Familia Comboniana 800 - October 2021

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION

Journeys by the General Council

Fr. Tesfaye Tadesse

9-10 October: Roma (to participate in Synod events)

11-19 October: DSP (Centenary of the arrival of the Comboni Missionaries in Elwangen)

Fr. Jeremias dos Santos Martins

1-11 October: Kenya (Apdesam Ascaf meeting)

22 October- 8 November: Portugal

Fr. Pietro Ciuciulla

5-11 October: Kenya (Apdesam meeting-Comboni Study House)

31 October-7 November: Chad (ASCAF Chapter delegates)

Fr. Alcides Costa

6-14 November: Mexico (meeting of America and Asia Chapter delegates)

Bro. Alberto Lamana

8-19 October: DSP (Centenary of the arrival of the Comboni Missionaries in Ellwangen)

Perpetual professions

Sc. Felizardo J. J. Ntsicuzacuenda (MO) Nampula (MO)       11.09.2021

Sc. Elias Samuel Elias (MO)             Nampula (MO)       11.09.2021

Sc. Sirak Medhanie Ghebrenigus (ER) Asmara (ER)      18.09.2021

Sc. Mina Albeer Tawfik (EGSD)       Cairo (EGSD)         14.09.2021

Sc. José Jeremias Salvador (MO)    Cairo (EGSD)         14.09.2021

Ordinations to the priesthood

Fr. Alionzi Ronald (RSA)                Ombaci (UG)          04.09.2021

Holy Redeemer Guild

October           01 – 07 RCA        08 – 15 TCH           16 – 31 RSA

November       01 – 15 SS           16 – 30 T

Prayer intentions

October – Together with all the missionaries of the world, we thank the Lord for the opportunities he gives us of serving the neediest and we pray that we may always be able to do it with love. Lord hear us.

November – That God may welcome into his peace all who have died due to the pandemic and console their relatives and all who mourn them. Lord hear us.

CURIA

Campaign for disinvestment in the mining industry

On 10 September, at the Generalate in Rome, a meeting was held to reflect on the campaign for disinvestment in the mining industry being conducted by the ecumenical movement “The church and the Mining Industry”, also taking into account what we are reminded of by the Final Document of the Amazonia Synod: “It is necessary to seek alternative economic models that are more sustainable and more nature-friendly With a sound spiritual basis”.

The moderator of the meeting was Guilherme Cavalli, the contact person in Europe of this campaign which is an appeal to all ecclesiastical institutions to review their financial investments in relation to the multinationals involved in the mining of minerals which causes enormous environmental damage and endangers the lives of the local populations.

In his encyclical Laudato Si’, Pope Francis reminds us that the ecological and social crises are closely connected. This is particularly true in mining activities: the large corporations enrich themselves at the cost of the sufferings of the weakest while many populations live in contaminated locations or are forced to seek other places to live.

EGSD

Celebration of perpetual vows

Il 14 September, the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, the Egypt-Sudan province witnessed the perpetual vows of two of its members: the Sc. Mina Albeer Tawfik who completed his theological studies in Nairobi, Kenya, and then returned to Egypt, his native country, to receive his first missionary mandate, and the Sc. José Jeremias Salvador, a Mozambican who completed his theological studies in Cape Coast, Ghana, and was assigned to this province to study the Arabic language and Islamology.

The celebration took place at the shrine of Cordi Jesu, founded by St Daniel Comboni, though the present structure is an enlarged version of the original one. The shrine was the first to be dedicated to the Sacred Heart on the African continent and the celebration was held there especially to remember the love of God for his people which every missionary is called to incarnate by his work.

Neither was it by chance that it was celebrated on the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. The Cross was point of reflection and inspiration for St Daniel Comboni. On 12 May 1875, he wrote to Cardinal Alessandro Franchi: “That all the works of salvation are born and grow at the foot of the Cross is a fact proved by the constant experience of nineteen centuries”. Our world of today is also experiencing the Cross in the many forms that constitute the crosses that each one of us must bear. The words of St Daniel Comboni inspire us when – in the same letter – he writes that “the divine Heart of Jesus will, in his infinite goodness and mercy, put right everything that has gone wrong, just as He, by His grace, has always guided and will continue to guide the Holy Work”.

This deep experience of Comboni leads the works of salvation born at the foot of the Cross to converge in the Sacred Heart of Jesus which puts all things right. It is in the light of these two faces of the same coin that we may better understand the lifelong commitment of these two confreres of ours.

The celebration was attended by most of the Combonis in Egypt and some priest friends. The vows were received by Fr. Richard Kyankaaga, representing the Provincial Superior. A number of family members and friends of the two scholastics were also present. With unforgettable joy, the Institute in general and the province in particular raised their thanksgiving to God for the gift of these vocations. With gratitude to god, we ask Him to continue to guide those who have embarked upon this arduous undertaking so that they may definitively follow Christ as Comboni did and that He may inspire many more to commit themselves to the sequela along the way of the Comboni charism. May our Founder, the great missionary of Africa, intercede for us and keep us united as one in the Comboni Family.

60^th anniversary of priestly ordination

The month of September has been a month of countless blessings for the province of Egypt-Sudan. On 8 September 2021, Fr. Giuseppe Benito Cruciani, the oldest member of our province, celebrated his sixty years of priesthood. The main celebration took place on 12 September at Aswan where Fr. Benito is living. Among those attending were Catholic-Coptic priests, our confreres, the Comboni Sisters and a large number of the faithful. A few days earlier, a celebration had been held at Luxor together with the clergy of the diocese and Bishop Emmanuel Bihoy. On 19 September, the celebration was held at the parish of Zamalek, in Cairo, with the participation of confreres, Comboni Sisters and many friends. For the occasion, the main celebrant was the Apostolic Nuncio to Egypt and the Arab League. During the same celebration, the Sc. José Jeremias Salvador was ordained deacon.

Fr Benito was ordained in 1961 and then worked in Italy for eight years; he was then sent to Khartoum, Sudan, where he remained until 1991. From that time on, he remained in Egypt where he worked in almost all the communities. He was, therefore, in Africa for 52 years without interruption.

There were 25 confreres in his class of 1961, ten of whom are still in active ministry. Unfortunately, it was not possible for them to meet and celebrate their ordination anniversary together due to the measures required by the pandemic.

We wish Fr Benito and all those of his year a fruitful anniversary and plentiful blessings from God so that they may continue to serve Him and the mission with undiminished zeal and fidelity, as ministers of the riches of the love of God and of faith.

Provincial Assembly

The provincial assembly in preparation for the Chapter for the area of Sudan has been held in Bahri. In the province of EGSD, the two areas hold their assemblies separately. The meeting, which was held from 10 to 12 August at the provincial house, concentrated on three themes: the situation of the communities, especially as regards the challenges posed by the pandemic; preparation for the XIX General Chapter, following the outline of the questionnaire proposed by the preparatory commission in Rome; a review of what was implemented by the six-year plan. It was expected that Father General, Fr. Tesfaye Tadesse, would attend but, unfortunately, he had to wait longer than was foreseen for his visa (which was actually granted a few weeks later).

In conclusion, the assembly formulated some recommendations for the future discernment of the province, especially with reference to five guidelines: sustainability, the requalification of our houses, vocations promotion, the formation of the local clergy, opening the task of teaching at CCK to other Institutes.

Visit of the Superior General to Sudan

The Superior General, Fr. Tesfaye Tadesse, came to visit Sudan from 21 August to 11 September. He thus completed is visit to the province which he commenced in October last year with his visit to Cairo.

During the first week Fr. Tesfaye preached a course of spiritual exercises for come confreres and other religious. He afterwards visited the communities of Masalma, Comboni College, Kosti, El Obeid and Port Sudan, staying for at least two days in each community. The visit was for him a return to his first mission where many Christians still remember him, despite the passing of a score of years since he left Sudan (which he visited in 2010 as Assistant General).

At the end of the visit, during which he had a meeting with some of the bishops of Sudan and a day retreat with the Comboni Sisters at Villa Gilda, Fr. Tesfaye met with the Provincial Council.

Before leaving for Rome, he shared his observations with the conferees present in Khartoum. His encouragement of the confreres was very much appreciated by those who have had the good fortune to lie and work there where Comboni died and the Institute was born, a land where challenges are still encountered. The confreres of the area have expressed their deep appreciation for Fr. Tesfaye’s visit. The Sudan bade him goodbye with a warm “arrivederci!”. (Fr. Richard Kyankaaga, mccj)

Inauguration of the new CIEC headquarters

The Comboni Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre (CIEC), now officially registered as the C-Hub Limited Company by Guarantee, the property of Comboni College of Science and Technology (CCST) and Comboni College Khartoum (CCK), on Saturday 28 August inaugurated the extension of its headquarters. The extension includes another floor with a space for co-working, three offices, a kitchen and a veranda. The enlargement was made possible by the support of the Ballano family of Bilbao (Spain) and the Comboni Missionaries in Spain.

The event was honoured by the presence of the Apostolic Nuncio to Sudan, the Italian Ambassador, the Vice Head of Mission of the Spanish Embassy, the Provincial Superior of the Comboni Missionaries in Egypt and Sudan, the Head of CSI Human Resources of the Haggar Holding Company, the Marketing and Commerce Executive of the Indian Embassy in Sudan, the Commissioner for Cultural Heritage of the African Union, the Architects, the Headmistress of the Sisters School of Khartoum,  the Technical Consultant of the German Company for international cooperation (GTZ), representatives of the UNEP and the Ministry of Transport and some members of the staff of the CCST.

The Secretary of the Administration explained the reasons why the College created the Start-up incubator, its adherence to the concept of social entrepreneurship and its mission to promote a type of integral ecology that includes environmental, economic, social, cultural and daily life (human ecology), dimensions of human development in that they are closely interconnected and centred upon the human person. This mission is achieved by supporting the creation of micro-businesses by young entrepreneurs with the aim of promoting sustainable and communitarian development and also social inclusion.

The director of C-Hub conducted the event and presented the members of the staff and the methodology of the work. The team leader presented the ongoing projects and others being prepared by the C-Hub.

Concluding the event, the diplomatic representatives of Spain and Italy unveiled a commemorative plaque as an expression of gratitude to Carmen and José María Ballano who made this project possible.

ERITREA

Perpetual profession and diaconate

On 18 September 2021, the scholastic Sirak Medhanie pronounced his perpetual profession in the Comboni chapel at the Delegation house in Asmara. Fr. Habtu Teklay, Superior Delegate, presided at the Eucharistic celebration at which Sirak’s parents were present along with all the confreres of the delegation, the students, the Comboni Missionary Sisters and other religious. Fr. Habtu emphasised the meaning of consecrated life: Sirak consecrated his life as an offering to God and the missions, like the poor woman in the Gospel who gave all she had.

After the Eucharist, the Combonis and Sirak’s family shared a fraternal meal.

The following day, Sunday 19 September, Sirak was ordained deacon by our confrere Mons. Menghesteab Tesfamariam, Archbishop of Asmara, at the parish of Kidane Mehret Sembel where our scholasticate is located and where Sirak worked among the youth for the previous three years.

Fr. Habtu thanked the parents of Sirak for encouraging him in his vocation and the confreres who accompanied him in his formative journey from the moment he entered the minor seminary in 2009. The parents are Orthodox Christians: his father encouraged him and exhorted him to be faithful to the call he received from God and said he looked forward to his priestly ordination.

In his homily, the Archbishop reminded the faithful present to be supportive towards their servants in the Church. He then thanked Sirak’s parents and the Comboni Family. (Fr. Habtu Teklay mccj)

ITALIA

ACSE: the resumption of activities

Acse, the Comboni Association for the Service of Emigrants and refugees (which, in the category of Roma Accoglie Bene, won the V edition of the Roma Bpa Prize – best practices award) is resuming all its activities in Rome even though some of them will be rather limited. As indicated on the website, those availing of ACSE services need to have been vaccinated. The course of Italian, English Informatics and the personally attended workshops for dressmaking are only for those vaccinated. For the non-vaccinated and other cases, details are available online.

On Sunday 26 September, World day for Migrants and refugees, we gathered in St Peter’s Square to convey our voice of our greetings to the Holy Father. Our migrant friends were present with the flags of their various countries.

For the Feast of St Daniel Comboni, as usual, a Mass will be celebrated at the ACSE headquarters (Saturday 9 October), followed by a small agape, as an occasion to meet again and renew our relations.

We renew our thanks to all those who give of their time and energy in the various activities of the Association. (Fr. Venanzio Milani, mccj)

MOÇAMBIQUE

Perpetual profession and ordination to the diaconate

On 11 September, the Mozambican scholastics Felizardo João Jone Ntsicuzacuenda and Elias Samuel Elias gave their lives to God and to the service of the mission by professing perpetual vows in the Comboni Institute. The provincial superior Fr. António Manuel Bogaio Constantino received their vows and presided at the Eucharistic celebration in the chapel of the Comboni pre-postulancy in Nampula.

Even though the gesture was simple and celebrated with just a few people due to the pandemic, there were moments of profound spiritual and missionary interior life, especially when the two young men expressed their desire to follow Christ and serve the Church according to the charism of St Daniel Comboni.

The following day, 12 September, Felizardo and Elias were ordained deacons at the hands of the Archbishop of Nampula, Mons. Inácio Saure, a Mozambican Consolata missionary. The ceremony was held in the open air, in the atrium of the Nampula novitiate. Besides some Comboni confreres and Sisters, several family members and friends of the two young men were present. The Eucharistic celebration was enlivened by the choir of the parish of Santa Cruz and the friends of the Comboni community.

In his homily, Mons. Inácio emphasised that a deacon must place himself at the service of the Word and of the most forgotten of society, the poor and must follow Christ without aspiring to have a career and without seeking privileges. During the celebration, there were moments of great joy and gratitude to God for having granted the grace of these two young deacons.

As on the previous day, the ceremony was followed by a fraternal meal and a brief moment of conviviality between those attending.

PORTUGAL

Fr. Carlos Bascarán honoured by the Futebol Clube Maia

A group of people connected to the old football team of the Futebol Clube met on the afternoon of 22 September at the Comboni Seminary in Maia, Portugal, to honour Fr. Carlos Bascarán on the first anniversary of his death. Fr. Carlos played for Maia Futebol Clube during the period when he was studying Theology at Oporto and was a prefect at the Seminary from 1966 to 1970.

The Spanish Comboni Missionary was a native of Oviedo and fell victim to the Covid-19 on 22 September 2020, at Santa Rita, in the state of Paraíba, in North East Brazil. He was 79 years old and spent most of his life in that country. Fr. Joaquim Fonseca – a companion of Fr. Carlos in the community and as a virus patient – preside at the Eucharist and, in his homily, remembered the missionary and the work he did: “He was a priest who was good at football and at saying Mass”, he said, repeating the headline of an article by Rede Globo on the presence of Fr. Carlos on the team of the Ferrovie di João Neiva. Also present at the celebration were Fra José António Fonseca Santos, a Capuchin friar from Amial, Oporto, a team-mate of Fr. Carlos.

After the Eucharistic celebration, the group commemorated the former footballer with a simple ceremony: an olive tree was planted and a commemorative plaque was unveiled in the space close to the seminary football pitch with the inscription: “A priest footballer of F. C. Maia, Carlos Bascarán Collantes (1941-2020), a friend whose memory the fans  keep in their hearts”.

During the commemoration, there was the presentation of the “Projeto Legal” (http://projetolegal.org.br/), one of the social works dearest to Fr. Carlos. Since April 2014, the Project has taken care of more than 160 street children of Marcos Moura, in the Commune of Santa Rita, providing them with food and education.

Fr. Carlos, besides being an excellent footballer, was also a skilled musician. He would use the ball and music as a missionary way of being with his people. A humble and cheerful man with a long white beard, he abandoned his sandals only when he put on his football boots.

He was studying chemistry at Oviedo University when he chose the Comboni missionary life which he pursued in Portugal, Spain and most of all in Brazil.

TOGO

Silver Jubilee

From 14 September 1996 to 14 September 2021: 25 years as an ordained priest for Fr. Justin Dosso-Yovo which the province of Togo-Ghana-Benin celebrate joyfully with a Mass celebrated at the provincial house.

Due to the worldwide pandemic, only the confreres from Togo attended, together with some lay-people friends of Fr. Justin who presided at the celebration expressing his joy and his pride as a Comboni missionary. Right from the start and throughout his missionary life, Fr. Justin felt that the influence of some Combonis was very important, especially that of some confreres such as Fr. Bruno Gilli who, on that same day, 14 September, was celebrating his birthday and whom Fr. Justin mentioned several times, underlining the great contribution he gave to his formation and his missionary life.

While thanking the confreres and the provincial, Fr. Justin recounted the many difficulties he had to face during those 25 years of missionary and priestly life saying: “I reached the conclusion that Jesus is the centre of everything. I feel I am very much a Comboni”.

Speaking at the end of the Mass, the provincial superior Fr. Timothée Hounaké emphasised that the meaning of the priestly life is the giving of oneself: “Like Jesus, we are called to become Eucharist, a gift for others”. The ceremony was followed by a fraternal agape.

LET US PRAY FOR OUR BELOVED DEAD NOSTRI DEFUNTI

THE MOTHERS: Lia, of Bro. Alberto Parise (C); Geltrude, of Fr. Giulio Albanese (C); Ivona Nalongo, of Fr. Richard Kyankaaga (EGSD).

THE BROTHERS: Dennis, of Fr. Michael Donald Barton (SS); Primo, of Fr. Enzo Bellucco (CN); Luis Gonzaga, of Fr. Armindo Silva Dinis (P).

THE SISTERS: Egle, of Fr. Francesco Pierli (I); Negist, of Fr. Sebhatleab Ayele Tesemma (ET).

THE COMBONI MISSIONARY SISTERS: Sr. M. Guglielmina Ravasio, Sr. María del Pilar Díez Saenz, Sr. M. Francesca Mazzocchi.