In 1864, when he was only 33, Fr. Daniel Comboni wrote “The Plan for the Regeneration of Africa” and was entrusted with the area of Central Africa by the pope himself, who made him its first bishop. Comboni worked for Africa his whole life and died prematurely at 50 in Africa. After him, hundreds of Com-boni missionaries gave their lives for the evangelization of the Black Continent (“Nigritia”).
The present time generally sees a reduced presence of missionaries in Africa, including the Comboni Missionaries. The reason is the success of the missionary enterprise: the Church in Africa is firmly planted. The dream of St. Daniel Comboni and many other pioneers is now a reality: new statistics, released by the Vatican Central Office, show that Africa has the highest growth rate of baptized Catholics compared to other continents.
The Church has its local leaders. Moreover, given the abundance of vocations to the ministry and to religious life, Africa is giving its contribution to the evangelization of the world. The Comboni Missionaries are still present in Africa to continue working for the African Church under the leadership of the local bishops, sharing in the joys and sufferings of the African people.
The extraordinary development of Christianity in Africa and its achievement of political independence have not eliminated other problems like tribalism, which is the origin of the present-day civil wars that are claiming so many innocent victims, like in the Central African Republic, Congo, and especially South Sudan.
The consequences of the old colonial powers are compounded with the entering into the scene of new world protagonists like China and Russia, and their interferences are making Africa the least stable and most volatile of the continents.
The Comboni Missionaries are there, sharing the danger and the suffering of the people. This is how their group looked in 2023: 17 are the countries in which they are working: Congo, Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Central African Republic, South Africa, South Sudan, Togo, Ghana, Benin, Chad, Uganda. They number 679, including 175 young members still in their formation.
Looking at the future, we see, with gratitude to the Lord, that Africa is also giving much, in terms of vocations to the priesthood and brotherhood, to our institute. Fr. John Baptist Opargiw, the former General Secretary of Formation in Rome, wrote: “Vocations are there. We must thank God who keeps calling young people and draws them to Himself also by means of the charism of St. Daniel Comboni.
It is true, however, that since some years back, the geography of vocations has moved from the northern hemisphere to the southern. The lessening of vocations, particularly in the western world, and their growth in Africa is redesigning not only a new geography of the Comboni presence in the Church but also a new cultural balance in the life of the Institute itself.” As a matter of fact, the number of African members in the Institute has reached 580. This number also includes those still in formation whom we mentioned above.
