Comboni Community of Padua: Friends’ Day 2026

Sunday, 10^th May 2026, was a day of celebration for the Comboni community in Padua. The messages received by the evening, quoted above, confirm this. The “Friends’ Day” returned after a year’s break due to renovation works on the house, aimed at creating a university residence with 109 beds for scholarship students.

Around fifty friends, volunteers and collaborators took part, all united by a genuine friendship born of sharing the Comboni spirit. Many others expressed their regret at being unable to attend, as the month of May is full of various celebrations—Mother’s Day, the Alpini gathering, and more.

After an initial time of welcome and getting to know new people, the meeting began. Fr Gaetano Montresor introduced the members of the community and their respective commitments, as well as a new arrival, Br Claudio Bozza, recently returned from South Sudan. He also remembered confrères who are no longer present, either because they have passed away, such as Fr Piero Ferrari and Fr Provvido Crozzoletto, or because they have been transferred to other communities: to Verona “Casa Madre” (Br Silvano Bergamini), to Castel d’Azzano (Br Renato dalla Vecchia), or preparing to leave for mission (Br Simon Tsoklo, returning to Togo). He also mentioned that he himself has been assigned to the community in Brescia.

He then spoke about the hospitality offered to various groups—including African communities—who now feel at home, as well as the activities carried out locally with the valuable collaboration of lay people: the organisation of the long-standing “Festival of Peoples”, the Christmas Mass at Padua railway station, the formation and awareness-raising programme In the Wake of Laudato Si’, and missionary animation evenings.

Fr David Costa Domingues, Vicar General of the Institute, then spoke about the values underlying the missionary call and action, “the same that guided Daniele Comboni: the source in the love of the Heart of Christ; the intuition of ‘Saving Africa with Africa’; the dynamic of a ‘Church that goes forth’; the ‘theology of the discarded’; and the call to be a Gospel of Life in a world at war and marked by too many deaths.”

He continued by presenting three significant Comboni experiences: Ecopaz in Mexico, Napenda Kuishi in Kenya, and his own missionary life in the Philippines—three ways of going out into the streets to encounter those living on the margins.

He concluded by providing some statistics on the Comboni Institute today—number of members, average age, origins and future projections. He did not conceal some striking facts: “Among our 500 young people in formation, there is only one European; most are Africans. While the Institute’s average age is 58, that of European Comboni missionaries is over 75, whereas among Africans it is under 45.”

The celebration of the Eucharist, presided over by Fr David, was a moment of true communion with Christ, who is the driving force of mission. A convivial gathering then followed, bringing the day to a close.

Further messages received included:
“It was a wonderful day—joyful, intense, friendly and family-like.”
“Thank you for the warm welcome. Thanks to all those who prepared, cooked and served the excellent food.”