United States of America and Canada – Comboni Lay Missionaries

Starting over through Prayer

25 June, 2026 by Alberto de la Portilla

After a period of prayerful discernment and a temporary pause in our journey as Comboni Lay Missionaries of the North American Province (NAP), we are filled with gratitude to announce the renewal of our community. By the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, we are once again gathering with renewed zeal, inspired by the missionary charism of St. Daniel Comboni and his dream of bringing the love of Christ to the most abandoned and forgotten.

As Comboni Lay Missionaries spread throughout the United States and Canada, we have begun meeting monthly through Zoom, allowing us to remain united despite the great distances that separate us. On the first Tuesday of every month, we come together for a Prayer Night; a sacred time to strengthen our communion, nurture our missionary identity, and rekindle the fire of our vocation.

These gatherings provide an opportunity to share how the Lord is working in our lives, to reflect on our experiences serving in international missions, and to encourage one another as missionary disciples. Above all, we gather before the Lord in prayer, entrusting to His Sacred Heart our personal intentions, the needs of the Church, and the cries of our world.

In the spirit of St. Daniel Comboni, whose heart burned with love for the mission, we pray fervently for peace throughout the world, for all missionaries serving near and far, for those who suffer on the margins of society, and for an increase in missionary vocations. We also remember all those who support us through their prayers and friendship.

Our Prayer Night is open to anyone who would like to join us, pray with us, and learn more about the vocation of the Comboni Lay Missionary. It has become a beautiful opportunity not only to deepen our faith but also to share the gift of this missionary calling with others who may be discerning how the Lord is inviting them to serve His Kingdom.

As St. Daniel Comboni taught, “Save Africa with Africa,” reminding us that evangelization is accomplished through participation, accompaniment, and trust in God’s providence. Today, we continue to live this missionary spirit as lay people committed to making Christ known and loved wherever He sends us.

We invite you to journey with us in prayer and mission. May the Holy Spirit continue to guide our renewed community, and may the Heart of Jesus, source of all missionary love, inspire new generations of Comboni Lay Missionaries to respond generously to God’s call.

“Either mission or death” was Comboni’s passionate cry. May we, too, live with hearts fully given to Christ and His mission.

Peace and blessings,

Comboni Lay Missionaries of the North American Province

Introducing Our New Acting Executive Director for CLM in North American Province

4 September, 2025 by Alberto de la Portilla

I am honored and excited to step into the role of Executive Director for the North American Province (NAP). My journey prior to this position includes serving as a Comboni Lay Missionary in the U.S, Mexico, and Arequipa, Peru, where I had the profound experience of proclaiming the good news and serving in various tasks.

The values I embraced during my missionary work—service, compassion, and outreach—are deeply aligned with the mission of the North American Province. I am committed to continuing the Province’s vital work and fostering greater community engagement and support throughout North America.

I look forward to collaborating with our talented team and partners to innovate, grow, and strengthen our collective impact. Thank you for welcoming me into this meaningful mission. Together, we will continue to serve and inspire.

Warm regards,

Rossie Patlan (Executive Director, North American Province)

CLM American Meeting

4 October, 2021 by Alberto de la Portilla

On September 25, 2021, the American CLM Committee: MCCJ Fr. Ottorino Poletto, Beatriz Maldonado and Mireya Soto, with the accompaniment of Alberto de la Portilla, were pleased to meet with the CLM of America and some of Europe, to have a formative conference, given by Father Dario Bossi, with the theme “the vocation of the laity in the socio-political and ecclesial context of America“.

Father Dario Bossi is a Comboni Missionary, currently provincial coordinator of the Comboni Missionaries in Brazil. The theme was developed in three important points: Colorful spots (to understand the situation where we are), Christian lights (lights that from the faith and the Church help us to understand the reality and provide ideas) and CLM Mission (some ideas that as missionaries, in our case Comboni Missionaries, we can develop).

He explained that America is a continent with cultural richness, natural resources, and in the face of the storm that humanity is going through, we CLM have the commitment to dialogue and act in favor of the poor and the needy, hence the hope and the lights that we have such as the Encyclicals of Pope Francis in which he speaks of the commitment to nature and the need for a Church to go out; The mission ad gentes and our relationship as Comboni family.

The conference has been recorded and you can listen to it and analyze it (here below in Spanish) for further enrichment of our groups.

Our meeting ended with the prayer that Christ taught us, giving thanks for having gathered and shared.

“Divine works are born and grow at the foot of the cross“. St. Daniel Comboni.

Mireya Soto, CLM American Committee

New CLM in formation in the NAP

3 October, 2018 by Alberto de la Portilla

We have a new CLM taking the formation course in the NAP, preparing himself to go to mission.

Darrel J. Vandeveld is a lawyer and retired Army officer who graduated from the University of California, San Diego, and the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

He comes from Erie, Pennsylvania, where he raised his four children and served as the head of the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office in Erie, from which he recently retired.

After September, 2001, Darrel served in the US Army in Bosnia, Africa, Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He retired from the Army Reserve in 2015 as a Lieutenant Colonel. In his final assignment for the military, Darrel was assigned to a capital murder trial at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State.

Darrel has served as an elected member of his local school board, and has served on the boards of non-profit organizations, including the Pennsylvania Artists’ Collective Alliance, an organization dedicated to providing local artists with performance spaces and other resources.

He is a member of the St Joseph Bread of Life Community in Erie.

Concluding the CLM continental meeting of America

5 October, 201624 September, 2016 by Alberto de la Portilla

Our morning mass was presided by Father Arlindo in a very unique way, it was a reinvigorating start. The morning activities are followed with a short review of how the Central Committee and the Continental committee function according to the countries and their respective representatives. Alberto de la Portilla, guides us with an explanation of the process and functions. Everyone becomes involve in dialogue and it results in a very beneficial and fruitful discussion.

The next part of the morning is, everyone including the coordinators and or representatives of each country come together to debate on issues that were previously discussed in the previous continental meeting to conclude with a new continental proposal. The other members who assisted each country were also present in the debate.

The next part was, the new members of the Continental committee were elected by a consensus, and the two newly elected members were Marta from Mexico and Mireya from Guatemala.

The next task at hand was to approve the Motions previously worked on, in Guatemala. These motions are for the approval of the Continental final document of commitments. We move cautiously revising each motion of the past days’ work in group dialogue. We worked on this both in the early and later part of the day. After we concluded with the work at hand we took the official group picture, and finalized the day with group prayer.

In the night we concluded with a celebration to our IV CLM Continental Meeting of America.

Fr Valentin and Yessenia