Daniel Comboni
Comboni Missionaries
Institutional area
Other links
Newsletter
Missionary Lent 2026 – (3) What Peace for Sudan?
Tuesday, March 17, 2026
During this year’s Lenten season, the community of Comboni Missionaries at the General Curia in Rome organised a series of three conferences aimed at enabling confrères, as well as nearby friends and all those interested, to gain a deeper understanding of the current situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in Palestine, and in Sudan. The initiative seeks not only to raise awareness of the challenges affecting these peoples, but also to offer a space for reflection on how we may convert our hearts in the face of the injustices of the world.
What Peace for Sudan?
The guest of the third and final evening – held on 16th March 2026 – was Fr Diego Dalle Carbonare, Provincial Superior of the Comboni Missionaries of Egypt/Sudan, who shared his own experience and that of his confrères in Sudan, a country severely affected by an internal armed conflict that broke out on 15th April 2023.
Many friends from various associations, groups, and organisations across the Rome area were present, including a network of associations that in recent months has signed appeals addressed to the Italian Parliament, urging that the conflict in Sudan not be forgotten.
Introducing the theme of the conference – “What Peace for Sudan?” – Fr Giorgio Padovan, a member of the Curia, recalled the deep love, care, and tenderness that Daniele Comboni showed for Sudan and its people. He stated: “Yesterday, Sunday 15th March, we commemorated the 195th anniversary of his birth. Appointed Pro-Vicar Apostolic of Central Africa (then the largest vicariate in the world) on 26th May 1872, and having departed for Cairo on 17th December of that same year, he arrived in Khartoum at the beginning of May 1873. On the 11th of that month, he celebrated a solemn Mass in the cathedral, during which he delivered his programmatic homily, marked by truly remarkable expressions. I quote two of them: “Today I make common cause with each one of you,” and “the happiest day of my life will be the one on which I can give my life for you.” May Saint Daniel continue to pray for and bless the missionaries and the people of Sudan.”
Fr Diego then presented a brief overview of the main events of the past three years, so that those present might better understand “how extremely complex the overall picture of this war in Sudan is.”
The consequences of the conflict are dramatically severe: “The figures of the ongoing catastrophe make Sudan the largest humanitarian crisis in the world today: at least 12 million people have been forced to leave their homes; 4 million have fled to other countries, while 8 million are internally displaced. More than 7 million children are out of school. 25 million people are living in conditions of food insecurity; 5 million of them (especially in Darfur) are on the brink of famine. Direct casualties of the fighting are estimated at between 200,000 and 400,000. We must not forget the very many who have died due to the lack of healthcare services and access to medicines.”
Numerous questions were raised by those present, all united by a desire to understand what can be done in the face of such a situation. Fr Diego outlined at least three areas for possible action:
- Emergency solidarity. The contribution of associations and of the Church is essential in alleviating hunger and assisting the most vulnerable.
- Medium- and long-term commitments: “We wish to reopen parishes, schools, and other services. This is not only about rebuilding structures that have been reduced to rubble, but above all about investing in formation, building communities and forming leaders. In the field of education. education for peace will certainly be a priority in the years to come.”
- Raising awareness and advocating with governments and political institutions: “We must call for the truth to be established regarding the arms trade and the gold market (the country’s vast reserves of this metal lie at the root of the conflict). Some Arab countries, which present themselves as ‘open and at the forefront of dialogue and tolerance’ (for example, the United Arab Emirates), are clearly and directly involved in the conflict. It is absolutely urgent that public opinion be properly informed.”
Among the many points raised, what most struck the large number of participants was undoubtedly the personal testimony of Fr Diego and of his confrères, who continue to sow hope in a land torn apart by war and deprived of many of the most essential goods for human life.
Despite the atrocities of the conflict, the missionaries continue to remain present, following in the footsteps of Saint Daniele Comboni, ever determined to “make common cause” with the people of Sudan.