The weekend of the 5th and 6th of April, was held in Madrid the first meeting of all the Comboni Family in Spain: male and female Religious, Secular and Lay people all united around a single Charisma and the figure of S. Daniel Comboni as part of the 150th anniversary of the Plan for the regeneration of Africa written by Comboni in 1864.
Comboni says in his Writings: In 1864, on 18th September, I was in Rome and while I was attending the beatification of St Marguerite Mary Alacoque in St Peter’s Basilica, the thought of suggesting a new Plan for converting the poor African peoples to Christianity flashed like lightning through my mind. Its individual points came to me from on high as an inspiration. It later obtained the approval of His Holiness Pius IX, who had it submitted to the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda Fide. It was translated into various languages and came out in various editions. On the basis of this Plan, my intention was to organise the Mission among the poor black peoples of Central Africa with greater vitality and coherence. I therefore resolved to found two Institutes in a suitable place in Europe, one for each of the sexes, for the purpose of forming personnel, both male and female missionaries, to run these missions in Central Africa… (E4799)
No doubt, it has been an opportunity to reflect together on the intuitions, ways of been present and living the mission today as Comboni family in the light of the Plan of Comboni; at the same time it has given us the opportunity to strengthen ties among us and grow as a family.
As Comboni Family we are heirs of the great “dream of Comboni” who spared no effort in his work of evangelization of Central Africa. We thank God for the opportunity we had of sharing experiences and for having all being called to the missionary vocation.
Thanks to all those who have made this meeting possible.
CLM Spain
