Comboni brothers: the fraternal face of mission

Saint Daniel Comboni, founder of the Comboni Missionaries, wanted the peoples to whom we are sent not only to receive the Gospel as doctrine but also to have their mistreated humanity restored. For this reason, he trained skilled doctors, teachers, artisans, farmers, nurses, pharmacists, carpenters, tailors, masons, and shoemakers, among others.

Comboni placed such great importance on the brothers that he came to recognize that, in Africa, well-prepared brothers contributed to the apostolate more than priests, because African students spent more time with the brothers. Those were the beginnings of the Comboni Missionary Brothers.

The Comboni Brothers have St. Joseph as their patron and model of life. St. John Paul II said he is a master at serving Christ’s mission in the Church.

In our Institute, priests and brothers share the same community life, with the same rights and obligations except those derived from the Sacrament of Holy Orders. The vocation of the brother and that of the priests are complementary, like the two wings of a bird. We are one family!

Since 1867, our missionary institute has had brothers of extraordinary dedication. Let us remember two of them.

Brother Gabriel Mariani, who died on October 31, 1882 while held captive during the Mahdist Revolution in Sudan (Africa). He endured many outrages and mistreatments with faith. Of him, Saint Daniel Comboni said: “Gabriel is a pearl, a saint. Oh, if only I had 30 like him!”

Meanwhile, Father Bonomi, his fellow captive and witness to his sufferings and death, wrote: “He did not have the honour of a bloody martyrdom, but I believe he received a merit perhaps even greater, because his sacrifice was painful and the cause was the same.”

The other Brother is Josué Dei Cas, who contracted leprosy while caring for lepers in Southern Sudan. He was admitted to the village set aside for them and shared their life in a spirit of joyful humility.

Upon learning that a brother much younger than himself was dying, he offered his life in exchange for the other’s. He died that very night, while the young religious miraculously recovered his health the next day. His cause for canonization is underway.

Identity

The Comboni brothers are consecrated religious who profess the vows of poverty, obedience, and chastity. Their missionary style enables them to engage with people – without haste, in a spirit of brotherhood – proclaiming the Gospel in the people’s own time and circumstances.

Their areas of ministry include: initial evangelization in parts of Africa and Asia; establishing structures for the local Church, community centres, and social projects; commitment to the poorest in urban suburbs and rural outlying areas; formation of local Christian communities and human development.

Other areas include justice, peace, and the integrity of creation, expressed through the promotion of human rights, civic education initiatives, and ecological awareness; missionary outreach within the local Church and society through the media; encouraging the creation of new development models that promote more ethical economies and policies centred on vulnerable people.

Fr Luis Pulido Alvarado, mccj