Vision
The Divine Word Institute of Mission Studies is an institute whose heart is mission. It is called to form persons of prophetic dialogue and communication in the service of the Word, the Church, and the World.
Mission
To achieve this vision, the DWIMS is committed to providing avenues of learning about the mission in contemporary times. It provides studies and research, as well as outreach programs to make Missiology truly intercultural, interreligious, and public theology
Brief History of the Divine Word Institute of Mission Studies
From the suggestion of the SVD Generalate’s Secretary for Mission, Fr. Tom Aschemann, SVD (08 April 2003) and the encouraging support of Visitator General Fr. Michael McGuiness, SVD (15 October 2004) to the recommendation of Superior General Fr. Antonio Pernia, SVD (letter dated 11 December 2004), and the endorsement of the ASPAMIR Coordinator, Fr. Stanislaus Thanuzraj, SVD (letter dated 29 July 2006), the Provincial Superior of the Philippines SVD Central Province, Fr. Nielo Cantilado, SVD appointed an Ad Hoc committee to help concretize the offering of graduate courses in missiology at the Divine Word Seminary-Tagaytay.
The establishment of the DWIMS is a response to the proposal of the General Administration of the Society of the Divine Word of setting up a missiological institute in Asia and the Pacific on account of the shift, at the turn of the millennium, of the center of gravity of the Catholic Church from the “global North” to the “global South.” This proposal was presented to the eighteen (18) Provincial Superiors of the SVD Asia-Pacific Zone (SVD-ASPAC) who responded positively. It did not take long until the Philippines was singled out as the most appropriate location due to several factors, e.g., geographical centrality, widespread use of English, ease of obtaining entry visas, and the presence of a vibrant local Church. The Divine Word Institute of Mission Studies (DWIMS), however, is a separate entity from the Divine Word Seminary-Tagaytay (DWST).