Daniel Comboni
Comboni Missionaries
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News from the Comboni missionary province of Egypt and Sudan
Friday, May 23, 2025
Starting on 4th May, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attacked Port Sudan for about two weeks almost every day with drones sent from bases on the Red Sea (in all likelihood, from Somalia). This represents an unexpected development in the war: in recent months, in fact, the regular army had scored victories in the field, especially in Khartoum. [In the picture, current state of the Comboni provincial house in Khartoum]
While the situation in Port Sudan remains tense, many people are choosing to return to Khartoum, to restore their homes and structures abandoned due to the war. We hope that the time will soon come for us too. Our four confrères in Port Sudan, as well as the three in Kosti and Father Yousif William in Khartoum, are all well. Thanks be to God.
Egypt: In death of Father Cosmo Spadavecchia
The death of Father Cosmo Spadavecchia was an important moment for our province, a time to stop and thank God for the gift of mission. Father Cosmo’s life and apostolate were characterised by his simplicity and his talent for creating dialogue. Few have learned Arabic as well as he had and few like him have served both the Sudanese and the Coptic Catholic Church for so many years and with such total dedication.
To remember him and entrust him to the Lord, we celebrated a funeral Mass in Sakakini, where the father lived for most of his missionary life. In his homily, Bishop Claudio Lurati emphasised that Father Cosimo was the first to open the doors of a Catholic parish in Egypt to the Sudanese, when their ‘exodus’ began in the 1980s due to the second civil war. May the Lord bless Father Cosimo with eternal life, and may he always grant us to be shepherds according to his heart.
Father Diego Dalle Carbonare, mccj