Daniel Comboni
Comboni Missionare
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Ethiopia: The Missionaries of Charity celebrate 25 years in Adola
Monday, October 6, 2025
The Missionaries of Charity today celebrated a quarter of a century in Adola. In Amharic, the administrative capital and holy city of the Guji people is called Kibre Menguist. Fr. Eliseo Citton, a Comboni missionary from the Italian province who worked with the Guji people, presided over the Eucharist, which was concelebrated by the parish priests of Qillenso (of which Adola is a part) and Soddu Abala, assisted by a Capuchin deacon.
The jubilee Mass was well attended by Catholics from both parishes, a true celebration full of life and colour. Local authorities were also present. At the end of the Mass, the participants visited some of the facilities, especially where the patients are kept. The young people prepared a drama and some typical dances to grace the occasion. Afterwards, the participants offered gifts to the sisters, thanking them for 25 years of missionary service, especially to the poorest of the poor in Adola and Soddu Abala.
They began by living in three shipping containers. However, the space has expanded and now it includes a hospice with separate wards for men and women, kitchens and laundry facilities, warehouses, a kindergarten and a sewing school, a farm, and the community house.
Dom João Migliorati, bishop of Hawassa, also built a house on the site with a view to creating the diocese of Adola, a project that was put on hold after his death. The diocese of Hawassa is larger than Portugal. The sisters are building a new KG and a chapel for the residents. The original chapel, woven from bamboo in traditional style, was destroyed by termites.
The hospice takes in people with disabilities or chronic illnesses who cannot be cared for by their families and terminally ill patients. They also treat cases of malnutrition—especially among children and women—and tuberculosis, serving a total of more than 160 users. They also have a nursery for abandoned babies.
The sisters have a farm that produces meat, vegetables, cereals and fruit to feed the residents. The KG offers the first schooling experience to about two hundred children, mainly poor.
In addition to providing health care to the sick and teaching in the KG and sewing school, the missionaries also collaborate in pastoral work in Adola and Soddu Abala. They prepare children and young people for their first communion and confirmation and lead the youth group that meets every Sunday afternoon on the community grounds.
On Saturdays, the priests of Qillenso celebrate evening Mass with the residents. It is always a joyous celebration.
The Catholic cemetery of Adola is located on the sisters' compound.
The presence of the Missionaries of Charity is a blessing from God for the sick, especially the chronically and terminally ill, and for the two parishes with which they collaborate in the evangelization of children, young people, and women.
The celebrations concluded with a shared lunch that included a birthday cake. The Missionaries of Charity—the sisters founded by Saint Teresa of Calcutta—arrived in Adola in 2000.
