protestant-catholic differences.

Our work with the students is important because the students are international with varying degrees of English language competency. Our current students come from Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, China, Mexico, Ghana, and Madagascar. They live, work and study together at their Dorish Maru community in Box Hill.

Each mentor develops their relationship with their student differently. Regular coffee dates, football matches, and family meals are just some of the ways we get to know each other. Occasionally, we visit their church, and we were very excited to welcome them into our church when they visited us.

There are many perks of being a mentor. One of our favourites was their Annual Mission Day Mass and Dinner, and their Christmas parties. The singing and delicious international is spectacular! The biggest perk, however, is the lifelong friend you gain.

We would gladly welcome anyone interested in becoming a mentor, and encourage you to contact us if you have any queries.