Brothers’ Conference 2026 – “Gathered to Go Beyond, Together”

The meeting was attended by over 20 brothers from the Italian Province, the Curia, and other European provinces (who were present at the Generalate for the meeting of Comboni media coordinators in Europe). The programme of the conference allowed for an alternation of moments of listening, reflection, engagement with challenging realities, and fraternity.

All participants arrived on the evening of 28^th April. The following day was dedicated to listening to three missionary testimonies: Brother Alberto Degan presented his experience with Afro-Ecuadorians in Guayaquil; Brother Simone Bauce shared his experience with two Indigenous peoples in the Brazilian Amazon; Brother Pablo Ostos recounted his vocational journey, focusing in particular on his experience in Mozambique.

In the afternoon, there was a meeting with the ‘Hagar Way’, an association that is part of the diocesan coordination of Rome, engaged in the fight against human trafficking and in supporting women and children in vulnerable situations, drawing inspiration from the biblical figure of Hagar, who finds protection and dignity in the desert. Three brothers from the Curia also collaborate in this ministry. Two deeply moving testimonies were heard from transgender persons, and the exhibition ‘Voices from the Margins – Stories and Images of Transgender Women in Rome’ [Voci dai margini – storie e immagini di donne transgender a Roma] was visited in a hall.

The morning of 30^th April was dedicated to biblical study. Brother Giandomenico Placentino, a monk and head of the Bose Community in Ostuni (Brindisi), offered a reflection on the theme Going Beyond, based on four passages from the Acts of the Apostles: Acts 1:15–26 (the election of Matthias); Acts 6:1–7 (the appointment of the seven deacons); Acts 10–11 (the conversion of Cornelius and Peter); Acts 15:1–35 (the Council of Jerusalem).

This was followed by a period of silence and personal reflection. Before the event ended, there was an opportunity to put a few questions and comments to Brother Giandomenico.

The afternoon was spent visiting two organisations that have been based in Rome for many years. The first was the Comboni Association for Migrants and Refugees (ACSE, the Italian acronym), an initiative begun by Father Bresciani, a Comboni missionary, and still entrusted to the Institute. Soon, the work will become the Comboni Work for Human Promotion (OCPU), serving as a reference point in the European continent.

The second was Spin Time, which today is, in every respect, a model of self-renovation and an example of urban regeneration, a multifunctional space whose governance is shared among the various actors that make up its ecosystem, and whose doors are effectively always open to the city. It is a reference point in the debate on the right to housing and a landmark for the Esquilino district. It was born in October 2013 with the occupation of a ten-storey building (21,000 sqm) in the Esquilino neighbourhood of Rome by the housing rights movement Action. Spin Time represents a social and cultural provision of accessible services, a place that continues to rethink itself and to set new stimuli and objectives.

The day of 1^st May, the feast of St Joseph the Worker, patron of the Brothers, was dedicated to inputs from Father Luigi Codianni and Brother Alberto Lamana, respectively General Superior and General Councillor. Various themes were reflected upon which both concern and engage the Institute: the process of merging circumscriptions; the rereading of the Comboni charism in a non-Eurocentric key; economic sustainability; Comboni magazines around the world and Mission Animation Centres (CAMs); evangelisation as a Comboni Family; the presence of Brothers in specific pastoral ministries and in OCPU initiatives.

The meeting concluded with the celebration of the Eucharist before lunch.

Throughout the conference, a ‘family spirit’ was experienced. Although not all the brothers knew one another beforehand, after the initial moments of shared life everyone felt at ease, thanks to the fraternity and communion expressed by all participants.

A commitment was renewed to continue with this annual gathering. Next year it will be organised at a European level, again around 1 May.

Brother Simone Bauce, MCCJ