Comboni Missionaries celebrate 90 years in South Africa

The retreat took place from the 8^th to the 13^th of June, in Maria Trost, where the Comboni Missionaries began their presence in 1924. Many of the confreres who worked in South Africa through these years are buried in the cemetery of this mission.
It was a moment of deep communion among ourselves and the confreres who preceded us in the work of evangelization. We were renewed in our missionary spirit through moments of prayer and reflection and community celebrations. The main topic of the retreat was about the Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Francis, “Evangelii Gaudium”, and the Plan of Comboni.

The two conferences about the Plan were open to priests, religious and Comboni friends. The conferences took place in Johannesburg on the 7^th of June and in Pretoria on the 14^th of June. The people who attended them were not many, but those who participated were truly motivated and fulfilled the objectives of the events. Comboni and his Plan are becoming more and more part of the life of the Church in South Africa. We firmly believe that Comboni is at work in our midst. He is becoming ever better known and is inspiring people to get involved in the work of evangelization.

Like Comboni, we see a ‘bright future’ for the Church and society in South Africa. As Comboni Missionaries, we are convinced that the main road to a more significant missionary Church is the one that is rooted on a personal relationship with Christ and our Founder. In the words of Pope Francis, this is the road of being ‘missionary disciples’.
Fr. Jeremias Martins