[4989]
…to examine the proposals of my Episcopate, the first Bishop Central Africa has ever had. On that day I beg your kindness to pray and to have people pray according to my intention for the pure good of Africa.
You can count on my activity in promoting and requesting the Venerable’s cause. It is also in Africa’s interest, for the part your magnanimous and most Eminent Nephew, a jewel of the Church, played in her conversion.
In the most Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, I declare myself
Your most devoted Servant, Daniel Comboni

[4990]
I commend to your prayers the holy and generous intentions of Melanie (to whom Our Lady of La Salette appeared, and who was born in the same year and month that I was born), who wrote to me today, and to whom I have been bound for years through the concerns of divine glory. She is an angel on earth.

N.B. Section of a letter of which the first part is missing.

[4991]
stipulated between the Most Reverend Monsignor Daniele Comboni, currently Vicar Apostolic of Central Africa and the most Reverend Mother Emilie Julien, Superior General of the Congregation of the sisters of St Joseph of the Apparition.
[4992]
In order to assist the Catholic Missions in the Vicariate Apostolic of Central Africa in all the branches of instruction and charity in favour of the females and children, the Congregation of the sisters of St Joseph of the Apparition generously contributes with its Sisters on the following conditions, mutually agreed between the Most Reverend Monsignor Daniel Comboni, Vicar Apostolic of the aforesaid Vicariate of Central Africa and the most Reverend Mother Emilie Julien, Superior General of the aforesaid congregation, obligatory, after the approval of the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda Fide, also for their Successors, as long as the Holy See so wishes.
[4993]
1. The Sisters of St Joseph of the Apparition will work in the Vicariate Apostolic of Central Africa together with the Pious Mothers of Africa: the latter will have separate houses and a separate province in their activities.
The only house which will serve as their common dwelling will be the house for acclimatisation in Cairo, where, with separate apartments only, they will share the tasks of the material offices of cooking and laundry and the refectory; they will also share the chapel; moreover they will care separately for their own apartments, study separately, and will have a separate Superior who will see to it, when their common offices are not an obstacle, that her Sisters abide by their own rule.

[4994]
2. The Sisters living in Cairo are also bound to do the cooking and laundry for the male house, and all the mending and needlework for the same. The Sisters have the right to be supplied by the Mission with everything they need as regards food and clothing.
[4995]
3. The Superior General will keep the number of at least four Sisters in each Mission house, and in Khartoum at least five including the Superior. This is the number that, with regard to the general and particular conditions of the Vicariate and of each place, is judged to be just sufficient for carrying out the various offices; hence
[4996]
4. The Superior General, at the request of the Vicar Apostolic will send to Cairo for Central Africa enough Sisters to complete at least the number mentioned above in each house, and each one furnished with an Obedience for the Missions, and with a true and good religious spirit, good health and able to carry out the office for which they are requested.
[4997]
5. They will remain in Cairo for as long as the Vicar Apostolic considers necessary for acclimatisation. In this interim period, one of them will be the Superior of the others according to the orders of the Mother General; and they will engage especially in the study of the languages of Central Africa, meanwhile remaining subject, in the spiritual field, to the Authority of the Vicar Apostolic of Egypt, in accordance with their Constitutions.
[4998]
6. When travelling to the various Stations of the Vicariate Apostolic, the Sisters of St Joseph will receive from the Devout Mothers of Africa – and vice-versa – the accommodation and services fitting for Sisters and religious women. The Sisters of St. Joseph will receive from the Mission the refunding of expenses incurred for the temporary stay of Devout Mothers of Africa in their houses.
[4999]
7. The Sisters are obliged to do cooking, laundry and needlework for both the male and female houses; or rather, they will direct all this work, making use of the young African pupils, whom they are also obliged to train in feminine skills.
[5000]
8. The Sisters are also obliged to give a free education and instruction in the Catholic Religion and in reading and writing to all the young girls who are entrusted to them either by the Vicar Apostolic or by the Superiors he has appointed. They must likewise prudently introduce themselves into families, to exercise charity there and to gain souls for God; and, in agreement with the Parish priest, whose rights they will respect, they will never refuse this office, especially when they are asked to carry it out by an order from the Superior.
[5001]
9. The Vicar, the Superiors and Directors will also have those rights and that authority with regard to the sisters which are permitted by the Constitutions of the said Sisters, who will accept the Superior, Director, and Confessor assigned to them by the Vicar Apostolic.
[5002]
10. The relations of the sisters with the Missionaries and with everyone, their life and their actions, will never deviate from the Rule and the Constitutions. The latter, insofar as the needs of the Mission permit, must be observed by everyone. The Superior alone has the right to modify the Rule; and she should never refuse to do this when the real good of the Mission so demands.
[5003]
11. The Superior General will therefore keep a Superior in her principal residence of Khartoum who will have jurisdiction over all the sisters of St Joseph living throughout the Vicariate Apostolic of Central Africa. She will be able to impose the Rule, correct and punish the sisters, move them to other houses or send them back to Europe, open new houses, etc. This Superior, dependent on the Superior General, will inform her of everything; and in seriously important matters, such as sending a Sister away from the Mission or opening new houses or other such, she will first consult the General when obvious damage to the Work and the individual do not require an instant remedy or an immediate resolution, in which case the Superior will come to an agreement with the Vicar Apostolic and will inform the Superior General of the measures taken. This authority is incumbent on the Superior from the day she arrives in Khartoum; the Superior General will see that she is suited to such an important office.
[5004]
The Vicar Apostolic will give the Sisters a decently furnished house, supplied with all that is necessary according to the Rule of the Congregation, which professes true simplicity for itself.
In addition, he will contribute annually for each sister the sum of 500 Italian Lire (five hundred), in two six-monthly instalments paid in advance. With this sum, the Sisters, if they so wish, will obtain provisions from the Mission stores where, without calculating transport costs, they will be given items at the price for which they were purchased; neither will they be denied a share of the harvest from the land belonging to the individual Missions.

[5005]
With regard to travel expenses, it is established that the Vicar Apostolic is responsible for the total cost for those sisters requested or sent by him; on the other hand, the General is responsible for the sisters whom the General herself sends or recalls.
The food, clothing, medicines, lodging, books, etc. necessary for the African girl pupils remains the responsibility of the Vicar Apostolic or of their relatives. The same applies to the Orphanages or Hospitals which the Vicar Apostolic entrusts to the sisters’ care.

[5006]
The Vicar Apostolic will do his utmost to ensure that in their house the sisters can exactly observe their Rule without prejudice to the needs of the Mission which they serve, as declared in the Constitutions of the Congregation.
In the case of a Sister’s death, her funeral and prayer services will be celebrated free of charge as is done for deceased Missionary Priests, and as set out in the Directories.

[5007]
The Society of Cologne for the Redemption and education of Africans, which is approved by the Vatican, has put into my hands alone more than 250,000 francs over twelve years and has declared, in letters written to the Holy Father, to Your Eminence and to Cardinal Canossa, that it wishes to assign in perpetuo to the Vicar Apostolic of Central Africa the conspicuous sum of ten thousand francs a year ad fulciendam dignitatem episcopalem.
[5008]
When in 1872 I was appointed Pro-Vicar Apostolic, I asked Mgr Simeoni, now the Most Eminent Cardinal, if I could implore the Eminent Cardinal Prefect to have two of the worthiest members of that Society created Knights by His Holiness, since its consists entirely of men who are truly Catholic, apostolic, Roman and papal in the strictest sense; and Monsignor answered that it would be good to wait a few years to see if the Society continued to provide aid.
[5009]
Your Eminence knows how great is the zeal and constancy of this Society, as a benefactor to my difficult and trying mission. Therefore, as I wrote to the Most Eminent Cardinal Canossa and as I told him in person, I implore Your Eminence’s supreme goodness to intervene with the Holy Father, that he may consent to appointing as Cavaliere dell’Ordine Piano or Cavaliere di S. Gregorio Papa the two oldest and most zealous members (after the President) of the Committee of this illustrious Society of which they are Councillors and Co-founders, that is:
[5010]
1. Mr Martin Sticker II, Doctor and Physician of the city of Cologne and of various Monasteries, a most skilled speaker of the Catholic Committees, Societies and Congresses of Germany, former President of many Catholic Works, a valiant defender and promoter of the cause of the Holy See and a champion of the Papacy, an excellent Christian, who has served for 22 years as a Councillor of the above-mentioned Society for Africans.
[5011]
2. Mr Joseph Schnitzler, Hauptmeister, that is, Director of the Catholic Schools of the Holy Apostles in Cologne, who for more than 28 years has had under him various teachers and more than a thousand pupils; a most pious and exemplary man, a member of many Works and Councillor of our Committee.
[5012]
The Most Illustrious and Most Reverend Mgr Baudry, Bishop of Aretusa and for 32 years Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cologne, whom I informed of the steps I am now taking with Your Eminence, approved them with true satisfaction.
[5013]
The same is true of the most illustrious Mr Otto Steiner, husband of one of the daughters of Baron Spens, who for some years has been Vice-President of the Illustrious Committee of Mary in Vienna, which for so many years has supported the Vicariate with substantial sums of money. The Most Eminent Cardinal Archbishop of Vienna, who is its President, has great esteem for this man who, since I took over the governance of the Vicariate, has enabled the Society protected by His Apostolic Majesty to make great progress and to increase it. He is a distinguished gentleman employed by the Ministry of Trade, an excellent papal Catholic and zealous in good works. For him too I implore a Knighthood, as above.
[5014]
Lastly, the most Reverend Giovanni Crisostomo Mitterrutzner, Canon Regular of the Lateran Order of St Augustine, Doctor in Theology and in utroque iure and Director of the Princely Episcopal School of Bressanone, has great merit with the Vicariate, since, not to mention many other qualifications:
1. He is the most learned scholar of things African and of the missions in Central Africa, with which he has had the most intimate relations since the creation of the Vicariate.
2. He gave Central Africa, in the 1st period of the mission, the most able and zealous elements, and as a member of the Committee in Vienna provided important sums, including, in one year (1854), more than 60,000 francs.

[5015]
3. As an erudite and distinguished polyglot, he composed and published for the African missions: 1. A copious dictionary of the Bari language, and another of the Dinka language, which are two of the major languages of Central Africa. 2. He translated into Bari and Dinka all the Gospels for Sundays and Feast days of the year, and the Gospel of St Luke. 3. He published a most interesting book of Dialogues in both Bari and Dinka for the use of missionaries, and all this at his own expense.
[5016]
Now the Most Reverend Mitterrutzner, who because of his ecclesiastical teachings and erudition was chosen by the Most Reverend Mgr Fessler, Secretary of the Vatican Council, to be his coadjutor as private Secretary, continues to help the Vicariate in every way as a member of the Committee in Vienna. I therefore implore Your Most Reverend Eminence to have him appointed as Consultor to the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda Fide, with the assurance that each time he is consulted on a very difficult case, especially concerning Africa, he will give the Sacred Congregation supremely wise, learned and practical answers. I hope, therefore, that just as the late most
learned Abbot Haneberg, who died as Bishop of Spira, was appointed Consultor by the Sacred Congregation on matters concerning the Oriental Churches, although he lived in Munich, Mitterrutzner too will be appointed Consultor to the Sacred Congregation (of which Mgr Agnozzi is Secretary). Kissing the Sacred Purple, I have honour to remain
Your Most Reverend Eminence’s most devoted and respectful son

+ Daniel Comboni
Bishop of Claudiopolis and Vicar Apostolic of Central Africa

[5017]
Monsignor Ciurcia gave me your most precious letter written last year, in which you ask me to inform the Sacred Congregation of the development of the Work that the king of the Belgians has conceived for the abolition of slavery and the slave trade, and for the civilisation of Central Africa. I am thoroughly familiar both with the work and with His Belgian Majesty’s good intentions. I had a two-hour discussion with him on 1st November last and I am and will always continue to be in intimate and regular contact with him, by letter and in person.
[5018]
I know nearly all the International Committees that have been established in the capitals of Europe and America because their respective Presidents like me and try to establish relations with me. Furthermore, I know thoroughly and personally all the leaders of the expeditions currently under way, except for the head of the Scottish one, which has now (at a cost of 300,000 francs a year) already reached the Nyanza lakes, as I was told personally by the illustrious traveller Stanley about a fortnight ago. While I must wait until I have time to give you a detailed report on all this, I shall limit myself to saying that the project, intentions and objectives of the king of the Belgians are excellent, and I hope that in due course the Catholic religion will reap benefits from them. I also hope that this moment will come, after all the inevitable failures these expeditions will encounter without the necessary help of Catholicism. Indeed, after serious reflection and study of the matter, I must say that I am extremely pleased that a Catholic king, albeit a small one, should have made his voice heard in favour of the unhappy populations of Central Africa, and in my letters I encourage His Majesty to persevere in his generous objectives.
[5019]
However, in view of the way the original plan is being put into practice, of the persons who make up both the Committees and the expeditions, and of the false final objective being sought in practice by the international Committees and the expedition leaders, I am sure that they will not obtain the desired results, for either the abolition of slavery or the spread of European civilisation. The method opted for is to carry out expeditions and to establish trading and industrial stations. It is very difficult to do this in Central Africa, for people without faith or morals and without that iron steadfastness which is given only to the Catholic missionary. The persons selected are of all sorts, not excluding a fair number of Freemasons who confuse philanthropy with charity and who, as a result, will corrupt rather than civilise.
[5020]
Then the final aim (for many members and leaders, though not for the king) is to civilise without God and without true religion and morals. It is impossible to bring true civilisation to Central Africa and to abolish slavery without preaching the Gospel and without the Catholic faith and apostolate: to obtain the true effect, every human effort is useless. This is why, while with fine words and gentle manners, I encourage the king of the Belgians, I always suggest to him that there will be no good results unless the Catholic missions have a hand in the matter. I therefore believe that it would be very prudent for heads of Missions not to get involved with such enterprises and expeditions, and for them to limit themselves, given the opportunity, solely to the exercise of personal charity to the needy and the sick, always remaining within the confines of their mandate.
[5021]
The king would have liked to make the Catholic principle feature prominently in his plan; but in the certainty that the other powers would not have taken any part in it, he believed it useful to limit himself to declaring that its scope was to evangelise and civilise, and not to Catholicise Central Africa. I therefore now think that the Catholic missions will not actually have any real benefit from these scientific and commercial expeditions; but neither will they be harmed in the least.
[5022]
These travellers, explorers and civilisers (!?!) arrive in Central Africa worn out by the fatigue of disastrous journeys, often fearful and always without knowing anyone or the languages of the countries (there are over one hundred in the Vicariate); so they are fortunate to find the friendly hand of the missionary or the Sister to help and console them in case of need or illness. The modern civiliser reaching these parts will try by any means, save a few rare exceptions, to get away and return to Europe, whereas the missionaries or Sisters, trained in Christ’s self-denial, willingly suffer and are steadfast.
[5023]
The real advantage that the Catholic religion will get from this hic et nunc is that it will increase the prestige and true merit of the Catholic missionary, and he will also be known by the Freemasons and Barabasses because they will begin to see that the Catholic priest has real merits through his sacrifices and usefulness in Central Africa and in the foreign missions. I shall come to the details and results of the King of the Belgians’ Work on another occasion.
[5024]
In the meantime, just mentioning to you that I was received here in Cairo by the friars, by the missionaries, by the Consulates and the Pasha with great deference and cordiality, I send you the deepest devotion of my excellent Administrator, Fr Antonio Squaranti, of my missionaries and of the Sisters, and kiss your Sacred Purple as I remain with all respect
Your Most Reverend Eminence’s most humble, obedient and respectful son

+ Daniel Comboni,
Bishop and Vicar Apostolic

[5025]
I have now been in Cairo with my caravan since 21st December last. I originally intended to leave as soon as possible via Suez, the Red Sea and the Suakin Desert to reach Berber in just one month; but since in Jedda, where the steamer has to pass, there have been a few cases of cholera, and fearing a long quarantine for myself and my large caravan, after careful calculations, I have decided to go via the Nile and cross the dreaded Atmur Desert and to reach Berber and Khartoum via Abuhhammed in less than two months.
[5026]
So we shall sail from Cairo on a large dhow on the 21st of this month and, passing through the Stations of the Prefecture Apostolic of Upper Egypt, we shall reach Lower Nubia in twenty days. Sixty crates have already been embarked.
[5027]
I do not wish to conceal from you the friendly welcome I received from Mgr Ciurcia and from all the friars and missionaries in Egypt, as well as the enthusiastic favours I received from all the General Consuls of Austria, France, England and Belgium and especially from the Ministers and the Pashas, and from His Highness the Prince, heir of the Khedive and Minister of the Interior of Egypt, who gave me two most powerful firmans signed by him: one for His Excellency Gordon Pasha, Governor General of the Egyptian possessions in the Sudan which cover an area five times the size of France; and the other, for all the Pashas, Mudirs and Governors between Cairo and the sources of the Nile, whom the Prince orders, in the name of the Khedive, to protect the Catholic missions and to assist me in all my desires and needs.
[5028]
But the most benevolent welcome I received was from His Highness the Khedive of Egypt, who was kind enough to converse with me for an hour and a half, during which time he asked me numerous questions about Central Africa, about many of the Governors and about Gordon Pasha, telling me clearly that my opinion and advice would be precious to him, coming as they do (his own words), from your venerable mouth, full of truth and wisdom.
[5029]
These are the words of a Turkish Muslim prince. The Khedive then spoke to me of the Holy Father with supreme respect and gratitude, saying “that he was most grateful to His Holiness for the words uttered by his venerable lips in favour of the Turks, and against the Russians; and he added that in the eyes of the whole world, the word and judgement of His Holiness have the greatest value because they are uttered by the most venerable person in the world; and therefore this was why he felt duty-bound to protect and do everything he could for the Catholic Churches and Missions”. He ended his words by thanking me for my sentiments and my zeal in striving for the good and civilisation of Central Africa.
[5030]
And what a welcome I received from His Highness the hereditary Prince and from the Minister of War, Stone Pasha, who invited me to the solemn banquet given in honour of the distinguished Mr Stanley, one of the greatest travellers in Central Africa who was the first to discover the course of the immense River Congo and who, from the sources of the Nile, through Tanganyika and along the Congo emerged at the Atlantic Ocean. Such an enterprise, apart from benefiting my Vicariate, will also be most useful to the Holy Ghost Fathers and to the Order of the Sacred Heart of Mary who, from their Prefecture in the Congo will be able to penetrate further into the interior for the greater good of souls.
[5031]
The illustrious Stanley (who is an American Anglican) gave me appropriate instructions to reach the sources of the Nile and establish a Catholic mission there. He gave me an introduction to King M’tesa, whom he says is a perfect gentleman, most powerful and fond of Christians. For the sake of brevity, I shall just mention an anecdote the illustrious traveller told me.
[5032]
Some years ago the Muslims penetrated there and, after much work, induced the king to celebrate the Muslim Friday. Once the above-mentioned Stanley got there, he praised the Christian religion greatly and told them that Christ was the one who gave dignity to women and freed them from the ignominy to which they were reduced by barbarians and Muslims. The king was very impressed by this and begged him to explain what the Christian religion is and what it consists in.
[5033]
So Stanley told him that the Christian religion has eleven commandments…, and once he had explained the ten, that is the Decalogue, he came to the eleventh, which consists in obeying and respecting the king as sovereign and father (we shall explain in due course that this is included in the fourth), in other words, that the subjects must treat the king as a father and that he must treat them as his children. The king, amazed at such fine doctrine, asked Stanley to write down all the eleven commandments of God’s Law, which he did. And the king, after having studied and pondered over them, declared that the Christian religion was much more beautiful than the Muslim one and established that henceforth Sundays would be observed in his kingdom. As a result, King M’tesa (his kingdom is on the Equator and within the boundaries of the Vicariate) on Fridays celebrates the feast according to Mohammed, and on Sundays celebrates it according to the Christians!!!!!
[5034]
My excellent administrator, Fr Antonio Squaranti, my missionaries and my Sisters kiss the Sacred Purple, while I, with every veneration and respect, have the honour to bow at your feet and to remain
Your Most Reverend Eminence’s humble and devoted son

+ Daniel Comboni,
Bishop and Vicar Apostolic

[5035]
I received your venerable letters of 6th November and 28th December last year with the two bills of exchange: the first for 12,000 francs and the second for 10,000 francs, and I am infinitely grateful to you for them.
[5036]
With regard to the statistics I should be sending you for the next allocation, I have some difficulty in doing so, as I will not have the exact information on everything until I arrive at my residence and in the Vicariate. I therefore beg you, for this year, to base it on last year’s and on the information I have given you and to the secretary of the Paris Council. Next week, that is, the day after tomorrow, Monday 21st, my caravan will leave with me from Cairo, following the course of the Nile, and at the end of February we will enter the desert.
[5037]
I commend myself to the two Councils for a substantial allocation this year. Journeys, expeditions and commodities are more expensive than in previous years, etc. Moreover, last September, the former Superior, Fr Luigi Bonomi, returned to the Mission in Jebel Nuba. I have also decided to found a beautiful Mission on the equatorial lakes of Nyanza and have thoroughly discussed this objective with the famous traveller, Stanley, who knows the country well.
In the hope of writing to you before a fortnight is up, I declare myself in the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
Your most devoted

Daniel Comboni

Vicar Apostolic of Central Africa


Translated from French.

[5038]
Before leaving the capital of Egypt, I turn to your extreme kindness to ask you always to deliver to my Banker, Messrs Brown et Fils in Via Condotti any sums that may be addressed to me via the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda Fide, coming from Austria or elsewhere.
[5039]
As regards the sum I needed to deposit for my four pupils at the Sacred Congregation, I have authorised Mr Brown to pay everything you request.
Henceforth my address will be the following:

To … Comboni
Bishop and Vicar Apostolic of Central Africa
Via Egypt………………….Khartoum
(Upper Nubia)


[5040]
Thanking you with all my heart for the great kindness you have shown me in all circumstances, I beg you to commend me to the Lord together with my Vicariate, that we may crush Satan’s kingdom and raise Christ’s banner in these lands. We pray every day for the Sacred Congregation, for its members and for you.
In the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary I remain respectfully,
Your Most Reverend and Illustrious Excellency’s
most humble, affectionate and true servant

+ Daniel Comboni
Bishop and Vicar Apostolic

[5041]
While I thank you with all my heart for your sustained toils and labours on behalf of the missions of Central Africa (for our venerated and able secretaries in Propaganda are true apostles and have an apostolic heart beating in their breast), I write you these few words for the following reasons:
[5042]
1. I commend to your kindness the three Knighthoods about which I wrote to His Eminence, and the appointment of the incomparable Mitterrutzner as Consultor (ex-colleague, as professor, of the three illustrious Fessler Bishops, of Bressanone and of Linz; pearls of the episcopate).
[5043]
2. The renewal of my ordinary and extraordinary faculties, reminding the able Mgr Cretoni to draft them all on one sheet, and if he can, to give them for more than a five year period.
[5044]
3. On the occasion of the two Knighthoods of Cologne, to write a kind letter to the President of the Cologne Society, G. H. Noecker Pfarrer am St Jacob in Cologne, thanking the Society for the zeal it has shown, accepting the generous offer of ten thousand francs a year it has granted me, and urging it to increase in zeal for Central Africa. The fact is that, since 1872, this Society has not received a single line from the Sacred Congregation, yet since it is composed of really good men, it works just the same for eternal reward.
The address the Sacred Congregation must use for me henceforth is:

To … Comboni
Bishop and Vicar Apostolic of Central Africa
Via Egypt………………………..Khartoum
Upper Nubia


[5045]
Furthermore, if money for me or for the Vicariate should reach Propaganda, Monsignor may deliver it to my banker in Rome, Messrs Brown et Fils, who have their offices in Via Condotti.
Please give my respects to Mgr. Cretoni, Rinaldini, Turroni, Pieratozzi and all the secretaries, etc. and pray to God for me and Africa.

[5046]
The day after tomorrow I sail up the Nile. One hundred and ten crates have been embarked. We are going to war with Satan, to chase him from Central Africa: Jesus and the Church are with us. Vale et fave.
All yours, most affectionately

+ Bishop Daniel