The Provincial Assembly of Comboni Missionaries in North America

Bishop Earl K. Fernandes, Bishop of Columbus, OH, was the guest speaker for the Assembly’s opening. His address was thoughtfully aligned with the Assembly’s theme and contextualized within the framework of the Church’s new evangelization initiatives in the United States. Mons. Fernandes discussed key trends, opportunities, and challenges associated with the new evangelization—a process in which the Comboni Missionaries play an integral role.

The Assembly allocated sufficient time to share on the various ministries being carried out by each community in the province. In addition, the group work provided an opportunity for discernment on relevant topics of the life of the province and of the Institute at large. During the assembly, the presence of the Vicar General Fr. David Costa Domingues provided enlightenment to the discussions and the discernment on various issues raised in the spirit of communion with the Institute. Openness to the Spirit for the journey the Institute is undertaking in view of merging the circumscriptions with the aim to requalify our missionary service in the Spirit of the Risen Christ and the passion of St. Daniel Comboni.

For our ongoing formation session, we had a reflection on the topic, ‘Boundaries with Adults, social media and electronic communications Training, 2026”. Paola Munoz, from Praesidium – a non-profit organization focused on child welfare and abuse prevention – highlighted the different areas that need our attention in preventing abuse in our respective places where we live and or minister to people.

We were also graced by the visit of Archbishop Wokorach Raphael P’Mony, mccj, from the Archdiocese of Gulu, Uganda, whom we sincerely thank. His brief visit has given us the opportunity to be in touch with other missionary realities, particularly in Uganda.

We thank the Lord for the Missionary vocation that we have celebrated during these days of fraternity which we shared during this Provincial Assembly.