Daniel Comboni
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European Assembly on Formation in Verona
Friday, November 7, 2025
From 4th to 7th November, the European Assembly on Formation was held at the Comboni Missionaries’ Motherhouse in Verona, Italy. Sixteen missionaries from twelve different nationalities took part, all engaged in the ministry of vocational youth pastoral work and in initial and ongoing formation within the European continent.
Except for the London Province, all the European circumscriptions – Italy, Portugal, Spain, Germany and Poland – sent their representatives. Also present were Fr. Elias Sindjialim, General Assistant; Fr. José de Jesús Villaseñor, General Secretary for Formation; Fr. Sylvester Hategek’Imana, from the central team for ongoing formation in Rome; and Fr. Fernando Domingues, Provincial Superior of Portugal and continental coordinator for formation.
The main topics addressed included youth pastoral ministry in Europe, ongoing formation (with input from Fr. Sylvester Hategek’Imana), and accompaniment in the formative and vocational discernment journey.
“We shared our experiences on the complexity of this continent and the challenges in reaching today’s youth. At the same time, however, we are filled with hope, convinced that the Comboni charism continues to be a great gift for the Church and society, including here in Europe, and that many young people thirst for an incarnate spirituality and authentic witnesses of solidarity,” said Fr. Stefano Giudici, formator at the scholasticate of Casavatore (Italy).
At present, there are 39 young Comboni missionaries studying theology in Europe, most of them from Africa, distributed among four formation houses: two scholasticates – in Casavatore (Italy), with 16 scholastics, and in Granada (Spain), with 15 – and two formation communities – in Graz (Austria), with 3 scholastics, and in Maia (Portugal), with 5. Altogether, the Institute counts 198 scholastics worldwide.