Fr.Joseph Reiners
The Divine Word Missionaries came to Japan in 1907. The first to arrive, Fr. A. Ceska, with two companions, started with a parish in Akita, and the work spread through Akita, Yamagata, Niigata, Ishikawa, Toyama, and Fukui prefectures (provinces), along the Japan Sea coast. This area became the Niigata Diocese of which Fr. Reiners was appointed the first prefect apostolic. (Fr. Ceska continued as SVD superior.) Later, the three last mentioned prefectures with the addition of Aichi and Gifu became the Diocese of Nagoya. Msgr. Reiners was transferred here as prefect apostolic, and he was succeeded in Niigata by Msgr. Ceska.
In 1930 the monastery at Tajimi was founded and became the SVD Provincialate. In the next twenty years, under the direction of Fr. Reiners, Nanzan Schools were founded, covering the range from Junior High School to University. The Provincial Center was transferred to Nagoya, and the Seminary at Nagoya was established.
The 1950s saw a boom in the expansion of parishes and the building of new churches, particularly in Nagoya. Also at this time the Nanzan Schools in Nagasaki were founded. In this way, with equal emphasis on pastoral work and education, the Society's work continues today in Akita, Tokyo, Nagoya, and Nagasaki.