“May the holy Triune God – the Omnipotence of the Father, the Wisdom of the Son, and the Love of the Holy Spirit – be known, loved and praised by all people.”
What is Ishvani Kendra?
The name Ishvani Kendra combines Sanskrit-derived terms: Ishvani means “Word of God” while Kendra translates as “centre,” creating the compound meaning Centre for the Word of God.
Ishvani Kendra is an SVD Institute of Missiology and Communications located at Sainikwadi, Vadgaonsheri Road, Pune, Maharashtra, India. It is dedicated to missionary formation, missiological research, and media ministry — serving religious congregations, dioceses, and lay movements across India and beyond.
Our Beginnings
Ishvani Kendra’s origins trace to the mid-1970s through Fr. Englebert Zeitler SVD, described as “a great visionary of the Indian church.” After establishing the National Vocation Service Centre, he directed focus toward mission studies and research, perceiving a significant gap in this field despite India’s long history of intensive evangelizing activity.
Fr. Zeitler initiated his vision through a specialized library focusing on evangelization and communications topics, beginning in 1975 within seminary facilities. The official launch of Ishvani Kendra occurred on 26 May 1976.
The building’s foundation stone was laid on 6 January 1979, deliberately chosen for the Feast of Epiphany. During the ceremony, Fr. Zeitler declared the occasion marked a turning point for India’s church, characterizing the future institute as the “nerve centre of revolutionary thinking in the field of evangelisation.”
Our Vision
Ishvani Kendra functions as “a hub of radical new thinking and action, providing inspiration, coordination and assistance in the work of evangelisation to the missionary personnel labouring in the far-flung areas of India and to some extent in the scattered pockets of Christian presence in the Asian continent.”
Fr. Zeitler recognized that reinterpreting Jesus’ missionary mandate remained an ongoing task for successive Christian generations, requiring institutional frameworks rather than isolated individual efforts. He identified a crucial communication dimension, believing authentic mission requires effective communication methods — leading him to design complementary study/research and professional communications departments.
Areas of Involvement
1. Courses and Seminars
The institute’s primary activity involves conducting short-term courses and seminars addressing mission and communications topics relevant to contemporary church work. Topics include:
- The Church’s mission in the new millennium
- Mission orientation for overseas-assigned personnel
- Mission orientation for formators
- Media education for teachers and animators
- Mission-oriented spirituality for evangelizers
- Leadership for mission: courses for superiors
- Personal growth and renewal for mission
The centre has also shifted toward solidarity movements for peace, organizing National Colloquiums responding to violence, terrorism, and fundamentalism threatening Indian unity, diversity, pluralism, and democracy.
2. Communication Department
The Communication Department functions as both a production and training centre for religious and social communications. Activities include:
- Digital film-making courses
- Audio-visual material production benefiting evangelizers and educators
- High-demand audio and video albums containing meditations, instrumental music, and devotional songs in Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, and other Indian languages
- Professional sound recording and video editing services
3. Library and Documentation Department
The library houses approximately 36,000 volumes covering mission and communications topics, with primary focus areas including mission theology, mission history, mass media, world religions, feminist ideology, tribal and dalit thinking, and sociology. The library subscribes to over one hundred scientific journals across specialized fields.
The Documentation Department collects and classifies research materials relevant to secular and religious fields, including newspaper and periodical clippings, newsletters from other research centres, and reports from missiological consultations and theological seminars.
4. Research Seminars
Ishvani Kendra periodically conducts research seminars addressing missiologically significant topics, bringing together academics and innovative field practitioners to reflect on contemporary church mission challenges.
5. Publications
The institute publishes Ishvani Documentation and Mission Digest, a scientific journal appearing three times annually. Each issue contains over one hundred abstracts of articles from national and international reviews.
Additionally, the institute publishes the monthly Mission Scan featuring latest mission news, reflections, statements, and publications, distributed globally via email to friends and supporters.
6. Extension Services
The institute provides renewal program resource persons to dioceses and religious congregations. Staff members teach at Jnana Deepa Vidyapeeth (JDV) — formerly the Papal Athenaeum — located on the same campus.
7. Collaboration with the Bishops’ Conference
Ishvani Kendra works closely with the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) and the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) in efforts to revitalize the Indian Church’s missionary image. The institute has undertaken mission-related surveys and studies requested by the Bishops’ Conference and individual bishops.
Our Facilities
- Conference halls
- Well-maintained library with 36,000+ volumes
- Documentation department
- Fully equipped communications department with state-of-the-art sound-recording and video-editing equipment
- Tastefully designed chapel
- Separate hostel building for residential course participants
Our Team
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Fr. Victor Sagayam Z, SVD | Director |
| Fr. Mathew Kavukatt, SVD | Programme Co-ordinator |
| Fr. Anil T Paul, SVD | Head of Communication Department |
| Fr. Mohan Doss, SVD | Staff Member |
| Bro. A. Vincent, SVD | Administrator |
| Fr. Thomas Malipurathu, SVD | Staff Member |
Our team includes renowned international scholars who are knowledgeable in the fields of Mission, Culture and Communication.