Writings

[2958]
How happy I am to have received your letter and to know that you will soon be in Rome! I went to tell the news to our Father, Cardinal Barnabò, and he answered me: “And you are so good as to believe that the Mother General will soon be coming to Rome? I will not believe it until I see her here: women religious don’t always tell the truth, nor do you priests always tell the truth”. But I replied that you will come to Rome in the first half of May.
Please bring with you the magnificent Report of the Congregation which Sr Caterina read last Monday to Cardinal Barnabò, because I would like to make a note of all the Houses and their progress to publish in Germany and in France. In Germany my Report on the Congregation has been published since 1869, and you will see it at Mother Caterina’s in Rome.

[2959]
You cannot be coming to Rome in better circumstances than these, because in mid-May the Cardinals of Propaganda are holding a special Congregation for me, to entrust me with the largest Vicariate of the earth and of Africa. Propaganda’s Prelates are look favourably upon me, but I cannot create a great Mission without Sisters. So I expect you to grant me all the Eastern Sisters you have in Marseilles. I have purchased a large Arab house in Kordofan with a big garden and I have partially paid for it. It is the first time in the world that the Cross has been raised in Kordofan, that Holy Mass has been celebrated and that Sisters will go to these lands to spread the Gospel. The city of El-Obeid has 64,000 pagans and 40,000 Muslims. They write to me that if two of our black girls from Cairo were there, they could do immense good.
So, what good will seven or eight Sisters of St Joseph do, with the oriental Sisters? I believe they will work miracles. Come to Rome and we will have a good talk: it is essential that you come in the first half of May. I hope you will be here next week.

[2960]
We will discuss my debt to Signor Lorenzo in Rome; I am very glad if you believe in all conscience that I can pay it all to you, I hope in a short time. And Sr Maria Bertholon? It has been a long time since she wrote to me from Sainte Afrique; the African girls love her very much and it would not be a bad plan to appoint her to one of our houses in Central Africa.
Give my regards to the Mother Assistant, that good woman of the Gospel. You can be proud of your Congregation!
Give my respects to Sr Genoveffa. I assure you that her name will never die in Cairo, since she did a great deal. She was the first to launch the charitable mission of the Catholic woman in the capital of Egypt, and she does the work of ten by herself. This is why she is always spoken well of in Cairo and always will be, for she has done a lot of good.

[2961]
Here in Rome you have a star of charity, talent and ability in the person of Sr Caterina. I tell you first that you will be very happy with her, for in the midst of so many difficulties she knows how to go ahead with the prudence and ease of a person of God, rich in experience. The Cardinals, Nobles, Princesses, the enemies and friends of the Pope have great admiration and esteem for her. She is a true daughter of St Joseph, and one of the daughters that most resembles him. You formed her according to his heart and you have succeeded well. All the other Sisters are very good and pious and have no will other than that of the superiors. In Rome you have a model community.
[2962]
Give your black girl to me: we will marry her in Kordofan, if she wishes, to a minor African chief.
We will talk about educating other Arab Sisters and how to provide the means. But in the meantime keep for me all those you have in Marseilles who have completed the Novitiate.
Here is the address of Cologne:

Monsieur Jaimes Müller
Sécrétaire des Vereines de
Heiliger Grabes
à St Ursule
COLOGNE (Prusse Rhenane).

Here is the ticket.
He is the Mayor and the Society’s factotum. Everything depends on him. I have received the 100 francs that you sent me on behalf of Signora Villeneuve. I shall be writing to her shortly.
Pray for your devoted son

Fr Daniel


Translated from French.

[2963]
Next Tuesday there will be a General Congregation of the Cardinals in the Vatican for me and my work: this is why I implore you to say many prayers for me and my cause, so that the Holy Spirit will inspire what is best for the poor Africans.
I am infinitely grateful to you for the 100 francs which I received from the Mother General. May God bless you for your admirable piety. I never cease to pray, in my smallness, for you, Auguste, Désiré, your husband and Marie. I have asked the Pope several times for a blessing for you, Auguste and Marie. He is so well that he has never been as strong and flourishing.

[2964]
Mother Emilie has been here since Saturday; she is well. She and Sr Caterina send you their respects. We always speak of you and say that we would be happy if our Signora de Villeneuve and Signor Auguste were here.
Since I am very busy in preparation for my Cardinals’ Congregation, I cannot write to you, but I will write after the results and other things.
Please give my affectionate respects to my dear Auguste and to Signora Marie; always look at heaven for which we are made and may the Blessed Virgin ever preserve you and your family, while I have the fortune to declare myself in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary,

Your most devoted Fr Daniel Comboni


Translated from French.

[2965]
A thousand thanks for your most precious letter of the 12th of this month. With God’s help I am flourishing, and we were both able to make a pilgrimage to Subiaco to visit St Benedict’s Santo Speco and spend two days with Fr Pio the African who is an angel; although he is poorly, when he returns to his country in Kordofan, he will certainly recover, since he has an excellent constitution. The Pope and Barnabò agree that he should be ordained a priest as soon as I have definitively consented to accepting him. Now that Your Excellency deigns to grant your venerable consent, in a fortnight our most devout Fr Pio, held in such esteem by the Pope and by many, will be a priest at our disposition. I have seen some of his achievements in Subiaco which are truly admirable. He is a beautiful acquisition.
[2966]
Concerning the Egyptian of Genoa about whom your Excellency wrote to me, I suspect that his ardour for the mission is a pretext to be repatriated at our expense. I wrote the reason to the Superior of that Institute of Artigianelli, asking him to give me a precise report of the petitioner in conscience: in addition I wrote to Don Bosco in Turin, where he was taken by Olivieri, to give me precise information about him, mentioning the reason why he left the Don Bosco Institute to go to the Artigianelli near Genoa. From their replies, we shall be able to come to a decision, and I shall not let myself be made a fool of by those who seek to extricate themselves from trouble by creating it for others.
[2967]
Our Ponenza will take place during the General Congregation in the Vatican next Tuesday, the 21st of this month. Last Friday a substantially favourable response arrived from Mgr Ciurcia, who was full of praise for the missionaries, African girls, sisters and Institutes, but he pointed out to us some exaggerations in the Report given to the Propagation of the Faith in Lyons, and printed in the Annals in January 1872. This letter was immediately printed, and on Saturday distributed to all the Cardinals of the Ponenza: Ponente, Cardinal Monaco La Valletta. It would be most useful if Your Excellency would write a couple of lines to this Eminent Cardinal at Palazzo Altemps recommending our matter to him and telling him that you hope the Institute of Verona will provide excellent members of the same type as Rossi, etc., and that there is great commitment to Africa in Verona etc. A Canon of Trani assures me that his Archbishop has another excellent candidate as good as Fiore ready to offer me when I pass through. This is what I had already gathered from the letter I recently received from that Archbishop.
[2968]
Fr Pio will be ordained titulo Missionis. I read Cardinal Barnabò your letter of the 12th, in which you compliment him and command me to kiss his hand. He answered me ordering me to give you his cordial greetings. As regards kissing his hand he told me that he does not want it kissed so that Your Excellency does not incur excommunication, because as long ago as 1856 His Eminence paid 16 scudi for a Brief of His Holiness Pius IX which strikes with excommunication anyone who kisses the hand of Barnabò. To Fr Perinelli, who always wants to kiss his hand, he always says “no: because it incurs excommunication.” When I insisted a long time ago that he should dispatch our matters in Propaganda, I said: “For the love of God, let us act quickly, because the Africans are being lost in the meantime: they are waiting for those who fly to their rescue”. To which His Eminence retorted, “They have already waited 4,000 years; they can wait another few months”.
I will pay Befani for the Voce. I would be very pleased if the Rector of the Seminary came. Geetings from our Mother General who is in Rome at the moment (she founded 28 Institutes in Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia), and from Marchese Baviera, Mgr Mannetti the Administrator at Subiaco, Cardinal de Silvestri, Barone Visconti, Fr Perinelli and your unworthy son greets you

Fr Dan. Comboni

Yesterday I saw the Pope, who is well, so don’t believe the gossip.

[2969]
How sorry I am that our dear, venerable and incomparable Rector is ill! I had already planned to go with him to the Reverend Father General of the Jesuits… and that we should take him to Verona ourselves… But let us pray fervently to the Lord to preserve this providential man for us. On Monday, I shall ask the Holy Father for a special blessing for the Rector. We often see the Holy Father, and a few days ago he told me to greet Your Excellency. The day before yesterday I sent Fr Perinelli to the Pope to ask him if he could take Communion from his most holy hands, and actually yesterday morning he had the great comfort of taking Communion from the Holy Father himself, in his chapel in the Vatican.
[2970]
I thank you for the most beautiful pictures of the novena, one of which I immediately had delivered to the Holy Father. They were very much appreciated in Rome and in fact, since I have none left I wanted to acquire some: and behold, your Excellency’s bounty offers me the opportunity; so I would be pleased if you could let me have at least 100 at the established price. I gave the souvenir to Giacobini and to many others; but I still have some. Giacobini and others to whom I gave it are actually on the board of the Society for the Sanctification of Sundays, which has done great good in Rome. Some on the Corso who stayed open on the Feast Day received an invitation to present their bills from distinguished Roman families, whose idea was then to abandon them for ever. When their customers implored the violators, they promised to stay closed; but it was all in vain. The violators will pay the penalty. The behaviour of the Romans is quite a spectacle, especially that of the young Catholics. When I speak to you, many things.
[2971]
The days until next Tuesday are dragging for me: but the Lord is good. I am very happy; the Cardinals are taking an enormous interest in the Work and are blessing Your Excellency’s courage and zeal, saying things that it would embarrass your humility to hear: but we are God’s puppets, so the honour is for him alone.
[2972]
I am moved to hear of the 100 or more people, chosen souls, who offered their life for the safe-keeping of the Holy Father. On Monday I shall tell the Holy Father who will be happy about it. In Rome no one pays any attention to Parliament, Government or King; in Rome, Pius IX alone reigns. It is a great consolation to hear of the piety of our good people of Verona. 600 Communions at the Scala, 500 at the Colombini. I would say that our clergy is almost second to none. Glory to God and to Verona! As I told you in my letter, I have searched and have had people search all over Rome for the book of St. Thomas Aquinas on the Gospel translated by Tommaseo, without being able to find one. I now suspend my search.
[2973]
As for those good souls in Lonato who write that Cerebotani is assailed by continuous proposals from Fr Comboni, I pray the Lord that he will bless them. For more than two months I have neither seen nor spoken to Fr Cerebotani nor heard him mentioned. Since I have been in Rome I have seen him three times; and the first time, he expressed his discontent with his position, adding that his inclination was to serve the ministry and the salvation of souls. Then I said to him as I say to all: “Come to Africa”. He told me, “I have had this intention for ages, but family circumstances are rather an obstacle”. That was the first time. The second time he came with Fr Peloso, to whom I said jokingly, pointing to Cerebotani, “Here is a future missionary of Africa”, and we talked about it and laughed together. The third time we did not mention it. This is the truth, which Your Excellency can tell and have read to those good souls in Lonago, who in turn can pass it on to Fr Cerebotani in Rome who will be able to testify to the truth of my words. The only observation I made to him is that he should commend himself to God, and consult with his Confessor, that he should take advice from some wise person; and should by chance his desire for the mission persist, he should write to Your Excellency, putting himself totally in your hands and letting himself be guided by you.
[2974]
But should Your Excellency see fit to approve his vocation, the Mission, omnibus absolutis, will be able to leave him his Mass stipends for his family and to provide his share towards paying family debts. To which Cerebotani added: “that would not be a bad thing, because if I stay as I am in Rome, what I earn is not sufficient to live on and I cannot help my family; if I become a parish priest or curate, I will never be able to help my family because either I shall be poorer than I am now, or, if I have a good benefice, I ought to help the poor. Other occupations outside the ministry do not attract me, because I became a priest to be a priest: so I have an inclination for the missions, and especially for those of our Bishop, etc.” It seems to me that he reasons well, and thinks in a wiser and more Christian manner than the good souls in Lonato, who have ideas more earthly than heavenly. That is all. Moreover from what I observed, I am still not too clear about this believed or claimed vocation; which is why I did not speak of it and will no longer speak of it to Cerebotani, and will only answer his questions, if he asks any.
[2975]
Mgr Ciurcia wrote to Propaganda essentially as a man of great sense and awareness: he noted that it is necessary to hold Carcereri back and slow him down, although he has excellent qualities. Barnabò has said to me since: “I’ll have to tie you both with 24 chains, because if you break free nobody will hold you back, and you’ll both end up at the Cape” and he had a good laugh. On Tuesday, include a prayer in the Memento for the success of the Ponenza. Give my regards to the Rector of the Seminary, and let him look after himself, because his life is precious.
I send you my filial respects

Your most unworthy son, Fr Daniel Com.

I would like the names, surnames and addresses of those I am to enroll ad annum in the Voce della Verità.

[2976]
Half an hour ago Fr Giuseppe Gru brought me an open packet containing your most revered letter of 19th of this month. I immediately rushed to Adami; and he knows nothing about the lawyer Morani. I will turn to Fr Boero to have an account of him, and I shall press him. With regard to the Corpus Domini petition he was amazed, dumbfounded. He searched among his letters and found the petition among the letters he had dealt with and said he had had a negative answer at the Congregation for Rites. But as I suspected that he had not presented it, since there is a lot of time to go until Corpus Domini, I urged him to present it again; and in fact he will present it tomorrow: I will tell Mgr Bartolini about it, and I hope he will have it in a few days.
[2977]
How sad it is about our Rector! In the past few days I had the Sisters of the Sacred Heart, the Compassion, etc., pray for his recovery and a Blessing from the Pope, etc.; and since Fr Losi has not written to me, I hope for good news.
[2978]
The Ponenza was one of the most brilliant and interesting, and the Cardinals were extremely pleased with it. I do not know what was decided because it is secret until the Pope’s decision (Sunday evening). From what I have been able to glean it went magnificently. In Propaganda I was told that the Cardinals are enthusiastic about it. Since the Cardinals decided to print my Great map of Africa with the boundaries of the Catholic Missions, which shows all the Vicariates, Prefectures and Dioceses of Africa, because it is useful to the Congregation, I prayed their Eminences to give me a week to enrich and perfect it. So Fr Perinelli and I are working all day long, and a large part of the night.
[2979]
Befani has sent to me to see if the sum I paid was for a new Member: he brought me the letter Your Excellency had written to him, and I realised the mistake. I had the member suspended from 15th January, etc.
I have spoken and written to Marietti and Pustet, etc., about Mgr Giuliari; but I see we must once again turn to Migne in Paris. Marietti has left the Polyglot Press. He did not see eye to eye with Propaganda. I kiss your sacred ring,

Your most devoted son, Fr Comboni

[2980]
Let us raise our eyes to heaven, and bless the Lord: the Diocese and Africa have received a very hard blow with the loss of Fr Pietro Dorigotti, and Your Excellency will realise exactly how hard it is when you have to establish a successor. But let us trust in God. I feel the full sorrow felt by Your Excellency’s paternal heart, I am saddened by the loss in itself and for the grief it has caused Your Excellency. But I am consoled by the thought that the Lord makes you worthy to bear his Cross and touches where it hurts, the thought that Jesus Christ himself, Mary and St Joseph help you to carry the cross and validly help you, consoles me.
[2981]
A great thing, Most Reverend Monsignor and my Father, the most valuable and necessary men die: but Jesus, Mary and Joseph never die; they support our arms. And so? It is always necessary to turn to the One who put the pips in cherries. Sicut placuit D.no etc. factum est: Dominus dedit, D.nus abstulit, sit nomen D.ni benedictum.
Tomorrow evening Mgr Simeoni will tell the Pope about the Ponenza and the Sacred Congregation’s judgement and decisions, and in four days’ time Your Excellency will know the result. In the past few days I have been unable to find out exactly what they have done: therefore I have only been ruminating and mentally fermenting and impressing on my mind and heart my thoughts about the Foundation and Ignatian indifference.
I respectfully kiss your hand, declaring myself
Your Most Excellency’s

most humble and devoted son

Fr Dan. Comboni

[2982]
The Sacred Congregation of Propaganda on the 21st of this month and His Holiness Pius IX on the 26th (yesterday) deigned to entrust the whole Vicariate of Central Africa to the Institute for the Missions of Africa in Verona, and to appoint Fr Daniel Comboni as Pro-Vicar Apostolic. His Holiness ordered that it should be officially announced to the General of Ara Caeli that he has accepted his renunciation of the Vicariate and that it was transferred to the Institute of Verona and to Fr Comboni.
In haste, writing in greater detail later

Tuis. D. Comboni
Provicarius Ap.licus Africae Centralis

The Sacred Congregation will write to Vienna in a few days.

[2983]
The Sacred Congregation of Propaganda at the General Congregation of the 21st of this month and His Holiness on the 26th, deigned to hand over the whole of the Vicariate of Central Africa, the largest in the world, created by His Holiness Gregory XVI on 3rd April 1846, to the Institute for the Missions of Africa in Verona, and has appointed as Pro-Vicar Apostolic my poor most unworthy person.
[2984]
At the same time, His Holiness ordered that this news should be officially announced to the General of the Franciscans, accepting his renunciation of that Vicariate and inviting him to establish an institute of young Franciscans in Cairo (in conformity with our Plan) to prepare them for the Apostolate of Africa for the time when the Institute will be able to accept some part of the great Vicariate.
Finally, His Holiness established that the Rules and Constitutions of the Verona Institute should be reviewed.
In a few days they will deliver all the maps and documents to me for my assumption of the Governance of so vast a mission.

[2985]
Your Excellency sees clearly that the Holy See has granted us more than we asked. We asked for a mission in Central Africa: the Holy See is granting all Central Africa to us, erecting it as a Vicariate Apostolic. The Holy See is accustomed to pondering over its affairs for years and years before issuing deliberations. Since I insisted that it should be decided immediately, it decided as above, intending to complete its decisions a little later.
My grief at the loss of the incomparable Fr Dorigotti makes me indifferent hic et nunc to this gigantic step for our Work. But let us look to heaven. I kiss your hands

Your most unworthy son,

Fr Dan. Comboni
Pro-Vicar Apostolic for Africa

[2986]
Your letter found me in bed, to which I have retreated with a cold fever. I thank you for your affectionate sentiments. What a providential man you are! I should have liked to write to Mgr Bishop, the most Reverend Carminati, the good Signorine Girelli and others to let them know of the result of the General Congregation of Cardinals at the Vatican on the 21st, and of the Holy Father Pius IX’s decision with regard to my Work. But I am very ill so I beg you to do me this service.
[2987]
His Holiness and the General Congregation of the Cardinals have made me responsible for the most difficult, laborious and enormous mission on earth; that is, the whole of Central Africa between Tripoli, Egypt, Abyssinia, Gallas, Zanzibar and Guinea, and the 12th degree of Latitude South. Thus I have in my jurisdiction more than 80,000,000 infidels to draw to Christ. So the Vicariate of Central Africa has been entrusted to my newborn Institute of Verona, and I was appointed Pro-Vicar Apostolic with a Decree of 27th of this May. You see the poor vagabond from Limone made responsible by the Holy See for a jurisdiction of which none in the world is greater and more difficult. When there is a small number of Catholics in the Vicariate of Central Africa, then the Holy See will create a Bishop. But as Ordinary of Central Africa I have all the episcopal faculties, except the right to confer Major Orders.
[2988]
I have told you all this so that you understand the need to pray and have prayers said to all the blessed souls of Brescia, S. Angela, the Sacred Hearts, etc.
On the 27th, the Feast of St Philip, I shall celebrate Mass on the tomb of the great Apostle of Rome.

[2989]
Please give my regards to the most Reverend Carminati, and through him to the angel of Brescia, to whom I shall write for the Sacred Heart. Please also give them to all your Fathers, Mother Gesualda, Superior of the Sacred Heart; and pay a visit for me to the dearest and worthiest Signorine Girelli and greet all our acquaintances, especially Dr Pelizzari and Fr F. Faroni, Director of the Work of the Propagation of the Faith in Brescia.
[2990]
Do me the favour of telling me something of the Chiappa women, and whether those good souls the Parish Priest of Sts Faust. and Jovita and his most Reverend Fiscale have changed their ideas. I cannot keep my eyes open because of the fever and a headache. Greetings to Capretti. As for Milesi, I beg you to give him my news and propose our Mission to him. You do it, because I am ill and when I am better I shall have thousands of things to do. I shall have the Pope pray for this intention.

Tussimus in Xsto

Fr Dan. Comboni
Pro-Vicar Apostolic of Central Africa

[2991]
I believed it my duty, for friendship and the common interest of our beloved Africa, to announce to you that next Tuesday 21st, there will be a General Congregation for Africa in general and for you and me especially. I am telling you this so that you may pray and have prayers said in your Seminary for the successful outcome of your business as of mine. I hope that you will soon be able to settle between the two Vicariates of the Cape of Good Hope, and that later we will meet in the Centre.
[2992]
I can confide to you that here in Rome, people in Propaganda look very favourably upon you: you certainly deserve it, because you have done a great deal for Africa and it is hoped that you will continue until death. Have prayers said for me too, and for my poor Africans. In September I shall leave Cairo for Khartoum and Kordofan with a large caravan. Perhaps I shall leave in August.
Goodbye. Accept the expression of my respectful affection and esteem.

Your most devoted servant, Fr Daniel Comboni, Apostolic Missionary


Translated from French.