Familia Comboniana 830 - June 2024

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION

First professions

Perpetual professions

Ordinations

Holy Redeemer Guild

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

July                 01 – 15 KE           16 – 31 M

Prayer intentions

June – That, following the example of St Daniel Comboni, we may keep our eyes fixed on Jesus crucified to assimilate the sentiments of his Heart and bear witness to this through communion between us, with the local Churches and with the poorest. Lord, hear us.

July – That, following the example of St Daniel Comboni, we may keep our eyes fixed on Jesus crucified to assimilate the sentiments of his Heart and bear witness to this through communion between us, with the local Churches and with the poorest. Lord, hear us.

Comboni liturgical calendar

June

Meaningful anniversaries

June

Publications

►Edited by Arnaldo Baritussio, mccj, Annuncio oltre le parole. Dott. Padre Giuseppe Ambrosoli Comboniano, Missionari Comboniani, Roma November 2023. An attractive book ending with a photo album showing extracts from the beatification of Father Ambrosoli which took place on 20^th November 2022. The book brings together nine contributions that retrace both some periods of the life of the doctor from Kalongo, and some aspects of his figure in action, with the difficult task of recalling the life of a great doctor and missionary in historical fidelity, but also going further to explore the deeper meaning.

►Gerardo De Tomasi, mccj, Il Dono del Regno della divina volontà. Compendio alla conoscenza dei Libri di Cielo, Verona 2024. Almost 500 pages from writings on the Divine Will that Jesus revealed to the mystic and Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta. Father Gerardo specifies: this creature, which Jesus chose “to begin in her the fulfilment of his plan... so that he may be known in the Church and in the whole world”, has always been under the authority of her various confessors and in obedience to Ecclesial authority.

►Walking with God’s People. 100 Years of Comboni Presence in South Africa (1924-2024), Comboni Media Centre, Pretoria 2024. With a presentation by the provincial superior Father John Baptist K. Opargiw, the book is based on the volume The Comboni Missionaries in South Africa 1924-1994, by Father Konrad Nefzger (who also wrote the preface of this book we are now presenting), with a number of “historical” photos in addition to the contributions of some confreres.

►Justino Martínez Pérez, mccj, Historias para vivir. Leer la Biblia desde la vida, ed. Claret, second edition, considerably increased, in Castigliano and Catalan. The first edition was, in its time, translated into Italian for the EMI, with the title La Parola che è in te.

Written in a simple style, the book presents a formative proposal that is methodological, experiential and spiritual since “The first step towards the renewal of theology, pastoral and spirituality is to renew the manner of reading the Bible” (Frederic Raurell). These naive stories contain a threefold level of meaning in their plot. The reader is asked to navigate the ocean of the Bible and get involved personally to tell how the journey is unfolding. Good luck!

CURIA – STUDIUM COMBONIANUM

Manuscripts on the beginnings of the mission in Sudan discovered

Last summer, during the research on the friendship between Comboni and Canon John Chrysostom Mitterrutzner, published in the Comboni Archive (Year LIV – 2024, pp. 185-239), an important part of the correspondence of Friedrich Emanuel von Hurter (1787-1865), ex-Protestant pastor converted to Catholicism, president and true soul of the Marienverein of Vienna from 1851 to 1865. We immediately understood that it was an important discovery for the historiography of the Sudanese mission, also because there had been sent copies of two letters from Comboni and two from Don Mazza.

The documents found are around one hundred and fifty. After the letters of Comboni and Mazza, the most important for us are perhaps those of the first three apostolic pro-vicars – Ignazio Knoblecher, Matteo Kirchner and Giovanni Reinthaler – and of the superiors of the mother station of Khartoum: Giovanni Kocijancic and Giuseppe Gostner. The remaining letters also allow us a glimpse into the activities and important figures of the Marienverein.

Many of their names are known to us from Comboni’s Writings. In the diversity of their roles, they reveal to us the breadth of the group of people who in many ways actively helped the Sudanese Church to be born, and subsequently supported its growth. Perhaps we have not always been able to grasp the importance of the contribution of some of these people, often passed over in silence in the historiography of the mission. Hearing them speak in first person today, despite writing a lot about the mission and little about themselves, allows us to remember them and rediscover their discreet but fundamental role.

Organised by Studium Combonianum, the research – at the State Archives of Obwalden – was conducted by Joaquim Valente, with the participation of Father Reinhold Baumann and Father Markus L. Korber, between 7 and 11 April 2024. (Father Manuel Augusto L. Ferreira, mccj)

Colombia

Visit of Father David Domingues

From May 13^th to 27^th we had the pleasant visit of general assistant Father David Costa Domingues. His presence was greatly appreciated in all communities for his sensitive attention to the reality in which each confrere and each community lives, to the social, political and economic reality of the country, and to the context in which we are inserted.

During his visit to the communities of Tumaco, Cali, Medellín and Bogotá, he was able to see our work and our options, such as Afro-pastoral care, peripheral pastoral care, missionary and vocational animation, and formation. He also appreciated the simplicity, industriousness and joy that characterise the Colombian people, and the closeness that exists between us and our people.

Father David encouraged us to live and intensify our fraternal life, to review our presence according to our abilities, to have the necessary care with the people we deal with daily and to continue working with lay people. He said: “May our communities continue to be missionary following the example of Saint Daniel Comboni and accepting Pope Francis’ invitation to be a Church that opens its doors so that its members can both enter actively and go out to meet the poorest and most fragile.”

He also shared with us the personnel situation at the Institute level, highlighting the favourable vocation panorama in Africa, where Comboni’s dream is certainly coming true.

We thank Father David for his visit and for the joy he communicated to us in the moments of fraternal sharing with all of us.

ESPAñA

Brother Dario Laurencig awarded for his “committed optimism”

The editors of Anoche Tuve un Sueño [‘Last Night I Had a Dream’], a Spanish magazine with a strong social commitment, organise an event once a year to recognise people or organisations that promote a more humane global society. Among the various prizes, there is also the one awarded to the Optimistas Comprometidos [‘committed optimists’] which, this year, was awarded to Brother Dario Laurencig, an Italian Comboni missionary, originally from Cividale del Friuli (Udine), who has been working in Kenya for 44 years.

Brother Laurencig, 73 years old, with a specialisation in car mechanics, is ‘special’ in a thousand other things, among which his dowsing ability stands out, which allows him to identify natural elements underground, in particular water.

This ability has made him known not only in northern Kenya, largely desert, semi-arid and without watercourses, but also in other parts of the country, and even beyond the Kenyan borders. He is often called to ‘search for water’ in South Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania. And if there is any, he is sure to find it, and in the simplest way possible: with a wooden stick, usually in the shape of a ‘Y’, which acts as an amplifier of his body’s movements due to the radiation emitted by whatever he is looking for. If there is water under his feet, the stick begins to rotate between his two hands, and he can tell how many meters deep the precious liquid is found and also the quantity present. He can sense the presence of water even at a depth of 120-150 metres.

But Brother Dario does not limit himself only to seeking and finding water, as an unsurpassed diviner: he also makes it ‘gush’ on the surface. In fact, among the many services he provides to the populations he lives with, there is also the drilling of wells. He has excavated many of them, in particular in the schools and missions of northern Kenya, among the nomadic or semi-nomadic populations: Pokot, Turkana, Borana, Rendille... Bishops, missionaries, non-governmental organisations, local governors, and even European embassies have used him to provide water to the nomadic populations of East Africa. Brother Dario has formed a team of excellent workers, who are always on the move with him. Everyone wants Brother Dario, also because – coincidentally! – a well dug by him, topped with a nice hand pump, costs much less than an equivalent one dug by other companies or organisations.

The Anoche Tuve un Sueño jury recognised in Brother Dario not only his great sense of solidarity towards those in need but also his surprising ability to face things with cheerful and combative optimism.

ETHIOPIA

New website https://combonimissionariesethiopia.org/

The Comboni Missionaries in Ethiopia have launched a new website. Conceived and created by the team of the Comboni Youth Centre (YCC) of Hawassa, the new online page was presented to the Provincial Assembly last March and the Provincial Council approved it, thus expressing the ‘yes’ of the entire province to this new type of missionary presence on the Internet, a true ‘sixth continent’, which should be considered not a threat but an enormous opportunity.

“The initiative of a website of the Ethiopian Province is not new,” explained Father Pedro Pablo Hernández, one of the missionaries involved in its creation. “A few years ago, there was one, but it disappeared for different reasons”. He added: “The aim of the initiative is that future visitors to this new website can both know the rich testimony of life offered by the Comboni Missionaries in terms of pastoral service and receive inspiration from their specific vision of mission, in view of an active participation in the work of evangelisation of the Church.”

The website has two main sections: a) news, regularly updated, and b) information that remains available for longer.

The ‘news page’ provides missionary news, both global and Ethiopian news, life testimonies, prayer intentions, and Ethiopian literature (proverbs, fables and stories). Visitors to this page can leave comments and prayer requests.

The ‘information page’ contains articles on San Daniele Comboni, on the history of the Comboni Missionaries in the world and in Ethiopia, on the work of the Provincial Secretariats (Mission and Formation) and on Vocations.

The ‘Comboni Missionaries in Ethiopia’ section offers a rich photo gallery and the presentation of the works published by the missionaries, in over six decades of presence in Ethiopia, in various local languages (Amharic, Sidama, Guji, Gedeo and Gumuz). (Father Joe Vieira, mccj)

ITALIA

Golden Jubilee of Father Vittorio Barin

On Sunday 28^th April 2024, the community of Pozzetto di Cittadella celebrated together with Father Vittorio Barin, a Comboni missionary. He himself said: “With immense joy and gratitude to the Lord, I celebrate with you the 50^th anniversary of my priestly ordination, which took place in the Cathedral of Cittadella on 27^th April 1974, when the then bishop of Padua, Monsignor Girolamo Bortignon, laid his hands on my head and invoked the Holy Spirit upon me.”

He talked about his family: “I was born on 29^th March 1948 – it was Easter Sunday – to Antonio Barin and Agnese Bertollo. The fifth of seven brothers and sisters, including two Sisters of Providence, I had a happy and carefree childhood. I immediately absorbed the profound faith of the family and the Christian community, quickly becoming a faithful altar boy.”

In 1959, at the age of 11, with the fixed idea of becoming a missionary in Africa, he began his journey of Comboni formation, passing through various houses of the Institute: first in Trento, then in Padua, Lucca, Florence and, finally, in Rome, for philosophy and theology courses. Ordained a priest in Cittadella, the following day he was in Pozzetto for his first mass. He remembers: «It was a solemn mass, which I celebrated surrounded by numerous priests, missionaries, family and relatives, many friends and acquaintances, and by the joyful and festive parish community».

For Father Vittorio, the path to the mission in Africa immediately opened up. He went to London to study English, then to Beirut to study Arabic. “When I arrived in Beirut, I discovered that it was a city in the midst of war: bombs even fell in the backyard.” In September 1976 he arrived in Sudan, destined for the province of Darfur, where he remained for 14 years. He was then assigned to the Kordofan missions, where he worked for 6 years. “They were 20 wonderful years. Wherever I went, I was welcomed with great joy.”

Places like Darfur and Kordofan belonged to the mission of Saint Daniel Comboni. “I carried out intense apostolic work there, also characterised by social, educational and health works (dispensaries), but above all by initiatives aimed at the training of catechists, catechumens, parish leaders and young people.” With some emotion, he adds: “Between 1992 and 1996, I had the joy of working as parish priest of the Cathedral of El-Obeid, alongside Mons. Antonio Menegazzo, Apostolic Administrator of the diocese of El-Obeid, also originally from the parish of Pozzetto.”

In 1997, Father Vittorio was sent to Cairo (Egypt), to the parish of Zamalek, on an island in the middle of the Nile River. In 2000, he was assigned to the parish of Aswan, where he remained for 9 years. In 2009 he returned to Cairo, to the parish of the Sacred Heart, in the Sakakini district, where he dedicated his time to welcoming refugees from Sudan, who were numerous at the time. In 2012, he returned to Italy, assigned to various Comboni communities in northern Italy, dedicating himself to pastoral service, missionary animation and vocational promotion.

The ending words of Father Vittorio are a prayer: “Thank you, O Lord, for having granted me the same ministry as your son Jesus Christ, and for having associated me with his mission, in the service of the Word of God, of the Eucharist, of Charity, which is the human promotion of many poor and abandoned individuals and peoples.” The Eucharistic celebration was followed by refreshments for all the parishioners present. Then, Father Vittorio’s family met together for the family lunch. (Father Gaetano Montresor, mccj)

Meeting of the Italian Comboni Brothers in Verona

‘The art of listening as the heart of the Brother’s ministeriality’ was the theme of the conference of the Comboni Brothers of the Italian Province, which took place from 29^th April to 1^st May at the Mother House in Verona. The Brothers present were invited to engage in a moment of reflection and prayer under the guidance of Bro. Giandomenico Placentino, a monk of Bose.

On the morning of the 30^th, Bro. Giandomenico proposed the biblical image of Jesus in the desert (Mt 4.1-11). Faced with the temptations of the evil one, Jesus listens to the Word and remains faithful to it. Temptations are an opportunity for Jesus to practice listening to God. The second biblical passage proposed was that of the meeting between Jesus and the Canaanite woman (Mt 15.21-28). Jesus listens to the other person, but also to the present reality. Placing the other at the centre of our lives is fundamental to the Brother’s vocation. Being a Brother means being a man who listens to God and his Word, listens to himself, and also listens to others. In a world where many want to talk, there is a need for Brothers who know how to listen.

In the afternoon of the same day, Bro. Alberto Lamana shared an overview of the situation of the Brothers in our Institute. There are currently 193 brothers, including the five who made their first vows this year. There are some things that worry us, such as the ever-decreasing number of Comboni Brothers and the advanced ages of many of them. But there are also signs of hope: among these, there are the communities that are living the gift of fraternity in a very beautiful way and the new vocations that come above all from African countries. The central moment of the second day of the conference was the sharing with our elderly and sick brothers of Castel d’Azzano and the Eucharist celebrated together.

Verona – New parish church with a relic of Comboni

On Sunday 12^th May, Monsignor Domenico Pompili, Bishop of Verona, presided over the rite of dedication of the parish church of the Holy Family, placing a relic of Saint Daniel Comboni under the altar, together with those of Saint Zeno and Saint John Calabria.

The new church, which externally has the shape of a sail, was built in the second half of the last century, on the southern outskirts of the city of Verona, where a new working-class neighbourhood arose.

The parish priest, Don Flavio Bertoldi, asked the Comboni Missionaries for the relic for his church and a painting of their holy Founder, as has already happened for other churches in this diocese. (Father Romeo Ballan, mccj)

ACSE – Assembly and Celebration

►The annual meeting of the members of the Comboni Emigrant Service Association (ACSE) took place on 5^th May. The president, Father Venanzio Milani, presented the problems that migrants are facing at the moment and highlighted the various activities carried out by ACSE in 2023 in dental services, Italian and IT courses, legal assistance, tailoring courses, procurement and food distribution to individuals and families, etc. The activities are possible thanks to over 50 volunteers.

The assembly renewed the board of directors. The only variation compared to before is the inclusion of Father Luigi Codianni in place of Father Lino Spezia, appointed to another community.

The assembly thanked Father Lino for the great service he has rendered to ACSE for many years, wishing him all the best.

►On 26^th May, the ACSE Festival was held at the General Curia in Rome. Around 90 people participated, including members and volunteers from the various services that the Association provides to university students who benefit from our scholarships. ‘Io Capitano’, a 2023 film directed by the well-known director Matteo Garrone, was then screened. The film tells the adventurous journey of two young people, Seydou and Moussa, who leave Senegal to reach Europe. A true contemporary ‘Odyssey’ through the dangers of the desert, the horrors of the detention centres in Libya and the dangers of the Mediterranean Sea. An interesting debate followed the screening of the film. The new graduates were introduced to the participants and detailed information on the association’s activities was given. After a well-attended Eucharistic celebration, a ‘fraternal agape’ closed the celebration. (Father Venanzio Milani, mccj)

KENYA

Economics and accounting course for Scholastics and Brothers

From 14^th to 18^th May 2024, the International Scholasticate and the International Brothers Centre of Nairobi had a short training course on economics, led by Father Angelo Giorgetti, general bursar of the Institute, and by Father Maciej Zielinski Mikolaj, bursar and procurator of the Province of Kenya.

The course, which had as its theme ‘Taking care of creation–Management and Accountability’, had the aim of creating awareness of the various dreams and guidelines of the XIX General Chapter which aim at the sustainability of our communities.

The mornings were dedicated to in-depth study of topics such as the Chapter Acts, the drafting of projects, the Code of Conduct on financial abuse, the Total Common Fund, and some accounting principles. In the afternoons, however, we practised using the various Microsoft Excel functions to manage our accounts.

In his presentations, Father Angelo highlighted the role that each confrere has in promoting the sustainability of our communities and the Institute. He then challenged each of us to consider the community’s assets as ‘ours’ and to be ready to assume responsibility for them. He also helped us understand that the Total Common Fund is not just about money, but also about the little things that can be done for the well-being of the community. Father Maciej then presented the Province of Kenya as a good example of how the Total Common Fund is contributing to the sustainability of communities in Kenya.

Thanks to the help of Father Angelo, the participants were able to have a good knowledge of the use of Microsoft Excel to create simple accounts, maintain double-entry accounting, draw up an economic report and prepare a budget.

At the end of the 5 days of training, the Scholastics and the Brothers said they appreciated the input offered and suggested that the course should not be reduced to a sporadic thing, but become an annual program and that it be extended to the entire Institute, so that we can work together for the sustainability of our Communities and Provinces. (Sc. Winfred Etse Dzikunu)

MOçAMBIQUE

Priestly ordination of Father Carlos Fernando at Alua

On Saturday 27^th April, the parish community of Alua, Nampula, in the north of Mozambique, experienced a great celebration: two sons of this parish which is just over 50 years old and which, from the beginning, has been evangelised by Comboni Missionaries. How can we fail to remember some of the pillars of the parish, such as Fathers Vincenzo Capra, Cornelio Prandina, Graziano Castellari, Ambrogio Reggiori, Firmino Cusini, Brother Alfredo Fiorini, and many others who passed through here?

In truth, the parish has generated not only many Christians but also several generations of lay evangelisers, according to the style of Saint Daniel Comboni, as well as vocations of consecrated men and women. There are already four nuns originally from this parish, together with 12 priests, 9 of whom are diocesan. The Comboni Missionaries are only now receiv-ing the fruit of long years of evangelisation in the parish of S. João de Deus in Alua, where they have built a sanctuary dedicated to Mary, Mother of Africa.

In the presence of the 3 bishops, coming from the Diocese of Nacala, Msgr. Atanásio Canira, Bishop of Lichinga, and Msgr. Inácio Lucas, Bishop of Gurué, and 30 priests, both religious and diocesan, Comboni missionaries and friends, the Bishop of Nacala, Msgr. Alberto Vera, ordained the two new priests originally from Alua: Don Belém Casimiro and Father Carlos Fernando, the first Comboni priest of this parish, who will soon leave for the province of Togo to which he has been appointed.

All of us Comboni Missionaries present at the celebration felt immense joy when Msgr. Vera mentioned some confreres among the deceased who worked here: it was a nice gesture of gratitude. We are convinced that in the tender and eternal womb of the Father, all of them, in the embrace of Saint Daniele Comboni, rejoiced at seeing that the dream of our founder – ‘Saving Africa with Africa’ – has become reality in this first Comboni missionary of Alua. (Father Alberto Vieira, mccj)

PROVINCIA DE CENTRO AMÉRICA

Perpetual Vows in Costa Rica

The Comboni scholastic Chávez Ixchacchal Mynor Rolando, originally from Guatemala, took his perpetual vows on the morning of Sunday 28^th April, in the presence of Father Marín Artavia Ignacio Enrique, vice-provincial of the Province of Central America and parish priest of Nuestra Señora de la Medalla Milagrosa, in San José de Costa Rica, of Mons. Vittorino Girardi, Comboni priests and religious, seminarians, religious sisters of the parish and a good number of faithful. During the homily, Mons. Victorinus rhetorically asked Mynor if anyone had forced him to choose the priesthood. “Of course not! Nobody forced him,” the bishop reiterated: “He responded freely to his desire to love and to undertake a path of missionary consecration”. Mynor confirmed: “At the end of the homily, I said yes! And God answered me through these words of the bishop emeritus. After an applause and an embrace of closeness and welcome, I felt that I belonged, forever, to the Institute of the Comboni Missionaries.”

Mynor studied philosophy in Costa Rica, did his novitiate in Mexico and theological studies in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, the last stage of his basic training. We congratulate him and pray to the Lord of the harvest that many young people are willing to question themselves about the meaning of life and can respond boldly to the missionary vocation. (Father Juan Diego Calderón Vargas, mccj)

SOUTH AFRICA

Feast of the Comboni Centenary in Pietermaritzburg

‘The missionary legacy of Comboni in our vocational promotion and formation today’ was the theme of the celebration of the Comboni Centenary in South Africa, which was held in the parish church of Saint Joan of Arc in Pietermaritzburg, on Sunday 12^th May 2024.

At the opening, Father John Baptist Opargiw Keraryo, provincial superior, outlined the life of Saint Daniel Comboni, highlighting his passion for the regeneration of Africa and his constant commitment to recruiting people – “holy and capable” – for the mission. In a PowerPoint presentation, Father Efrem Tresoldi illustrated the figures of the confreres – as many as 14! – who have followed one another at the helm of the parish and the scholasticate from the beginning in 2002 to today.

The Eucharist, presided over by the archbishop of Durban, Msgr. Mandla Siegfried Jwara, missionary of the Mariannhill congregation, and enthusiastically participated by around 200 of the faithful, was animated by songs in Zulu and other South African and African languages, supported by the parish choir and accompanied by our scholastics with traditional musical instruments. In his homily, the bishop expressed words of gratitude for the service rendered by our confreres to the Christian community of Saint Joan of Arc, transmitting the richness of Comboni’s charism.

After the mass, a member of the parish organisational committee wanted to highlight how, thanks to the intervention of our confreres, a relationship of trust and respect had been established with the inhabitants of the slums surrounding the parish, putting an end to serious episodes of thefts. The archbishop, in turn, congratulated the Christian community for the joy with which they took part in the ceremony and invited them to remain steadfast in their faith and persevere: “So that it may not happen to you what is happening in Holland which I visited recently, where the churches have been emptied and only a small number of elderly people participate in ecclesial sacramental life.”

The Christian community then gathered in the garden, near the cave, where the bishop blessed the new statue of the Our Lady. The party continued with a Zulu dance show with boys and girls in traditional costumes. Finally, everyone was invited to the parish hall for a hearty lunch, prepared by the social committee of Saint Joan of Arc. (Father Efrem Tresoldi, mccj)

TOGO-GHANA-BENIN

Golden Jubilee of Comboni presence in Ghana

Having arrived on the coast of West Africa, precisely in Togo, in January 1964, the Comboni Missionaries spread, ten years later, to the two neighbouring countries, Ghana and Benin, to constitute the current province of Togo-Ghana-Benin.

On 26^th and 27^th April 2024, two events were organised to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Comboni presence in Ghana: a conference and a thanksgiving Mass.

In the ‘Good Shepherd’ parish of Mafi-Kumase, after the opening prayer of the bishop of the diocese of Keta-Akatsi, Msgr. Gabriel Edo Kumordji, SVD, the words of welcome from Father Achille Dansou, administrator of the parish, and a brief historical account of the Comboni presence in Ghana by Father Giuseppe Rabbiosi, one of the pioneers of the Comboni mission in Ghana, the superior general, Father Tesfaye Tadesse, presented the theme ‘Saving Africa with Africa’, assisted by Father Sindjalim Essognimam Elias, general assistant.

The culminating moment of the jubilee celebration took place in Accra, in ‘Our Lady of the Assumption’ parish, with a Mass presided over by the archbishop, Msgr. John Bonaventure Kwofie, concelebrated by Father Tesfaye and Father Elias, numerous confreres and some diocesan priests. In his homily, Msgr. Bonaventure thanked the Lord for the gift of Daniel Comboni to the Church and of the Comboni Missionaries to the people of Ghana.

LET US PRAY FOR OUR BELOVED DEAD

THE FATHER: Vincenzo, of Father Alessio Geraci (I)

THE BROTHERS: Roberto, of Father Enrique Ibarra Hernández (M); Laurence, of Father Patrick Wilkinson.

THE SISTER: Lourdes, of Father Jeremias dos Santos Martins (MO)

THE COMBONI SISTERS: Sr. Peralta Cantos Bertha Ernestina; Sr. Lebasi Fedele M.; Sr. Amparo Flores Torres