Daniel Comboni
Comboni Missionaries
Institutional area
Other links
Newsletter
Brother António Carvalho Leal celebrates 50 years of religious and missionary life
Saturday, August 30, 2025
Brother António Carvalho Leal was born on 18th January 1946, in Marinhais, in the municipality of Santarém (Portugal). He was an only child. His first contact with religious life came during the three and a half years he worked as a printer with the Salesians in Lisbon. Having joined the Comboni Institute, he carried out his formation first in Santarém and later in Pordenone, Italy. His missionary ministry took him to Portugal, where he served for about 34 years, and to Peru, where he has lived for the past 32 years.
On 15th August, 1985, the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Brother António made his first religious profession of poverty, chastity, and obedience. This year, he celebrated his Golden Jubilee, marking 50 years of missionary religious life.
“This long journey has been entirely the work of God,” he told his confreres and the faithful who regularly gather in the chapel of the provincial house in Lima. He went on to add: “Even the Mother of God, assumed into heaven, never boasted of her deeds. In her hymn, the Magnificat, she only magnified the Lord (Lk 1:46), fully aware that what had happened in her was the work of the Lord. Whatever I have been able to accomplish as a Comboni Brother is not my merit, but rather the fruit of the work that the grace of the Lord has achieved in my humble person.”
In his youth, Brother António spent two years in Angola, serving in the military. “It was during that time that God called me,” he recalled. “Later, I came to know the Comboni Missionaries through the magazine Audácia. Once I joined them, I worked in accounting and administration, then in the secretariats of our communities in Portugal. I also served as formator and bursar in one of our seminaries, where we had to provide for the upkeep and formation of a large group of candidates to missionary life. I came into contact with many people. For many years, I also worked in the distribution of our magazines Além-Mar and Audácia.”
Brother António concluded his brief testimony by highlighting the important role of St. Daniel Comboni in his vocation: “The compassion and dedication of St. Daniel for the salvation of the African peoples have always inspired, guided, and accompanied my missionary life.”
Today, Brother António lives in the Comboni provincial house in Lima. He collaborates with the magazine Aguiluchos, serves in the sacristy, looks after the maintenance of the house, and animates a prayer and Marian devotion group.
As we thank the Lord for the gift of Brother António, his humility, and his enthusiastic service to the missions, we also pray that He may continue to raise up new vocations for the missions.