November 5, 1837: St. Arnold born in Goch, Germany, to devoted Catholic parents with 10 children.
August 15, 1861: St. Arnold ordained a priest for the Münster Diocese.
January 1874: St. Arnold begins publishing Little Messenger of the Sacred Heart, a magazine aimed at communicating mission news and encouraging Germans to support mission activities.
September 8, 1875: St. Arnold opens the Mission Seminary in Steyl, Holland, founded The Society of the Divine Word, also known also as Societas Verbi Divini (SVD).
1877: St. Arnold opens the Mission House for retreats and promoted the lay retreat movement.
March 2, 1879: St. Arnold sends the first two SVD missionaries to China, Fr. Joseph Freinademetz, SVD and Fr. John B. Anzer, SVD.
December 8, 1889: St. Arnold co-founds the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit, a congregation of religious sisters serving the missions.
1889: Missionary work expands to Argentina.
1892 - 1909: Missionary work expands to Togo, Brazil, New Guinea, Chile, U.S.A., Japan, Paraguay, and the Philippines.
December 1896: St. Arnold co-founds of the cloistered sisters, Sister-Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration.
January 15, 1909: St. Arnold dies at Steyl, Holland, at the age of 71.
November 5, 1909: Fr. Nicholaus Blum elected second superior general of the Society.
January 20, 1913: Arrival of Fr. Noyen in Timor.
December 2, 1919: Mozambique missionaries arrive at Steyl.
March 25, 1923: Arrival of the first missionaries in South Honan, China.
October 10, 1938: First missionaries arrive in Ghana.
September 22, 1947: Opening of the seventh general chapter.
March, 1 1954: First men arrive in Taiwan.
June 1962: First men arrive in Mexico.
October 12, 1970: General assembly of generalate and provincials begins in Nemi.
October 19, 1975: St. Arnold beatified in Rome by Pope Paul VI.
November 12, 1977: Fr. Henry Heekeren elected eighth superior general.
February 24, 1981: Mission starts in Botswana, Africa.
October 5, 2003: Saint Arnold canonized in Rome by Pope John Paul II; Divine Word Missionaries establish first house in Russia.
2019: Divine Word Missionaries launches Mission Impact in order to encapsulate their founder’s mission with the tangible missionary impact from across the world.