News from the Comboni missionaries in Egypt and Sudan

The special grace of this year was the diaconal ordination of the scholastics Fiston Muhiwa (from Congo) and Felix Gama (from Malawi) during the Mass presided over by Mons. Claudio Lurati, Apostolic Vicar of Alexandria in Egypt. The two scholastics had made their religious profession the previous Saturday, 4^th October.

The celebration was animated by singing and the participation of various groups – Eritrean, Egyptian, Sudanese, and others – who, with enthusiasm and a spirit of communion, helped make this moment a true sign of fraternity. At the end of the liturgy, those present shared a moment of fraternal agape.

Other celebrations in honour of Saint Daniel Comboni took place in the missions of the province, with the possibility – for the first time in a long while – of reaching some parishes in Sudan, such as Sinja and Sennar, where Father Luigi Cignolini presided over the ceremonies.

In Port Sudan, for the first time, students from our ‘Comboni BA’ schools marched through the streets of the city.

In Beirut, the celebration of Saint Daniel was also enriched by the presence of the Latin bishop, Mons. César Essayan, who sees in the charism of our founder a message for the Church in the Middle East and invites it to embrace catholicity and welcome refugees and foreigners.

Another note of hope comes from Masalma (Omdurman): for the first time since the beginning of the war, our school, reopened only a few weeks ago thanks to the initiative of the parish laypeople, celebrated the feast of Comboni with students and their families. This sign gives us hope for a future return to Khartoum.

We accompany with our prayer the Comboni fathers Yousif William and Lorenzo Baccin, who are travelling today, October 29, to Omdurman, where we hope to re-open our presence. May God keep them safe and show them the way in this delicate mission.

We also keep praying for the visit of the Superior General, who will come to Port Sudan next week and will visit Kosti, Khartoum and Port Sudan over a period of 15 days. This visit, too, requires all the prayers we can get, because it will be of great importance in our ongoing discernment, as a Province and as Institute.

Father Diego dalla Carbonare, mccj