Provincial assembly of Comboni missionaries from Egypt and Sudan

While before the war we generally held the assembly by convoking one zonal assembly in Egypt and one in Sudan, this time we tried to have the confreres from Sudan and Lebanon connect online with the confreres gathered in Moqattam (Cairo). Unfortunately, the challenges posed by the war both in Sudan and in Lebanon challenged our plans; the community of Kosti has been completely offline since 12 October and the community of Beirut was busy with the yearly planning, after the recent events had challenged the beginning of the formative year. For those who participated, though, it was a time of fraternity and sharing of opinions and concern. Among the main issues on the table, our response to the war in Sudan, the requalification of our presence in Aswan and our response to the Bishop of El Obeid inviting us to open a community on the Nuba Mountains. (Fr. Diego DC)

Beginning of Formation Year in Maad (Beirut community)

Tensions had escalated in the closing weeks of September, especially after the killing of the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah on 27^th September. The situation in Lebanon has worsened since then, with almost daily bombings in the Southern Lebanon, around Bekaa Valley, in the suburbs of Beirut and now almost throughout the country. This situation has displaced around 1.5 million in just three weeks, according to the UN and more than 2000 killed according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. It’s God’s providence that our community resides in an area that hasn’t been the target of the air strikes, but the tension all around the country is worsening the already difficult social-economic well-being of the population. There seem to be little or no efforts made to stop the war, in fact, the whole region is on a verge, if not already, of a full blown out war.

We appreciate the efforts made by the administration of the Université Saint-Espirit de Kaslik (USEK) where the scholastics study theology to keep the faculty open to students even in difficult times. The beginning of lessons was postponed for a week until 7^th October when normal lessons started. They have since continued without any interruption, a great sign of hope on the backdrop of a very fragile environment.

May St Daniel Comboni always intercede for us! (Beirut Community)

Beginning of Academic Year in Dar Comboni

The academic year in Dar Comboni started last 23 September, with 15 students in the first year and 5 in the second year. This year, among them there are 4 Comboni scholastics, two of whom (Felix Gama from Malawi and Fiston Muhiwa from DRC) will do their Missionary Service learning Arabic, while the other two (Bien Hereux Tokolet from CAR and Solomon Eshun from Ghana) are preparing to go to Beirut next year. More students are expected to join, but there might be delayed because of bureaucratic difficulties. This year, like in previous years, the Aid to the Church in Need has sponsored a significant number of diocesan clergy and religious from African countries to take part in the course. (Fr. Simon Mbuthia)