Comboni Missionaries
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Saint Bishop Daniele Comboni |
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|---|---|
| Vicar Apostolic of Central Africa | |
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| Church | Roman Catholic Church |
| Archdiocese | Khartoum |
| Metropolis | Khartoum |
| See | Khartoum |
| Appointed | 31 July 1877 |
| Term ended | 10 October 1881 |
| Predecessor | Ignacij Knoblehar |
| Successor | Francesco Sogaro |
| Other posts | Titular Bishop of Claudiopolis in Isauria (1877–1881) |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 31 December 1854 by Johann Nepomuk von Tschiderer zu Gleifheim |
| Consecration | 12 August 1877 by Alessandro Franchi |
| Rank | Bishop |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Daniele Comboni |
| Born |
15 March 1831 Limone sul Garda, Brescia, Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia |
| Died | 10 October 1881 (aged 50) Khartoum, Sudan |
| Previous post | Pro-Vicar Apostolic of Central Africa (1872–1877) |
| Motto | In hoc vinces |
| Sainthood | |
| Feast day | 10 October |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Beatified | 17 March 1996 Saint Peter's Basilica, Vatican City by Pope John Paul II |
| Canonized | 5 October 2003 Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City by Pope John Paul II |
| Attributes | Episcopal attire |
| Patronage |
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Saint Daniele Comboni (15 March 1831 – 10 October 1881) was an Italian Roman Catholic bishop who served in the missions in Africa and was the founder of both the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus and the Comboni Missionary Sisters. Comboni studied under the Venerable Nicola Mazza in Verona where he became a multi-linguist and since 1849 had vowed to join the missions in the African continent though this did not occur until 1857 when he travelled to Sudan. He continued back and forth from his assignment to his native land in order to found his congregations and attend to other matters and returned in 1870 for the First Vatican Council in Rome until its premature closing due to conflict.
Comboni attempted to draw attention across Europe to the flight of the people living in poor-stricken areas in the African continent and from 1865 until mid-1865 travelled across Europe to places such as London and Paris to collect funds for a project he started to tend to the poor and ill. His mission to Africa was strengthened with his appointment as a bishop in 1877 for it allowed him greater freedom to establish branches of his order in Khartoum and Cairo amongst other locations.
His cause for canonization came to fruition with his beatification in Saint Peter's Basilica on 17 March 1996 and his canonization not long after on 5 October 2003.
Daniele Comboni was born on 15 March 1831 at Limone sul Garda in Brescia to the poor gardeners (working for a local proprietor) Luigi Comboni and Domenica Pace as the fourth of eight children; he was the sole child to survive into adulthood since six died as infants and the others died during their childhoods.
He was sent to school in Verona on 20 February 1843 at the institute that the Venerable Nicola Mazza had founded. It was there that he completed his studies in medicine and languages (he learnt French, English and Arabic) and prepared to become a priest. Since 6 January 1849 he manifested a desire to join the African missions and vowed that he would go there though this desire was an augmentation of his dream after having read about the Japanese martyrs in 1846. On 31 December 1854 (either in Trent or Verona) he received his ordination to the priesthood from the Bishop of Trent Blessed Johann Nepomuk von Tschiderer (the bishop made him a deacon mere weeks before); he had been made a deacon on 17 December just a couple of weeks prior. Comboni made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land from 29 September to 14 October 1855. In 1857 – with the blessing of his mother – he left for Africa along with five other missionaries of the Mazza's order. His mother gave him her blessing and said to him: "Go, Daniele, and may the Lord bless you". He departed on 8 September 1857 with Giovanni Beltrame, Alessandro dal Bosco, Francesco Oliboni, Angelo Melotto and Isidoro Zilli who hailed from Udine.
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