June 2010 - Familia Comboniana 676

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION

The “Guide to the Implementation of the XVII Chapter”, prepared by the General Council, has been translated into all the official languages and sent to the respective Provincials and Delegates.

First Professions

Sc. Ahiro David Khayesi (KE)                       Namugongo     01.05.2010
Sc. Kalumba Francis (M/Z-Z)                       Namugongo      01.05.2010
Sc. Kamcheka Joseph Maxwell (M/Z-M)        Namugongo      01.05.2010
Sc. Mwangi Anthony Kariuki (KE)                 Namugongo      01.05.2010
Sc. Mweshi Collins Sampa (M/Z-Z)              Namugongo      01.05.2010
Sc. Sharecho Biruk Kassa (ET)                    Namugongo     01.05.2010
Sc. Sireu Ang’Irotum Abraham (KE)             Namugongo     01.05.2010
Bro. Tumwebaze Leo (U)                             Namugongo    01.05.2010
Sc. Anane Kwaku Joseph (TGB/G)                Cotonou         08.05.2010
Sc. Abalo Roberto (TGB/T)                          Cotonou         08.05.2010
Bro. Ayih Teko Fafa D.J-C Pierre (TGB/T)     Cotonou         08.05.2010
Sc. Dohigbe Gbodja Gildas Victorin (TGB/B) Cotonou         08.05.2010
Sc. Eliwo Ngonge Bernard (CN)                   Cotonou         08.05.2010
Sc. Fene-Fene Santime Augustin (CN)          Cotonou         08.05.2010
Sc. Liengola Babundo Jadot (CN)                 Cotonou         08.05.2010
Sc. Likingi Wasato Henri (CN)                      Cotonou         08.05.2010
Bro. Lumami Mwanza Patrick (CN)               Cotonou         08.05.2010
Sc. Mabuluki Bakwa Nickel (CN)                  Cotonou         08.05.2010
Bro. Díaz Beltrán Eloy Rogelio (PE)              Sahuayo        08.05.2010
Sc. Dorigon Carneiro Ricardo (BNE)             Sahuayo        08.05.2010
Sc. Ibarra Vargas José Antonio (M)              Sahuayo        08.05.2010
Sc. Solares Alvizures Hugo René (DCA-GUA)Sahuayo        08.05.2010
Sc. Yaxcal Cucul Juan (DCA-GUA)               Sahuayo         08.05.2010

Perpetual Profession

Sc. Mbo Mokuba Didier (CN)            Kalongo (U)          01.05.2010

Priestly Ordination

Fr. João Dinis João                             Mocuba (MO)       08/05/2010

Holy Redeemer Guild

June                 01 – 15 KE            16 – 30 KH

July                  01 – 07 LP             08 – 15 CO               16 – 31 MZ

Prayer Intentions

June – That, with the attitude and passion of St. Daniel Comboni, we may contemplate Christ the Good Shepherd and draw from His Heart the strength to be credible witnesses of His Word and tangible signs of His compassion. Lord hear us.

July – That the process of reorganisation under way among the Comboni Secular Missionaries may bear fruit in the vitality and renewal of the Institute, allowing each member to live her own vocation more radically and respond more adequately to the challenges of history and the current situation. Lord hear us.

Publications

Fr. Michele Sardella, Sotto L’albero della vita, con gli Alomwe del Malawi (introduction by Fr. Teresino Serra), Bologna: EMI 2010, pp. 367.

This book by Fr. Sardella is the fruit of many years of shared missionary work in villages and Christian communities among the Alomwe in the south of Malawi (and their ethnic relatives among the refugees from Mozambique). It forms part of the best ethno-anthro-pological and missionary tradition of the sons of Comboni. It recounts “The life of the Lomwe people who inhabit the mountains between Malawi and Mozambique. It is an existence marked by ancient rites, the heritage of a particular Bantu culture which has maintained its own cultural integrity up to the present day” (cover).

Especially useful for confreres who carry out their ministry among the Alomwe (and their ‘cousins’ the Amakhuwa), this work offers points for reflection for all those who, believing in man and the peoples after the manner of Comboni, never cease to seek and explore new avenues of enculturation and encounter. ‘The missionary experience is a grace to be shared with everyone” (Fr. Teresino Serra).

BRASIL DO SUL

Anniversary of Fr. Ezechiele Ramin

On 24 July, 2010, the twenty-fifth anniversary of the “martyrdom” of Fr. Ezechiele Ramin will be celebrated. It occurred on 25 July, 1985, in the diocese of Ji-Paraná, Brasil. The event will take place at Cacoal in Rondonia state, where Fr. Ezechiele worked, and in all the parishes where the Comboni Missionaries are present.

During the last consulta, the General Council entrusted the Postulator General, Fr. Arnaldo Baritussio, the task of proceeding with the canonical opening of the process to ascertain if it was a case of martyrdom. The process will be opened in the diocese of Ji-Paraná, in Rondonia state where Fr. Ezechiele Ramin exercised his mission and where he was killed.

The conviction that sufficient elements exist to proceed was reached after an enquiry carried out among the confreres of both provinces of Brasil. The majority of confreres agreed that the proposal was well-founded. Here are two of the points supporting this view: 1) The name of Fr. Ezechiele has been included among the twenty great evangelisers of Brasil, in a high-relief sculpture placed above one of the four doors of the National Basilica of Our Lady “Aparecida”, patroness of Brasil, in a locality 170 km from São Paulo. 2) There are, up to now, more than forty Christian communities and social and cultural groups which have chosen Fr. Ezechiele Ramin as their patron. This indicates how the people have understood the value of the witness of this Comboni Missionary.

The Comboni Missionaries in Brasil wish to thank God for this example of “martyrdom”. The Provincial Council of South Brazil has appointed Fr. Giorgio Padovan to liaise on behalf of the Province with Fr. Arnaldo Baritussio in the initiation of this effort.

New community opened in Amazonia

Early this year, 2010, the Comboni Missionaries, the Comboni Sisters and the Comboni Lay Missionaries (CLM) of Brasil opened a new type of intercongregational community in order to witness to the one mission to which we are called. The community is made up of Fr. Massimo Ramundo, three Comboni Sisters and one CLM. The location chosen is in the diocese of Humaitá, in Lower Amazonia. This diocese shares a border with that of Porto Velho, where Comboni Missionaries have been present for 36 years. The initiative is an attempt to respond to the call of the Church in Brasil to take up further missionary commitments in the Amazonian region. It is also a response to the challenge to learn to work together.

We are confident that our weakness will be helped by the power of the Spirit who calls us to this evangelical witness.

Brasil and the Central African Republic

On 29 April, Fr. Everaldo de Souza Alves left for Bangui. Having completed his theological studies in the scholasticate of Kinshasa and two years of pastoral work in the diocese of São Mateus, in Brasil, he was ordained priest in his home parish on 19 December 2009.

In Brasil, too, Comboni spirituality and internationality are closely intertwined. In fact, while the Province sends missionaries to other continents, it has recently welcomed Fr. Jervas Mayik Nyok Mawut from Sudan and Fr. Cuarteros Marnecio Coralde from the Philippines – an enriching exchange.

CENTRAFRIQUE

Week of Prayer for Vocations

The parish of Notre Dame de Fatima, Bangui, has celebrated the week of prayer for vocations, rich in contributions and symbolisms, with great interest. Many initiatives were organised to highlight the riches of every vocation in the Church as well as the demands which it entails. In this Year of the Priesthood, emphasis was placed on religious and priestly vocations. The days from 18 to 25 April were the occasion during which the group of youths who feel called, together with their parents, experienced moments of prayer and adoration, reflection on the call of God, voluntary service to the poorest and dialogue between parents and their children. Indeed, the parents gave voice to their expectations regarding the way chosen by their sons and daughters, reminding them that it demands truth and docility. In their turn, their sons and daughters asked their parents to help them, by supporting them in their studies through their prayers and good example so that they may respond with generosity to the call of the Lord.

A further impressive element was the sharing of missionary experiences by two missionaries, Fr. Beka Jonas Tita-Olema-Mbeko, a Comboni missionary, originally from the parish of Fatima, and Sr. Christine of the Sisters of St. Paul de Chartres. The evenings were dedicated to viewing films about people who consecrated their lives to the service of God and the poorest.

The week culminated in the celebration of the Eucharist on Sunday morning, 25 April, during which the Comboni priest in charge of vocations, Fr. Léonard Ndjadi Ndjate, introduced to the community the young men and women who are aspiring to become Priests, Sisters and Brothers. The faithful also prayed for the ten priests and male and female religious from their parish of Notre Dame de Fatima, a missionary parish that has provided three Comboni missionaries: Fr. Beka Jonas, Fr. Ugues-Sylvain Songho and Fr. Godéfroy-Médard Longba. At noon a meal was offered to the youth and to the priests and Sisters of the parish by the Association of the Parents of the Youth of Fatima. We entrust this seed-bed of vocations to the maternal care to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Fatima.

ESPAÑA

Mundo Negro celebrates fifty years

The celebration of the Golden Jubilee of Mundo Negro brought together around 350 people on 23 April last, in the hall of ceremonies of the Mutua Madrileña, in the centre of Madrid. They came together to join the Comboni Missionaries on this great occasion.

The magazine Mundo Negro was founded in Spain in April, 1960, by Fr. Enrico Farè, who, with the first issue, laid down the future policy of the magazine which was “to be the voice of the life and problems of the black peoples, not only of Africa but of the entire world”.

Today, fifty years later, and with a circulation of 60,000, Mundo Negro is the reference point for a broad sector of society, offering information regarding African politics, North-South cooperation, missionary activities and the African Church.

Accompanied by the rhythm of African music, seventeen African men and women, each carrying a flag, entered the hall, representing the seventeen nations which achieved independence in 1960, underlining the fact that Mundo Negro came into existence at that important time in history, as noted by Fr. Daniel Cerezo Ruiz, provincial of the Comboni Missionaries in Spain.

Fr. Cerezo also devoted words of gratitude to the late Fr. Enrico Farè and to all who, in the following years worked to develop the magazine. Among these were the Pontifical Mission Societies and, especially, don Ángel Sagarmínaga.

The speakers at the ceremony were: a delegate of the African ambassadors in Spain; the historian and expert on Africa José Luis Cortés and the Director General of Foreign Policies for Africa from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (MAEC), Signora Carmen de la Peña Corcuera.

These were followed by Fr. Romeo Ballan and Gerardo González, editor-in-chief of the magazine for more than forty years who went through the fifty years of history explaining developments during the early years as well as the difficulties and the outcomes with the occasional problems deriving from the censors and its ability to adapt to a changing society.

At this point, Fr. Ismael Piñón presented the special issue of the magazine produced for the occasion.

Concluding the commemorative ceremony, the Superior General, Fr. Enrique Sánchez González, spoke to the participants emphasising the calling of Mundo Negro to be an eminently missionary magazine containing information on the situation of the African continent.

The celebration came to a close accompanied by the music of the African Musical Group “Karibu” which sang, as a prayer, the song “Africa Asks for Peace”. Refreshments were then offered to all the participants.

ITALIA

Roma: San Pancrazio Community

In April the well-attended series of films by African authors, promoted by the San Pancrazio community, was happily concluded. The “Associazione Roma XVI con l’Africa” (which includes around fifteen organisations and schools of that part of the city that are interested in Africa) also organised a round table discussion on the theme “Pacchetto di sicurezza e CIE” with the participation of Livia Turco, Maurizio Gressi (Co-author with Nicoletta Dentico of the white book on the CPT) and Giuseppe Cricenti, magistrate.

On 16 May, the Acse took part in the “Festa dei popoli” at St. John Lateran while “Roma 16 con l’Africa” organised an event called “In festa con l’Africa” at Villa Pamphili with a display of African curios, books and magazines, a marathon and a concert of African rhythm, music and dance.

Despite the unpredictable weather, the attendance was more than satisfactory.

KHARTOUM

Ordination to diaconate

In Raga, the morning of 9 May, 2010, the faithful arrived from early light to prepare for the ordination to the diaconate of Bro. Nicholás Martín Ramírez Falcón. The altar was placed under the mahogany tree that was so tall as to create enough shade for Mgr. Rudolf Deng Majak, eight priests and the deacon to be. The mango trees around gave shelter to a gathering fit for a cathedral. The Commissioner of Raga County, Louis Ramadan, was there together with various dignitaries of the local government offices, who usually join the faithful every Sunday, and the young people of the Parish.

While the concelebrants, altar servers and the deacon to be stood ready for the procession to the altar, a brief biography of Martín was read. Then the choir burst with the entrance song that inspired joy and enthusiasm. After reaching the altar, women of the Legion of Mary and of the Assumption of our Lady danced with joy around the deacon to be who sat among the faithful ready to be called after the Gospel.

The rite of ordination was conducted in English, with an introductory note in Arabic read by Fr. Paul Annis before every section. Fr. Justin Wanaweela was the master of ceremony and he conducted the altar servants fluidly despite being for them the first time to serve a Mass with an ordination rite. The bishop, in his homily, focused on the idea of a “new creation” in Christ, underlining the fact that the Lord guides his Church, placed in the world, to assist us in leading our lives not according to the laws of human traditions, but according to his Spirit, who makes us heralds of his Kingdom. As an example, he used the ordination of Bro. Martin who, having left his relatives and friends, came from Mexico to be the first to be ordained in Raga: a clear sign that the Kingdom of God is made up of people of every tribe, tongue, people and nation.

Elections: an opportunity lost

The so long expected elections are over. The outcome left many people disappointed. The candidates who have lost are naturally frustrated, but with them many others. I think of those who had expected that the elections would coincide with the start of the process of transformation and democratisation, which the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) speaks so much about.

Surely, the elections have been a step forward. It was the first exercise of a process and the occasional violence seems to have been contained. The biggest mistake was that those in power wanted to over win by manipulating the results. We have thus the unrealistic 93% of votes for the president and nearly the totality of the main SPLM candidates have inflated their results and practically annulled the presence of other candidates. A more modest victory would have given them better credibility in the eyes of the people and facilitated the participation of other parties in the formation of the new Government. This arrogance has had the opposite effect and has created mistrust.

Salva Kiir and Omar Bashir have been sworn in on 21 May, 2010, in Juba, and on 27 May in Khartoum, respectively. In this sense there is nothing new. Officially the support for the two leading parties has increased, in the sense that they got nearly everything. But, as mentioned above, their strength might turn out to be also their weakness.

What lies ahead now is the referendum that will take place in January 2011. Some fear that the mistakes of the elections may be repeated, while others hope that those concerned may have learnt the lesson. We hope that wisdom will prevail.

MALAWI-ZAMBIA

Opening of the Community of Kanyanga

The new community of Kanyanga was officially opened on Saturday, 1 May, 2010, and the handover of the parish was done during the Sunday Mass on 2 May, in the presence of Fr. Dario Balula Chaves, the provincial superior and representative of the Comboni Missiona-ries, Fr. Andrew Chenjerani, diocesan pastoral coordinator, and Fr. Mathias Banda, diocesan treasurer, representing the diocese of Chipata, Zambia. The Bishop of Chipata could not be present due to the meeting of the Episcopal Conference in Lusaka. Other people present were: the two confreres assigned to Kanyanga Fr. Rodolfo Coaquira Hilaje and Fr. Rubén Bojorquez Sandoval, the out-going parish priest Fr. Moses Njobvu and a diocesan seminarian doing the pastoral year there, the two confreres from Chama, Fr. Gabriel Uribe González and Fr. Moisés García González, the MIC Sisters who run the mission hospital, seven local catechists, the representatives of the Parish Council and many other Christians. The people warmly welcomed the new priests and are happy that the Comboni Missionaries have accepted to work there.

The whole day of Saturday was spent sharing information about the situation of Kanyanga Mission: reports, inventory and pastoral plan. In the evening we celebrated the first Mass as a new Comboni community in the parish together with other participants. The Sunday celebration was simple and well prepared. Fr. Mathias Banda was the main celebrant and Fr. Andrew Chenjerani gave the homily. A joint choir of Kanyanga and Chama accompanied the celebration with beautiful songs. Fr. Moses Njobvu will stay on until 6 June when there will be a farewell celebration.

In the afternoon the provincial had a long meeting with the two confreres to share about several aspects of our presence in Kanyanga and to see concrete things that need to be done. They are happy to be there and motivated to continue the work of evangelization in the area. The community is ready to receive the novices for community and pastoral experience.

Kanyanga mission covers part of the Luangwa Valley, a very remote area of the diocese of Chipata, inhabited by poor people and in need of evangelization. Our presence was requested by the local Church. It also gives support to the confreres working in Chama Mission who have felt isolated from the rest of the province. Furthermore, it will serve as a good place of missionary experience for postulants, novices and scholastics.

The Tumbuka-speaking mission of Kanyanga is 220 km. north of Chipata, near the border with Malawi. The environment is good. At night illumination is provided by batteries charged by solar panels. It is possible that next year Zesco, the electricity company in Zambia, will install electricity in the area. Dedicated to St. Mary, the mission was founded in 1954, but was soon abandoned for many years due to lack of diocesan personnel. It has about 7,000 Catholics, but most of the people are pagans.

NAP

Closing of Chicago Scholasticate

On May 13 the last two scholastics graduated from the Catholic Theological Union (CTU), bringing to a conclusion 34 consecutive years of Comboni formation in Chicago. The first group of scholastics arrived in 1976. Since then, 164 Comboni Missionaries from four continents passed through the Comboni Scholasticate.

On Saturday, May 15, 2010, we officially celebrated the closing of the Scholasticate. About 70 people joined the community in this celebration. They were representatives of a much larger group of those who, in these 34 years of presence in Chicago, have been touched by the Comboni spirit. Together with most of the Comboni Family from the area, there were friends and benefactors, some of whom have been accompanying the journey of the Scholasticate from practically the very beginning. Also present were a good number of former scholastics who left the Institute, but not its spirit, and are now involved in various ministries and missionary commitments in and around Chicago.

One moving moment occurred during the celebration of the Eucharist when people were invited to share memories and stories that linked them to the history of the Scholasticate. All wanted to express their gratitude for what this house of formation and the people who lived there meant in their lives. For them the Scholasticate has been a connection and a bridge to a wider reality and a bigger world of diverse cultures and nationalities.

Peace Corner gets the green light

In 2001, Fr. Maurizio Binaghi founded the Peace Corner on Chicago’s West Side as a youth centre for youth at risk. In a short time, this facility established itself as one of the leading youth agencies in the Austin’s predominantly African-American community, providing a great variety of youth services and programs. The centre quickly outgrew its original site, and Peace Corner Inc. bought a 7900 square-foot facility from the city for $1. After much time and many hurdles, the city has given the “green light” to start building. Construction should be completed by early fall.

The modern facility will have computer labs, classrooms, and a gym. The existing Peace Corner serves about 50 to 70 young people on any given day. About 20 receive legal counselling from volunteer attorneys, and a dozen or so who have quit school take courses that will earn them a high school equivalency diploma. The new Peace Corner will be able to serve a larger number of youth. It will continue its vital ministry of offering support and encouragement to young African Americans as they struggle to live in a neighbourhood rife with extreme poverty, drugs, gangs and widespread violence.

Comboni Priest makes the New York Times

The Catholic Church is enduring more than its share of media attention in connection with the paedophilia scandal, but Nicholas D. Kristof, an opinions columnist for the New York Times, has stepped forward to focus a beam of light on the Church’s grass-roots network of humble, hardworking priests, nuns and laity around the world. One of his examples is Comboni priest Fr. Michael Donald Barton who works in Nyamlell, Southern Sudan. Mr. Kristof tells of Fr. Mike’s birthplace (Indianapolis, Indiana in the USA), his Comboni connection, and his ministry in Africa. “It’s because of brave souls like Fr. Mike that I honour the Catholic Church,” he said.

Nicholas Kristof also made a video profile of Fr. Mike and his ministry in Southern Sudan and concludes, “We in journalism tend to focus on the human failings of the Catholic Church, but let’s not forget the heroic lives of so many people at the grass roots. This is the true church to which I tip my hat. Here, religious figures are judged, not by the magnificence of their vestments but by the magnitude of their compassion.”

PERÚ-CHILE

Perpetual professions and diaconate

On 13 April last, the scholastics on missionary service Elvis Robert Calero Santos (PE), Fernando Cortés Barbosa (M) and Maciej Tomasz Miąsik (PO) made their final profession in the chapel of the Lima provincial community.

The celebration was presided over by Fr. Rogelio Bustos Juárez, provincial superior, and enjoyed the participation of the local superiors gathered for their assembly. The liturgy was enlivened by our candidates and by the Comboni Sisters who joyfully accepted our invitation.

On Sunday, 18 April, in the parish of Señor de los Milagros in Trujillo, the auxiliary bishop of the city, Mgr. José Javier Travieso Martín CMF, conferred the order of the diaconate on Elvis Calero. On that same day, in a remote place in the centre of the country, San Martín de Pangoa, Maciej Tomasz was also ordained deacon by Mgr. Gerardo Antonio Zerdín Bukovec, OFM, assistant bishop of San Ramón. Both celebrations, each with its own characteristics, were meaningful points in the journey begun a year ago by our Institute. The communities that accompanied these scholastics did so with joy, thanking God for their availability to serve the mission.

On 9 May, it was the turn of Fernando Cortés, at Cerro de Pasco. We started the procession from the church of Nuestra Señora del Tránsito to the parish of San Juan Pampa, under a slight drizzle which did nothing but increase the cold of this area situated at an altitude of 4,400 m. The parish groups, together with the Comboni communities of the area had prepared everything down to the last details. Mgr. Richard Daniel Alarcón Urrutia, bishop of Tarma, presented a beautiful reflection to the participants, inviting Fernando to discover the goodness of God in the Comboni family and to have courage wherever he might find himself and underlined the importance of the missionary dimension of our charism.

Deacon Maciej returned to Poland while Elvis and Fernando will stay in their communities up to the end of the year when they will receive their missionary appointments. We wish them both abundant blessings in this final stage of their preparation for the priesthood.

PORTOGALLO

Visit by the Pope

With his apostolic visit to Portugal from 11 to 14 May, Pope Benedict XVI left to the Church and society a message of hope and an appeal to the mission and non-conformism, asking the laity not to be ashamed of being Christians.

During his four-day-long visit, the Pope went to Lisbon, Fatima and Porto, celebrating the Eucharist in each of these cities and delivering eleven discourses. Thousands of people participated in all the gatherings and were very moved with the Pope smiling, jovial and cordial attitude. The Pope was happy and comforted by the way he was received.

An especially fruitful event was his visit to Fatima where half a million pilgrims attended Mass at the shrine. In the evening, the Pope led the Rosary at the foot of the statue of Our Lady to which he presented a golden rose. He also met religious, priests, seminarians and pastoral agents as well as the Portuguese bishops.

On the final day he celebrated Mass at Porto with more than one hundred thousand people attending. In his homily he called everyone to the mission saying: “The Christian is a missionary of Christ sent into the world”.

SOUTH AFRICA

Renewal of the Vows of the Scholastics

On the 1 May, feast of St. Joseph the Worker, 14 scholastics renewed their vows in Pietermaritzburg. Thirteen of them are members of the scholasticate community and one, Jérôme Nerio Missay Soku, coming from Congo, is doing his missionary service in South Africa. The fourteenth scholastic, Casimiro Lokwang Koryang from Uganda, had already renewed his vows on 27 April.

The provincials of South Africa and TGB were present at the celebration. The Eucharist was presided over by Fr. Manuel João Pereira Correia, provincial of TGB. He was visiting the scholasticate where three Togolese confreres are following their theological studies. He received the vows of these confreres and was very happy with the good atmosphere in the life of the scholasticate and the friendly relationship between formators and scholastics.

The celebration of the vows took place in the early evening. A good group of friends were also present and appreciated the commitment of our young confreres to the Lord. They were impressed while seeing the scholastics, one after the other, coming forward, with a candle in their hand, to say the formula of the vows.

The new formator of the scholasticate, our South African confrere Fr. Jude Eugene Burgers, participated for the first time in this celebration and was happy to see that the Comboni Institute has really a future in Africa and through the Africans themselves.

SOUTH SUDAN

Blessing of Yirol Catholic Church

Mgr. Caesar Mazzolari of Rumbek, on Sunday 16 May 2010, blessed the new parish church of Yirol, a mission of South Sudan run by the Comboni Missionaries. Over 1000 parishioners filled the new church together with donors from Italy and Spain, government officials, members of NGOs and church personnel. Fr. Tesfaye Tadesse Gebresilasie, assistant general visiting the province, Fr. Luciano Perina, provincial, and Br. António Manuel Nunes Ferreira, provincial bursar, represented the Institute at the ceremony. Mgr. Mazzolari said he was consecrating a place where life would be continually transformed by people gathered to listen to the Word of God and through the celebration of the sacraments.

Fr. José Javier Parladé Escobar, the parish priest, thanked his friends from Italy and Spain for their support. David Deng Athorbei, minister for finance in the government of Southern Sudan, representing President Salva Kiir Mayardit, promised 50 thousand Sudanese Pounds (USD 20.000) and a generator to power the new church, the primary school and the hospital.

The church is dedicated to the Holy Cross, because Yirol stands about 45 miles from the mission where Daniel Comboni was between 1858 and 1859, which is locally known as Kennisa (Church in Arabic). The new church accommodates 750 people and it took seven years to be built. It replaces the old one built with local materials and covered with grass which was transformed into a primary school with four classrooms for 90 students each.

Yirol Mission, in Lakes State, serves a huge population where the majority is Christian: Catholic (the majority) and Protestant. The parish of Holy Cross has 42 chapels and prayer centres, and 100 catechists.

Fr. Parladé is also involved in the construction of schools. In eight years, he built 27 primary schools that he has handed over to the government.

Let us pray for our beloved dead

THE BROTHERS: Luigi, of Fr. Antonio Colombo (†); Rodolfo Armando, of Fr. Gerardo Alvaro Oviedo Casillas (A); César, of Fr. Pedro Juan Quilla Torres (PE).

THE SISTERS: Carla, of Fr. Ferdinando Gusmeroli (†); Elisa, of Fr. Guido Miotti (U); Maria, of Bro Fulvio Lorenzini (I).

THE COMBONI MISSIONARY SISTER: Sr. Teresa Maria Spina.