Then, Christian Europe became the point of departure of all the missionaries for the rest of the world, especially after the discovery of America. Asia was the great continent targeted: India, Japan and especially China. The last continent to be taken into account was Africa.
Saint Daniel Comboni, with his “Plan for the Regeneration of Africa” of 1864, is one of the greatest missionaries to dedicate his whole life to this continent with the motto “Africa or Death.” After him, his twin institutes have carried out his legacy on behalf of the African peoples from the last decades of the 19th century, throughout the whole 20th century up to the present time.
The Comboni Missionaries as a whole reached their peak in 1996. They numbered 1,840 members with among them 1,025 Italians and 815 non-Italians. This is understandable since the Institute started in Italy, although it spread soon enough to Spain, Portugal, Great Britain, and Germany. Recently, they have opened a small presence in Poland.
Hundreds of men left Europe for Africa to work for the conversion to Christianity and the uplifting of the African people. Quite a few died there. Among the more than twenty martyrs we count (missionaries killed for their solidarity, mainly with the African people), the majority are of Italian origin. Generally speaking, the Comboni missionaries’ work has been successful: the harvest, especially in Africa, has been abundant.
Now times have changed: Europe has aged and is suffering from what is called the demographic winter: the new births are declining sharply and that is reflected also in the almost complete disappearance of vocations. Most of the Comboni Missionaries in Europe, at present, are returnees from the missions: elderly confreres who have spent together thousands of years of service in the missions and now are back to their countries of origin because of old age or sickness. Some of them are still active, helping the European parishes. They number 464, including one Scholastic. Among them, 220 are Italians.
The practice of the Catholic faith has decreased so much that Pope Saint John Paul II launched the New Evangelization mainly for Europe. Moreover, Europe has become the target of millions of refugees. Europe itself has become a mission territory. In addition to that, in the present pluralistic society, the approach to mission is changing: the emphasis is on dialogue, social transformation and ecological care. A most pressing need is to promote brotherhood and social friendship according to the teachings of Pope Francis.
Italy remains the center of the Institute, given the presence of the Mother House at Verona, where the Founder started in 1867 and where his bones are resting, without forgetting Limone on the Lake Garda, where he was born. The central administration is in Rome where the Father General lives with his counselors. This is true for all the missionary institutes because it is in Rome where the offices of “the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, formerly known as “Propaganda Fides,”are located. It is the instrument in the hands of the Popes for the missions.
