Familia Comboniana 742 - June 2016

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION

First Professions 2016

Alionzi Ronald (U)                                 Namugongo (U)   30.04.2016

Angella Gabriel (U)                                            “                      “

Haile Mariam Abreham Wolde Tinsae (ET)        “                      “

José Jeremias Salvador (MO)                           “                      “

Juma Kelly Mikisi (KE)                                       “                      “

Kutsaile Matthews (MZ)                                    “                      “

Manuel Inácio (MO)                                          “                      “

Matovu Edward (U)                                           “                      “

Matuta Harry (MZ)                                             “                      “

Nyimbo Oscar (MZ)                                           “                      “

Oduor Kevin Otieno (KE)                                  “                      “

Silwembe Christopher (MZ)                              “                      “

Tesema Habtamu Masresha (ET)                      “                      “

Turinawe Vicent (U)                                          “                      “

Adobo Mabolotu Seraphin (CN)            Kimwenza (CN)    08.05.2016

Kasoso Rab-Saba Raoul (CN)                         “                         “

Mbusa Tulirwagho Jean-Baptiste (CN)            “                         “

Paluku Vindu Moise (CN)                                “                         “

Mopembu Mambuse Crispin (CN)                   “                         “

Ndaygu Mambidigo Benjamin (CN)                 “                         “

Bro. Vásquez León Daniel Víctor (PE)  Xochimilco (M)     14.05.2016

Zanioli Gonçalves Deivith Harly (BS)               “                         “

Lizcano González Jalver (CO)                        “                         “

Castillo Merino Telmo Efraín (EC)                  “                         “

Agede Simon (T)                                   Sarh (TC)             15.05.2016

Biro Jexis Berlin (RCA)                                   “                         “

Elias Samuel Elias (MO)                        Santarem (P)        21.05.2016

Felizardo João Jone Ntsicuzacuenda (MO)    “                         “

Henrique Ramos Torres (P)                            “                         “

Torres José Bonjesse (MO)                           “                         “

TOTAL: 30 newly professed

Ordinations

Fr. Mweshi Collins Sampa (Z)           Lusaka (MZ)             28.05.2016

Holy Redeemer Guild

June                01 – 07 ER           08 – 15 LP              16 – 30 P

July                  01 – 15 KE           16 – 31 M

Prayer Intentions

June – That the members of the Comboni Family may be the seed of a new Ministerial Church that proclaims the Kingdom and builds a better world. Lord hear us.

July – That, in serving the poorest, we may be able to join together with all people of good will and create around us networks of solidarity. Lord hear us.

ASIA

Retreat and Assembly

The annual retreat and Assembly of the Delegation were held from 4 to 14 May at a retreat Centre called Karis, on the hill of Tagaytay in the tourist’s area of Metro Manila.

The five-day retreat was directed by Fr. Tesfaye Tadesse during his first visit to the delegation as Fr. General. The participants were helped by Fr. Tesfaye to value the missionary vocation and to be grateful to God for the Comboni charism and different missionary experiences. All the participants were touched by Fr. General’s balanced approach and by his joyfulness.

The last three days were dedicated to the Assembly. After the community and sector reports, there was a lively debate on priorities for the future, in view of the next Six-year Plan.

Just as the previous Plan saw the opening of our presence in Vietnam – soon the first three Vietnamese will enter the Comboni Postulancy in Metro Manila – it is hoped that the next Six-year Plan will bring about even greater consolidation of the Comboni presence in China and Vietnam.

CURIA

Obituaries on the website

The General Secretariat is seeking, little by little, to place on the website www.comboni.org the obituaries (for the present only in Italian) not only of Combonians who died in recent years but of all those who died from the beginning of the Institute until today. So far, about half have been inserted (670 out of 1,386 – those confreres who died between the years 1989 and 2016). The texts are those published in the MCCJ Bulletin/In Memoriam and are already familiar to all.

We believe that making it possible to access the digitalised texts is a service appreciated by the many confreres who find in the brief biographies of these Combonians a source of inspiration for their personal journeys.

DSP

Provincial Assembly

During the Provincial Assembly, held at Ellwangen-Josefstal from 1 to 4 May, 2016, the participants followed the plan of the 2015 General Chapter, dealing with the sectors of mission, persons, restructuring and administration. Reflection on these priorities was, of course, only a first step to leading to other levels.

Bro. Alberto Lamana, General Assistant, was present as the representative of the General Council and presented the figure of the missionary Brother today. The Assembly again expressed the desire for a mixed Institute of Fathers and Brothers with equal rights and duties.

In conclusion, Brigitte Kreiter presented the Comboni Lay Missionaries (CLM), how they came about and their goals in the DSP: a commitment to realise their own life and to work in their own environment according to the spirit of St. Daniel Comboni. They meet several times a year and are still in the consolidation and growth stage, including their actual numbers.

EGYPT-SUDAN

Inauguration of the Comboni Italian Centre at the CCST

The Comboni College of Science and Technology (CCST) is offering courses in Italian Language – one of the degree subjects in English Language and Literature – and ongoing training for professionals. In 2015, an agreement with Perugia University for Foreigners made the CCST an exam centre for official qualifications in Italian granted by the Perugia University (CELI). On 12 May, this initiative took another step forward with the inauguration of the Comboni Italian Centre within the College. The Italian Ambassador in Sudan, Fabrizio Lobasso, and the President of the Pentax Italian Society cut the tape to open three halls, fitted out with Sudanese and Italian artefacts, planned by a Sudanese student of Italian.

In his address to journalists, the ambassador emphasised the role of the educational institutions of the Comboni Missionaries in Sudan in the integration of different cultures, pointing to them as privileged centres for intercultural dialogue.

A week later, the first cultural activity of the Centre took place: a photographic display on some Sudanese tribes. The photos were taken by Fr. Pasquale Boffelli around 1980. For the CCST, the Centre is another bridge for dialogue with this mainly Moslem society.

ESPAÑA

Mundo Negro, Africa 2016 Special Issue

Every three years, the Mundo Negro magazine publishes a special issue intended, first of all, to pay homage to the 1,215 millions of African men and women who fill this continent with hope and make it look forward to the future.

The centre pages are used as a dossier with charts of information on Africa, country by country, with its 55 nations, including Western Sahara. It contains five sections of political, social, educational, culture and religious information. Over fifty thousand copies of this special issue have been printed.

It contains testimonies by trustworthy African people like the Gambian woman Fatou Bensouda, chief procurator of the International Criminal of Aia, the Central African Mgr. Dieudonné Nzapalainga, Archbishop of Bangui, and the Congolese Mbuyi Kabunda Badi who is a professor and student, an expert in problems of regional integration, development, gender, human rights and conflicts in Africa.

Then data are given pointing to vitality and the future such as the high percentage, on the African continent, of people less than fifteen years old, or of nations like Nigeria, now the largest economy in Africa, having overtaken South Africa, which, with its 187 million inhabitants, is now a world power. There are also such interesting data as those of countries where there are more mobile phones than people (Morocco, Namibia, Mauritius, and South Africa).

ETHIOPIA

Visit by Father General

This year, the Province arranged the Provincial Assembly to coincide with the presence of Fr. Tesfaye Tadesse, on his first visit as Father General. Therefore, the Assembly took place from 12 to 14 April and was centred completely on the Six-year Plan. The presence of Fr Tesfaye, his spiritual input and his comments on the situation of the Institute served as a catalyst in our debates.

Fr. Tesfaye, knowing well the situation of Ethiopia and our Province, immediately grasped both the concerns and reasons for satisfaction in each community. After the meeting of the Provincial Council (14-16 April), the Provincial and Vice-Provincial accompanied him on whistle-stop tour of the various communities.

The situation of the Province has substantially changed since Fr. Tesfaye was Provincial, especially as regards the number of members, even if some challenges remain unchanged. Knowing well the esteem in which the local Church holds the Comboni Missionaries, Fr. Tesfaye made himself the spokesperson of the missionary spirit of the Church in Ethiopia, having had the opportunity to meet the Papal Nuncio and the Archbishop of Addis Ababa, Cardinal Berhaneyesus.

Fr. Tesfaye had ended his meetings on 3 May, the very day of his departure for Manila, when he learned how seriously ill the Bishop of Hawassa, Mgr. Giovanni Migliorati, was. When returning to Italy from Asia, Fr. Tesfaye, when he heard of the death of Mgr. Migliorati (12 May), decided to delay his return to Rome to take part personally in the funeral on 17 May. This gesture was deeply appreciated by the local clergy, religious, bishops and the whole Christian community.

Church and public library dedicated to St. Daniel Comboni

In line with the directives of the Institute and the local Church, in 2008, the small community of Qillénso decided to concentrate its pastoral efforts in Adola, the most important city of the region where the Catholic Church was almost non-existent, 35 Km from the mission. The invitation of families from various localities around the city to open new catechumenates and the sub-standard conditions of the majority of students brought about the completion of the following projects: to acquire a plot in the city centre, create a plan of formation for new catechists for new communities and built a public library. The outcome of this pastoral work is that now there exist in the zone 16 new Christian communities. The construction of the church is, in fact, the concrete expression of the work of formation and, as regards education, the result is the library with more than 4,000 books and room for up to 120 students.

On 7 May, there was the blessing of the church and the library, both dedicated to St. Daniel Comboni. Among those present were the Apostolic Nuncio to Ethiopia, Archbishop Luigi Bianco and the Bishop Emeritus of Hawassa, Mgr. Lorenzo Ceresoli, who presided at the Mass.

There were about twenty diocesan and religious priests present, 35 women religious and some guests from abroad, as well as the 650 members of our Christian communities, both old and new.

Funeral of Mgr. Giovanni Migliorati

Bassano Bresciano – On the day of Pentecost, the Christian community of Bassano Bresciano (the town where almost all the Miglioratis live, about forty kilometres from Brescia) conducted the funeral rites of Mgr. Giovanni Migliorati who died on 12 May, after a short illness.

Among those present were the Eparch of Bahr Dar-Dessie, Abune Lisanecristos Matteos, representing the Bishops’ Conference of Ethiopia, Fr. Pietro Ciuciulla, Assistant General, representing Father General, the Provincial of Ethiopia, Fr. Julio Ocaña, the Provincial Bursar, many Comboni Missionaries from the communities of Italy and Ethiopia, Fr. Leonardo d’Alessandro, a Fidei Donum priest from Bari in the Vicariate of Hawassa, many Comboni Sisters, Ursuline Sisters, Missionaries of Christ and many lay people, including some benefactors Caritas Austria) of the Vicariate of Hawassa who had come from Austria.

Hawassa – The burial of Mgr. Migliorati in Italy did nothing to prevent Ethiopia expressing its great sorrow, with an extraordinary manifestation of homage to a missionary who, for forty years, had given himself fully to his pastoral work as priest and bishop. The requiem Mass celebrated in Hawassa took place on 17 May, in the cathedral, in the presence of the Papal Nuncio, most of the 13 bishops of Ethiopia, about one hundred priests from all the dioceses, numerous men and women religious and members of the faithful who filled the cathedral as well as the surrounding courtyard.

There was also present a substantial representation of civil authorities and leaders of other religious confessions with whom Mgr. Migliorati kept in close communion. There were also remarkable testimonies by the Archbishop of the Orthodox Church and the Sheik of the Moslem community.

In memory of Mgr. Migliorati, third Bishop of Hawassa, a plaque was placed in the atrium of the cathedral, alongside the tomb of the first Bishop, Mgr. Armido Gasparini.

ITALIA

Comboni Missionaries and Immigration

We Comboni Missionaries, together with many others, both Christians and non-Christians, welcome joyfully and with gratitude the visit of Pope Francis to the island of Lesbos, the first port of call of many migrants fleeing from wars, dictatorships and situations of permanent insecurity. This gesture of his is a prophetic gesture of solidarity and closeness both to the refugees and to the citizens of the island and all the people of Greece who are so generous in welcoming others. In its context, the visit of Pope Francis is a rebuke to the nations of Europe which, in violation of the principle of non-rejection of people in need of protection, approved by international law, have closed, or are closing their frontiers to migrants. (Comboni Missionaries – Italy)

Meeting of Brothers in Pesaro

The annual Convention for Comboni Brothers was held in Pesaro from 28 April to 1 May. Thirty Brothers from the Italian Province and the Curia accepted the invitation. Some also came from Rome where they were doing studies or up-dating courses. As has become traditional in recent years, there were also three postulants from Padua who are preparing to enter the novitiate to become Brothers: thanks to them, the European novitiate will be reopened. The theme chosen, “The Comboni Brother close to the poor”, was developed by various interventions in which the starting point was one’s own experience and service; moments of listening alternated with times for debate and sharing.

Renewal of religious vows

On 1 May, 13 scholastics of the Casavatore Scholasticate renewed their vows. Fr. Jeremias dos Santos Martins, Vicar General, was invited to participate. On the eve of the celebration, the scholastics had a day of desert directed by Fr. Jeremias, during which the Vicar General invited the young scholastics to make a memorial of their lives, especially in this, their final year. Using the Gospel of the wedding feats of Cana and the disciples of Emmaus, Fr. Jeremias highlighted three dimensions of Christ: He walks with us, listens closely to us and stays with us. He then took some points from the Rule of Life and the Chapter Acts, underlining their importance for our spiritual lives.

The renewal of the vows was made during the Sunday Vespers. The scholastics were invited to live out their vows with great interior responsibility and freedom, remembering that the vows hold good not only for consecrated people but for all Christians. The celebration was followed by refreshments in which some confreres who work near Casavatore also took part.

Arms trafficking

Two articles in the May issue of Nigrizia on the “Government Report on the trafficking of arms” caused a flood of hits on Nigrizia Facebook and Twitter. The first part had almost 60,000 Facebook hits and the second had almost 30,000. The usual average number of hits is around two or three thousand or, when things go very well, around eight or nine thousand.

This success is due to the fact that the Network is attracted by these themes and the data were a new national record. The articles in Nigrizia were taken up by other online papers and magazines such as Il Fatto quotidiano, Repubblica, l’Internazionale, Articolo 21 (website of the Italian journalists), etc.

25th anniversary of the Peoples’ Festival in Verona

On 22 May, the 25th anniversary of the Peoples’ Festival was celebrated in Verona. Comboni Missionaries were remembered, especially Fr. Adriano Danzi, seen as one of the main promoters of the feast in the entire diocese. To mark the anniversary, an oak tree was planted in the locality of Villa Buri, where the first feast was celebrated. A plaque bearing the name of the promoters was attached to the tree.

MEXICO

Meeting of Circumscription Superiors

The annual meeting of Circumscription Superiors of the American Continent took place in Mexico City from 9 to 13 May. The Delegate of Asia was not present as he was at that time welcoming Fr. General who was visiting the delegation. Fr. Rogelio Bustos Juárez, Assistant General in office, accompanied the meeting. It was a time of intense listening and reflection on the challenges of the continent: the loss of values, the increase of relativism, discouragement in some ecclesiastical quarters, the earthquake in Ecuador, the social-political instability of Brazil and, in general, the injustice and violence of the region.

Besides evaluating the Continental Plan and the comments on the continental Vademecum, the urgent problems in the sectors of evangelisation, mission promotion, formation and vocations promotion, finance and ongoing formation, were dealt with. Priorities were revisited including that of a more qualified commitment to pastoral among the Afro, indigenous peoples, in city peripheries and in vocations ministry among the youth. The Guide to the Implementation of the XVIII General Chapter was then taken into consideration point by point in order to contextualise it. The high points were the celebration of the Eucharist in the basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe and participation in the first professions of four novices.

First vows

On Saturday, 14 May, at Xochimilco, four young men from different countries made their first vows: Daniel Víctor León Vázquez, from Peru, Deivith Harly Zanioli Gonçalves, from Brazil, Telmo Efraín Castillo Merino, from Ecuador, and Jalver Lizcano González, from Colombia.

The Provincial of Ecuador, Fr. Rafael González Ponce, accompanied by all the provincials of America, presided at the Mass. In his homily, Fr. Rafael underlined three important points in the life of the newly professed: belonging to God, to the Mission and to a religious family.

The new Comboni Missionaries will continue their studies before making their perpetual profession: Bro. Daniel Víctor in Lima, Deivith at the scholasticate of Casavatore, Telmo Efraín in Kinshasa and Jalver Lizcano in the scholasticate of Lima.

Besides the 23 concelebrating priests, there were also present other confreres, Comboni Sisters, relatives and friends from far away. The liturgy was enlivened by the seminarians of the postulancy of San Francisco del Rincón.

PERU-CHILE

Young Comboni Missionaries renew their vows

The eight young men studying theology at the Comboni scholasticate of Lima, in Peru renewed their religious vows on 1 May. The Eucharistic celebration was presided over by Fr. Luis Alberto Barrera Pacheco, the Provincial Superior of Peru, accompanied by Fr. Erasmo Norberto Bautista Lucas, Provincial Superior of Mexico and Fr. Tomas Herreros Baroja, Superior of the community of the scholasticate. The missionaries who renewed their consecration to God were: João Mponda, from Mozambique, David Dunga Nyinga and Gratien Mwanawatumwa Muhindo, of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Javier Martin Ruiz Eche, from Peru, Joseph Githua Ng’ang’a, from Kenya, Alessio Geraci, from Italy, Archangel Banda, from Zambia, and Christian Luis Fuentes Valdivia, from Mexico.

PORTUGAL

National Meeting of Missionary Cenacles

On 30 April, 2016, the Cenacles of missionary prayer held their IX National Meeting. About 250 people from over thirty cenacles from various dioceses gathered at Maia for a special time of testimonies. The Mass was presided over by Fr. Leonel Claro who was leaving for Chad. At the offertory, all the donations collected during the year by the cenacle members were presented. This year, they are helping to expand the Comboni Postulancy in Kisangani (Congo). The cenacles are a pastoral initiative in which lay people become evangelisers and missionary animators of their communities, in which they strive to achieve the Biblical model St. Daniel Comboni proposed for the Institute: a small cenacle of apostles who radiate the light and warmth of the heart of the Good Shepherd.

Qualified to teach Nursing

On 5 May, 2016, Bro. António Manuel Nunes Ferreira successfully defended his thesis “Knowledge of HIV-AIDS in the patients of a hospital in Lakes State, South Sudan” and received the qualification to teach nursing. Bro. Nunes already had a specialisation in community nursing. He is now back in South Sudan teaching at the Catholic Health Training Institute, Wau.

Saying Yes to God – four times

The novices Torres José Bonjesse, Elias Samuel Elias e Felizardo Ntzicusacuenda, from Mozambique, and Henrique Ramos Torres, from Portugal, made their first religious profession on 21 May, in the cathedral of Santarém. The Bishop of Santarém, Mgr. Manuel Pelino Domingues, presided at the Eucharist and, in his homily, he emphasised that “the three vows lead us to follow with greater dedication and availability, the path of the Gospel”.

Comboni family members, local clergy and relatives and friends of the four newly-professed filled the cathedral. Also present were the Provincial of Mozambique, Fr. José Luis Rodríguez, and the general Secretary of Formation, Fr. John Baptist Opargiw.

Missio Band provided the music for the celebration which lasted almost two hours. The feast was concluded at the European Novitiate of Santarém.

For their theological studies, Henrique and Elias will go to Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo), Felizardo to Nairobi (Kenya) and Torres to Lima (Peru).

SOUTH SUDAN

Let us take care of our common home: South Sudan

The Association of religious Superiors in South Sudan (RSASS) held its annual conference from 27 to 30 April, 2016, in Juba, South Sudan. The participants numbered 72 men and women religious from all over the country who studied and reflected together, letting themselves be guided by the theme of the meeting: “Taking care of our home: reflections on Laudato si’ and its implications for consecrated life and ministry in South Sudan”. After three workshop days, the RSASS held its Annual Assembly, at the end of which the participants issued a statement.

The Papal Nuntio, Archbishop Charles Balvo, presided at the opening Mass and the closing Mass was led by the Comboni Archbishop Paulino Lukudu Loro, of the diocese of Juba, who gave support and encouragement, describing generally the situations of difficulty in those dioceses where there are neither bishops nor leadership.

Fr. Daniele Moschetti, a Comboni, and Bro. Bill Firman, of Solidarity with South Sudan, were re-elected for a further two years. Fr. Federico Gandolfi, OFM, for the first time, was also elected for two years. Fr. Moschetti, however, will resign as President of the RSASS at the end of 2016, that is, at the end of his mandate as Provincial Superior.

TCHAD

First Profession

In Sarh, on Sunday, 15 May, 2016, the feast of Pentecost, two young novices of the international French-speaking novitiate dedicated to the Holy Cross, Simon Agede from Togo-Ghana-Benin, and Jexis Berlin Biro from Central Africa, took first vows.

In the course of the Mass, led by the Ordinary, Mgr. Edmond Djitangar, the Master of Novices, Fr. Fidèle Katsan Fodagni Kokouvi, Vice-Delegate of Chad, received the vows of the candidates in the name of their respective Provincials. It was a joyful celebration with numerous confreres and faithful among the participants. As they continue their formation journey with their theological studies, Simon will remain in Cape Coast, Ghana, and Jexis will go to Nairobi, Kenya.

TOGO-GHANA-BENIN

Religious professions and preparation of the Six-year Plan

On 1 May, in Cotonou, in the Comboni-run parish of St. Francis of Assisi, we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the perpetual profession of Bro. Oscar da Cunha, a Portuguese Comboni Missionary, a member of the formation team of the international novitiate of Cotonou. On the same occasion, five scholastics and one brother belonging to the Province renewed their vows. It was a good opportunity to thank the Lord for the humble and faithful missionary testimony of Bro. Oscar throughout the many years he worked in Togo, Ghana and Benin. The celebration took place during Sunday Mass and allowed the young people present to feel interiorly the challenge of a more explicit Christian commitment.

From the evening of 9 May to the morning of 12, the Province gathered for a session of ongoing formation to study together the Chapter Acts and the Guide for their implementation in view of preparing a new Six-year Plan. With group work and sharing in assembly, we went through the Acts and the proposals of the Guide, trying to identify priorities for the future of the circumscription. In the coming months, a commission will prepare a draft of a plan that will again be worked over and discussed by all the confreres. The session ended on Thursday 12, in the cathedral of Lomé where, as a provincial community, we experienced the Extraordinary Jubilee of mercy, passing through the Holy door and celebrating the Eucharist together.

UGANDA

Church dedicated to St. Daniel Comboni

The church which was built to commemorate the centenary of the coming of the faith to Gulu and dedicated to St. Daniel Comboni is now fully functioning. Bro. Elio Croce first proposed the project and it was he who bought the plot and built the church. It is located on the road from Juba, near the Lacor hospital.

The apse is painted in the Byzantine style. To the left and right of the tabernacle there are figures of Daniel Comboni and the two martyrs of Paimol. Bakita, Anuarite, Bakanjia and the martyrs of Namugongo are also depicted. Above the arches of the nave, on one side, there are paintings of the bishops of the last century while on the other, still incomplete, the faces of our first missionaries and the first Sisters will be visible. “Since October, 2014 – Bro. Elio writes – we have celebrated the Mass every Sunday. The church is always full. A very good community has been formed with a Small Christian Community, a choir, altar servers, a catechist, the Legion of Mary and a charismatic group. There is a great demand for the sacraments with many baptisms and confirmations and some marriages. On 15 May, Pentecost Day, the Archbishop of Gulu, Mgr. John Baptist Odama, came to celebrate Mass for the first time”.

Let us pray for our beloved dead

THE BROTHER: Roger, of Fr. Timothée Kouassi Hounaké (T); Horacio, of Bro. Pierre Fafa Ayih (SS).