FOCUS • 100 YEARS OF COMBONI PRESENCE IN SOUTH AFRICA

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE CELEBRATIONS

The celebration of the centenary of the Comboni presence and service in South Africa is more than a matter of simply evoking the past. It is indeed an opportunity to revisit the charism in the light of the present context. It is a call to respond to new pastoral and missionary challenges in the country.

BY FR EFREM TRESOLDI MCCJ | PHOTOS BY COMBONI MISSIONARIES

THROUGHOUT THE past year we, Comboni missionaries in South Africa, have been holding centenary celebrations in the dioceses where we are currently working.

Maria Trost

The first in this series of celebrations, marking the launch of the Jubilee Year, took place in Maria Trost-Lydenburg on 14 October 2023. Here, we gratefully honored the first 14 Comboni missionaries from German-speaking territories who arrived in South Africa on 11 February 1924.

Silverton

For our anniversary celebration at Saint Augustine’s parish in Silverton, Pretoria Archdiocese, on 17 February, we chose the theme “Unity in Diversity” to underline a distinctive trait of the local Christian community. Since the beginning of the Comboni presence at Saint Augustine’s in 1958, migrants from various European countries joined South African Catholics to form one body. Over the past thirty years, the parish has grown to become a home for nationals from various African countries. People of different cultures, languages, and religious backgrounds come together, sharing faith in Jesus Christ. Saint Daniel Comboni envisioned this 150 years ago, clearly stating that the Church was to be “Catholic, universal, and open to all.”

Orange Farm

On 16 March, the centenary celebration was held at the Parish of Saint Charles Lwanga in Orange Farm, Johannesburg Archdiocese, with the theme “Faith and Human Development.” The local community has been implementing an educational project aimed at supporting young people struggling in school, with a group of dedicated teachers helping them through weekday afternoon classes. During the celebration, the theme “Unity in Diversity” surfaced again as a reminder of the importance of overcoming prejudices within the parish community. Pope Francis’s words during his 2021 visit to Iraq echo here: “There will be no peace as long as we see others as them and not us.”

Pietermaritzburg

The next celebration took place on 12 May in Pietermaritzburg, where the Comboni Missionaries run the Scholasticate and serve Saint Joan of Arc parish, in the Archdiocese of Durban. Fourteen young men, mostly from African countries, are preparing here for missionary service as priests, fulfilling Saint Daniel Comboni’s vision to “Save Africa with Africa.” The chosen theme for the day, “Vocation Promotion and Formation Today,” aligns with Comboni’s desire for his missionaries to be holy and dedicated to evangelization. The proximity of the Scholasticate to two squatter camps reminds the community of Daniel Comboni’s call to “make common cause” with the poor and the abandoned, a challenge that prompts both missionaries and candidates to live out their vow of poverty more fully.

Upcoming Celebrations

The centenary celebrations will continue in October at three venues: Saturday, October 12th, at Christ the King Catholic Cathedral, Johannesburg; Sunday, October 13th, at the Parish of Saint Daniel Comboni in Mahube Valley, Mamelodi, Pretoria; and Sunday, October 27th, at the Catholic Cathedral in Witbank, the site of the first Comboni mission in South Africa, started in 1924.

These celebrations, marking a century of service in South Africa, aim to “cement our mutual collaboration with the local Church, spurring us on to a renewed commitment to evangelization in these challenging times,” concludes Father John Baptist Keraryo Opargiw, Provincial Superior of the Comboni Missionaries in South Africa.