The book is published on the occasion of the celebration of the 100 years of the presence of the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Divine Word in the United States. The purpose is to offer a look at the beginnings of the mission in that North American nation. This volume contains the letters of Arnold Janssen addressed to the Missionaries of the Divine Word and the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit in the United States. It comprises a total of 199 Letters, the last one being written just a few days before the Founder’s death in January 1909.

The editor, Fr. Josef Alt SVD, is particularly concerned with the person and personality of Arnold Janssen. The letters serve as a means of immediate contact with the Founder, offering the reader a look at his reflections and reasoning. On the one hand, they communicate his ideas about the way of proceeding and working, and the dialogues that he had with his collaborators about successes and failures. On the other hand, reciprocal correspondence gives glimpses of important aspects of the men and women who laid the foundations of the work built there in the U.S.

Through these letters, the reader becomes familiar with the human and spiritual profile of the Founder. Without a doubt, they are important components of the Word that as members of the Arnoldus family  we are called to preserve and proclaim.