On May 11, 1873, the steamer Kilauea brought a thirty-three-year-old Young Belgium Missionary of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, Father Joseph Damien de Veuster, to the island of Molokai.

Damien’s life was to become truly a sacrifice of love as he cared for those afflicted with leprosy and he himself was affected by this terrible disease and died of it. He lived his life of love and dedication in the most heroic yet unassuming way. He lived for others: those whose needs were the greatest.

I was around nine years old when I saw the film which was called “Molokai”. I can still remember how deeply impressed it remained in my heart. The love of Fr. Damien for all the lepers, even for those who were against him: his untiring effort to visit everyone and be witness of the love and care of Jesus for all those people affected with this terrible disease never left my heart.

From Missionary to Missionary

In Sandrigo, my village of birth (Northern Italy), there were five missionaries: four Xaverians and one Jesuit. There were also other Comboni Missionaries regularly visiting my Parish. I was very interested to hear about their missionary experiences in China, in Brazil and in Africa. In my heart something started moving, but my family was in a difficult situation and so, after my primary school, in order to help the family I started working in a factory. Work during the day; a professional school at night plus some “self-taught” courses related to my profession.

The film “Molokai” not only remained impressed in my heart but it also aroused in me a deep awareness of the importance of doing something to help in eradicating leprosy, especially in Africa. So I started getting involved in the campaign of the “Friends of the Lepers” where Mr. Raoul Follereau (a committed Frenchman) was asking the governments to offer the cost of a “bomber” in order to buy medicines to cure leprosy. I think we never got anything from them, but the campaign to raise awareness and funds among the people was a very positive one.

The Mission is Calling

Hearing from the experiences of all these missionaries, I realized that Africa was, little by little, getting my heart and that God was making me more and more sensitive to the situation of Africa and of the need of proclaiming the Gospel there. I felt that I, myself, should offer my life as a missionary to the Africans. But I was very much afraid and, though this desire was becoming stronger and stronger, I tried to get rid of it by persuading myself that it was too late, that my family needed me and that, after all, I liked the work I was doing very much, until…

Jesus is Calling

Until one Sunday at Mass there was the reading of the Gospel of the “Rich Young Man”

who asked Jesus: “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” …Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” At this, the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth (Mk 10:17-27)

I, myself, was surely not rich but at the end of the Mass I was very upset in my heart because I knew that I was not immediately ready to give up everything and follow Jesus. The greatest difficulty was to leave my parents who were young no more. However, God made his own way into my heart and into the heart of my parents and, with the encouragement of my brother and sister-in-law who took care of them, the Lord opened for me the way towards missionary life among the Comboni Missionaries (Verona Fathers).

From Damien to Daniel Comboni

From the Damien “of Molokai” the way was pointing towards Daniel Comboni “of Africa”. Following in the footsteps of the Comboni Missionaries, who gave their life for the Africans (especially the Comboni Martyrs of Congo 1964), I came to discover Daniel Comboni (now a saint), the great Apostle of Africa, who lived and died (in Khartoum-Sudan) for the Africans.

Also for me, the dream God once put into my heart became a reality. After my ordination to the Priesthood (1980) I was sent as a missionary to Zambia and Malawi. In 1991 I was sent to Southern Sudan. The people were suffering tremendously because of the civil war between North and South. It was the time to live with them, to suffer and rejoice with them, to be displaced and be a refugee with them, to share with them faith and hope in an uncertain future until, quite unexpectedly, I was asked by my superiors to come to Scotland.

Jesus said: “Follow Me”

I arrived in Glasgow in July 2000. What do I do here in Scotland? I am working in Mission Awareness and in Youth and Vocation Ministry with the hope that this service may help other young people to open their heart to the horizons of the world, to experience the great love of Jesus and to follow in his footsteps. My wish is that everyone may fulfil the great dream God has put in each heart.

Zambia-Malawi (1981-1990)

After my ordination to the priesthood I was appointed to the mission of Zambia. I arrived there in September 1981 and I started immediately learning Chinyanja in Wubui mission, diocese of Chipata.

Our Comboni Missionary group was covering two countries: Malawi and Zambia. During that time in Malawi there was a very severe famine and Fr. Aurelio, A Comboni Missionary in Malawi, wrote to friends about this famine and about the sufferings of the people. His letter was discovered by the Political Party of president Dr. Hasting Kamuzu Banda and he was immediately expelled for “despising the country”. The true reason was that the Party did not want bad news be known abroad.

Since I was the last person joining the group, I was appointed to the Malawi part of our mission in January 1982 and started working in the mission of Lirangwe in the diocese of Blantyre. I was very happy to be there and the warm welcome of the people helped me a lot in learning their Chichewa language and customs. I always liked singing and I remember how happy I was to participate in their choir festivals. Their singing was wonderful and through the music I was able to discover a lot of their cultural attitudes.

Visiting people, villages and Christian Communities was for me a deep experience of sharing with people their joys, their sufferings, their concerns and their hopes and to learn a lot of their life and story. Their simple life-style, generosity and welcome never ceased to amaze me and impress my heart.

In 1985 I was asked to work in the field of Youth and Vocation ministry and so I had to take up a lot of travelling, visiting Secondary Schools and the villages, often even very remote ones, of students who wanted to become Comboni Missionaries. This opened again a new horizon in my life and made me touch with my hand the deep experience of the faith of the families and their generosity even in sacrificing their own future dreams in order to allow their sons to become missionaries to other peoples.

In the “New Sudan” (1991-1999)

Welcoming the call of my superiors to restart a Comboni presence in Southern Sudan, in July 1991 I was appointed to the mission of Isoke among the LOTUHO PEOPLE of Torit Diocese, Eastern Equatoria: Taban Paride was the bishop. It was a totally new experience of mission because of the geographical situation, because of the language and culture of people (they are Nilotic and not Banthu) and above all beacase of the war situation.

We were in S.P.L.A./M. (Sudan People Liberation Army/Movement) areas. As you know very well the struggle and war between North and South started at the time of the independence of Sudan from the Anglo-Egyptian Protectorate in 1956 with only 11 years of peace (1972-1983). Three generations of people never experienced peace and true development. In the South all the infrastructures are non existent or in ruin. People obliged to live in continuous threat of their lives. In this situation, the presence of Spiritual Leaders and of the Churches was a great help in keeping up the hopes of the people.

A year after my arrival in Isoke the army of Khartoum recaptured Kapoeta and Torit and we Comboni Missionaries followed the people to Northern Uganda and Kenya as refugees. It was a very tough situation for the people and for us. Many of them died along the way because they were shot at or because of fatigue, lack of food and sickness, especially children and women. In the town of Juba, young people of Secondary School age who tried to flee the town were shot dead and thrown into the river Nile by the Government army.

The joint effort of Diocesan and Missionary personnel was a great help for the physical and spiritual survival of the people and of young people in particular. While in exile, we were trying to help both refugees abroad and the displaced people within Southern Sudan. Travelling by road and by air had become very dangerous. One could be shot at at any time along the way and the planes intercepted and shot down by the jet fighters “Migs” of Khartoum Government.

Remaining with our people

During this time our group consisted of only eight Comboni Missionaries and the suggestion from other sources was that we should dismantle it alltogether and just wait for happier times. However, after we took time for prayer and reflection in Nairobi (July 1992), we felt that God, and the example of our Founder St. Daniel Comboni, were asking us to remain together and put ourselves at the service of the people wherever the situation was throwing them. Proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus in that specific situation did not need many words, it just needed our presence as signs of hope.

Then, our answer to our Superiors in Rome was very clear and simple: “We want to remain with our Sudanese people wherever they are”. Our Superiors accepted. (By the way, the Superior General at the time was Fr. David Glenday from Dundee, Scotland, the first non-Italian Superior General). I was put in charge of coordinating the wee group. We were so happy that we started immediately planning to enter Southern Sudan through other ways (the way of Northern Uganda and West Nile).

From now on it was really an incredible experience: God led us through so many difficult situations and perils that, looking back, I truly have to say that He must have sent thousand of his Angels to protect us, missionaries and diocesan personnel, on our way and especially our bishops who were risking even more in order to protect and visit the people and be voice of the voiceless.

Fr. David Glenday, having witnessed personally in one of his visit the positive work done until then and assessing the situation as “difficult but also safe enough for young missionaries in their first experience”, accepted to send us newly ordained Confreres Priests and young Comboni Brothers.

As the one responsible for the group, you cannot imagine how happy I felt. A prayer came up spontaneously from within my heart: “Thank you, Lord, for this unexpected gift and for fulfilling your wonderful plan through the poor strength of our wee group and mine. Thank you because you made us simple instruments of yours to give hope to our people in this hopeless situation. Thank you because you gave us courage to stay with our people. Thank you especially for the promise of Fr. David to send young confreres to our long-suffering people. Give to each one of us the generosity and love we need to serve you and our Sudanese people.”

Indeed, the group started growing in number to 33 and we carried on being a sign of hope for the people. I visited several times the newly founded communities and the people of different tribes in Southern Sudan and, at the end of my time as person in charge of the group, I was preparing to work among the Nuer People of Upper Nile. Then, something quite unexpected happened. My Superior in Rome asked me to carry on with my missionary experience in Scotland: the greatest and most unexpected surprise of my life.

Appointed to Scotland (July 2000 - April 2005)

Now here I am sharing with you my missionary vocation (call), my experience of Zambia, Malawi and the “New Sudan” in Parishes, in Secondary Schools and in Universities and continuing that prayer which I started with Fr. David, but now in a different way: “Lord, enlighten the hearts of young people, open them up to your love, help them with the fire of your Holy Spirit, give them the generosity of saying ‘yes’ to your call ‘come and follow me’ and ‘go and be my witnesses, proclaim the Gospel to all nations’.” 

Return to the Sudan (July 2005..…….)