We pray for the victims of trafficking: that the Lord break the chains of their slavery, and that, through the intercession of Saint Daniel Comboni and Saint Josephine Bakhita, we may all fight with courage and tenacity against this scourge. Let us pray.
With the help and support of the “Afriquespoir” choir, affiliated with the Comboni Missionaries, the Laudato Si Missionary Center, in collaboration with the community’s ecological commission, organized a concert on June 27, 2026, to praise God for creation.
In fact, praise is one of the fundamental pillars of the pastoral ministry of Integral Ecology. Only by recognizing that the Lord is the Creator and Lord of the entire universe can we also understand our role and act as stewards who preserve and care for creation, while working together to fulfill what the Lord has foretold since the dawn of time.
The choir’s performance kept the audience’s attention firmly engaged, performing traditional, classical, and popular songs with creativity and a lively rhythm. They opened the concert with the Laudato Si’ Center’s hymn, titled “Lord, We Praise You, Lord, We Adore You for the Wonders You Accomplish,” a song composed by Comboni Brother Alfred Mbungi, a missionary in Buta.
In the final segment, they performed the late Father Makamba’s song “Po Po Botiaki Ntembe?”, which highlights the root causes of the evils that are plunging creation into crisis; it serves as a reminder that, despite the fact that nature provides everything for humanity, there is still so much hunger and misery in the world, especially in Africa. This happens because a small minority imposes a technocratic model that drives unlimited production with no respect for God’s providential plan—for He is the Father of all. With unbridled greed, they cut down forests and pollute rivers with chemicals. These are people who misappropriate common goods and, with the arrogance of force and weapons, seek only their own interests and profits.
This is why praise for the Creator must be put into practice in daily life, as demonstrated by the vision, creativity, and resilience of certain young people and women. Dino Zoli Mundele, on behalf of the Montngafula youth group, shared with us about door-to-door separate waste collection. Jean Denis Djamba spoke to us about the urgent need to reduce plastic use, a commitment promoted by the youth of the Laudato si’ movement. Scholastic Denis Mbaiornom, on behalf of the community’s ecological commission, emphasized the commitment to recycling and reusing tires and other items to reduce waste accumulation. Ms. Mayawa Miriam is dedicated to making organic products for personal hygiene and skin care. Justin Bosenge Isakolota creatively manages to make “Wiva Kamouna” wine from avocado leaves—undoubtedly a special drink worth trying. Comboni Lay Missionary Fabrice Aifa Wetu, in collaboration with CENCO, is committed to reducing and halting deforestation, aware that without forests, biodiversity declines dramatically and that there can no longer be life in abundance for people or other living beings. Finally, there is the vision of Luciana Mohila Mbongo, who is promoting the “One Boy—One Tree” project to plant trees in the desolate city of Kinshasa, which is growing out of proportion without trees or green spaces.
These testimonies, together with praise to God, showed each and every one of us the path to follow in our lives and daily routines: adopting a way of life that respects the laws of nature and fosters truly fraternal relationships, respecting and valuing differences—just as nature teaches us, for it is rich and beautiful thanks to its great biodiversity.
A final toast, offered by the Center, brought the day to a close, with plans already set for the meetings and initiatives scheduled for the coming months.
Fr. Fernando Zolli
Rome, 12 June 2026 – Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Dear confrères,
On the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we are invited to return to the source of our vocation and mission. By contemplating the pierced Heart of the Good Shepherd, we recognise God’s immeasurable love for humanity: a love that becomes closeness, compassion, mercy, and the total gift of self.
The Heart of Jesus is not merely a symbol of our faith; it is the place where we learn God’s way of loving and the criterion by which we discern our missionary life. In it, we discover a love that excludes no one, that allows itself to be wounded by the suffering of the world, and that continues to seek those who are lost, forgotten, or cast aside.
Saint Daniel Comboni found in the Heart of Christ the secret of his missionary passion. From that contemplation was born his love for the most abandoned peoples and his ability to share their history until he truly felt them to be his brothers and sisters. For us too, “sons” of so great an Apostle of Africa, mission finds its origin and renewal in allowing ourselves to be shaped by the Heart of Jesus, so that our outlook, our choices, and our relationships may increasingly reflect his sentiments.
Pope Francis reminded us that “the Heart of Christ, which symbolises his personal centre from which his love for us flows, is the living core of the first proclamation” (Dilexit Nos, 32). Only by remaining united to this centre can we prevent mission from being reduced to efficiency, organisation, or mere activity. Before being workers, we are disciples; before speaking about Christ, we are called to allow ourselves to be transformed by his love.
We live in a world marked by deep wounds. Wars, violence, inequalities, forced migrations, and both old and new forms of poverty continue to affect millions of people. Many men and women seek hope, a listening ear, and dignity; many young people search for a future; numerous communities live in situations of fragility and uncertainty. Faced with these realities, the temptation of indifference or resignation is always lurking.
The Heart of Christ, however, calls us to courageous closeness. It invites us not to pass by, not to shut ourselves within our securities, but to share the lives of the peoples to whom we are sent. Mission is born precisely from this movement of the heart: going out of ourselves to encounter the other, recognising him or her as a brother or sister loved by God. By giving priority to the least, the most marginalised, and the poorest, to the point of longing, in the words of Daniel Comboni, to hold in our arms and give a kiss of peace and love to those unfortunate brothers and sisters of ours (cf. Writings, 2742). Yes, as Comboni missionaries, we are called to be a sign of this love that welcomes and reconciles, that creates fraternity and generates hope on the peripheries of the world.
Our presence in the various Churches and among the different peoples of the world gains credibility when it becomes a witness of communion, especially within our international and intercultural communities. The diversity of our origins is not an obstacle to mission but one of its most eloquent signs: the Gospel can unite what the world so often divides.
On this feast, therefore, let us ask for the grace of a missionary heart, capable of compassion, listening, and closeness; a heart free from every form of closure and willing to be troubled by the sufferings of the poorest and most abandoned; a heart able to recognise the presence of God in the human and existential peripheries of our time.
We entrust to the Sacred Heart of Jesus our Institute, the communities in which we live, the peoples whom we serve, and all those whom we carry in prayer and in our daily work. May this Heart renew within us the joy of the Gospel, rekindle the fire of mission, and make us credible witnesses of his love in the world.
With fraternal affection, we wish you a holy and joyful Feast.
The MCCJ General Council
Faced with growing social and political polarisa-tion, conflicts, and wars in our world, may the Lord help us to build bridges, not walls, so that love may prevail over the barriers that seek to di-vide us. Let us pray.
Omaira Martín, a Colombian, is a Comboni Missionary Sister with extensive missionary experience in Zambia.
In the video, Omaira talks about her personal journey and what she has discovered during her time on the mission. (Video in Spanish)
