Comboni Lay Missionaries

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Comboni Family

Meeting of the General Councils of the Comboni Family in Rome

by
Consejos Generales Familia Comboniana

The General Councils of the Comboni Family – Combonian missionaries, Combonian sisters, Combonian seculars, and Alberto de la Portilla, coordinator of the Central Committee of the Combonian Lay Missionaries – met for their annual meeting from the morning of Saturday, 31st May to noon on Sunday, 1st June, at the General Curia of the Combonian missionaries in Rome.

Moved by the desire to revive hope in the exceptional circumstance of the Jubilee, the traditional annual meeting of the General Councils of the Comboni Family (GCCF) took place on Saturday 31st May and Sunday 1st June at the General Curia of the Comboni missionaries. Present were the members of the General Councils of the Comboni Missionaries (MCCJ), Comboni Missionary Sisters (CMS) and Comboni Secular Missionaries (CSM); the Comboni Lay Missionaries (CLM) were represented by Alberto de la Portilla, the coordinator of the Central Committee. Father Austine Radol Odhiambo, a new member of the General Council of the MCCJ, who was at his first meeting of the CGFC, was welcomed.

The participants experienced intense hours of prayer, reflection and dialogue, helped by Brother Alberto Degan, who presented a reflection entitled ‘Spes non Confundit – The Spirit, source of our Hope’.

The meeting began with a prolonged sharing both on the journey made by the various realities over the past year (highlighting the main steps taken) and on possible developments in the near future.

They then discussed the situation in Sudan, which worries the whole Comboni Family, especially the Comboni missionaries and Comboni sisters, who in recent years have seen their presence reduced to a small group of confrères and sisters. If the desire to return to Sudan is clear and strong in everyone, it is equally clear that we cannot simply ‘return’ to do what was done in the past, because the Sudan of today is no longer the Sudan we knew. The dialogue will continue on the basis of more precise information, which we hope to obtain shortly.

They then spoke about the Comboni Forum on Integral Ecology, which will take place in Belém (Brazil) in November, to coincide with the 30th Conference of Parties (Cop30), offering precise information and indications to facilitate participation in the event.

The dialogue then better defined how to proceed in the drafting of a common instrument (a dossier, or an insert, to be presented in the Comboni magazines and websites, or made known through other dissemination tools of the Comboni Family) that can highlight the fact that the Comboni charism is lived as a common charismatic origin, but with different styles of presence and different methodological emphasis, and with a fruitful collaboration in different geographical and cultural contexts.

Lastly, Interculturality was identified as a topic of great relevance and common interest, which will be the underlying theme of the next meeting of the GCCFs, which will take place on 30th and 31st May 2026 at the Comboni sisters’ General House in Rome.

The meeting concluded with the celebration of the Eucharist of the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, presided over by Father David Domingues, Vicar General of the MCCJ.

Brother Daniele Giusti, MCCJ

———– ———–

Comboni Missionaries (MCCJ): Father Codianni Luigi Fernando, general superior; Fr. David Costa Domingues, general vicar; Bro. Lamana Cónsola Alberto; Fr. Radol Austine Odhiambo; Fr. Sindjalim Essognimam Elias.

Comboni Missionary Sisters (CMS): Madre Anne Marie Quigg, general superior; Sr. María de los Angeles Funes Rodríguez, general vicar; Sr. Alicia Vacas Moro; Sr. Veronicah Wangũi Mbũrũ; Sr. Eleonora Reboldi.

Comboni Secular Missionaries (CSM): Dal Zovo Maria Pia, general responsible; Zenere Teresa; Villamar Ultreras Gina; Paula Clara Macedo Ferreira Carvalho; Ghelfi Paola.

Comboni Lay Missionaries (CLM): Alberto de la Portilla, coordinator of the Central Committee.

Fuente: Comboni.org

Easter celebration CLM Kenya

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LMC Kenia Pascua

Our Easter celebration was amazing. The celebration was held in Kitelakapel international community. We were joined by other CLM members and candidates from Nairobi

On Holy Thursday

The day was started by welcoming our CLM members and candidates from Nairobi to Kitelakapel community, it was a moment of community building amongst us by sharing responsibilities

In the afternoon we had the privilege of showing our appreciation and gratitude by celebrating our assessor Fr Maciej on priest day

During the afternoon in Holy Triduum, we had moments of sharing our testimonies and vocations with the local community

On Good Friday

We joined the local community in prayer and singing during the way of the cross.

After which we continued building and engaging ourselves in our community by sharing of chores, eating together and praying together

On Holy Saturday

We had Bible catechesis with Fr Maciej, a short retreat where we reflected on the Word of God and prayer and later, we shared our individual reflections.

In the afternoon we joined the local community in celebrating Holy Saturday where we participated in the liturgy

We also took that moment to welcome two of our new members to the group, Gabriel and Anastasia

Resurrection Sunday

It was a day filled with joy and hope for our Lord Jesus Christ had resurrected from the dead. We joined the local community during mass where we participated in the liturgy and Sunday school with the children.

On Monday our dearest pope Francis passed away. We pray for his eternal rest and for all our Catholic church. Let’s be united in prayer.

Belinda Awino, CLM Kenya

We wish you a Happy Easter

by
Pascua

In the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb… So they laid Jesus there.

(Jn 19, 42-42)

Dear confrères,

workers of hope and companions in mission, sowers of life where often there seems to be only death, on these holy days, as we celebrate Easter, we feel strongly in us the desire to reach out to you with a thought, a prayer, and a fraternal embrace.

You are where life often seems to give way to death, where human dignity is daily humiliated, crushed, offended, and sometimes denied altogether. And yet, right there, you are called to be a living presence of the Risen One in the most diverse ways: in choosing to stand beside the least of people, in lifting up those who have fallen, in restoring dignity to those who have been trampled…

Often the world may seem like a barren desert to you, but that is when you must believe that, sustained by the Spirit, you can help transform it into a lush ‘garden’ of life. Yes, because the Resurrection is not just an event of the past to be remembered with devotion. It is a fire that still burns, it is a force that continues to open up gravesites, to roll away tombstones that are too heavy, to sprout life even in the driest soils.

You know this well, although sometimes it is hard for you to believe it. At times you feel alone, overwhelmed by fatigue, discouraged by the harshness of reality and the poor results of your efforts. Yet, you continue to bear daily witness to Christ’s victory over death with simple and silent gestures: a child fed, a wound healed, a hand held out, a word spoken in the dark, a division healed, a hatred erased… Each of your acts of love is a denial of the logic of death.

It is Easter, it is new life! Although often surrounded by fetid and poisonous atmospheres, you can still believe – and see – that even the most terrible and darkest ‘tomb’ is always located – in a mysterious but real way – in an ‘Eden’. Not everyone believes and sees this. You do!

In the midst of a world that at times seems to have gone mad – marked by wars, deaths, misery, violence, indifference, overpowering and exploitation, ecological disasters, terrible humanitarian and environmental crises caused mostly by humanity – you continue to believe in ‘gardens in the desert’, to plant and expand them, in the spirit of a true ‘integral ecology’, and to sow beauty even where it seems impossible, to bet on goodness, on fraternity, on full life, and on the Gospel.

We all know that it is not easy. Sometimes the weight of grief around you seems greater than your strength. But do not forget: the tomb is empty. The Lord has risen. And with him, your every gesture has meaning. Every choice you make is light. Every step you take is Gospel incarnate. Every child who smiles again, every sick person cured, every injustice fought, every gesture of love made is a sign that the stone of the tomb can be rolled away, and that life can once again blossom.

You are not alone. Christ is walking with you.

And we, your confrères, are beside you with prayer, friendship, admiration, and gratitude. The world needs you who do not give in to darkness, but persist in lighting lamps, even when they seem useless.

Easter is just that: knowing that, despite everything, Life has the last word; that, where the world puts a grave, God builds a cradle; and that there is salvation even where there seems to be only despair and death.

We carry you in our hearts. We entrust you to the Risen One. And we pray that you will experience a true Easter: one of light, of hope, of consolation, and of renewed impetus. It is Easter! Love has won. And it will continue to win. With you, in you, thanks to you.

With affection and solidarity, we wish you a Happy Easter of hope and new life.

The MCCJ General Council