Saint Comboni - the Father

Everything in the life of St. Comboni spoke of mission ~ for the future of his Plan, he founded Institutes, calling them little Cenacles of Apostles ~ as they had been prepared at length by the Lord, in the Cenacle, they had received the supreme gifts and teachings that had consecrated them as a community of Apostles. He consecrates this undertaking to the Heart of Jesus and places it under the protection of Mary Immaculate: he knows he must imitate the love of these two Hearts and make them present to the persons who will come after him. In this we can see the side of St. Comboni that was "father" ~ based on the love of the these two Hearts which he depicts joined together on his episcopal coat of arms.

He was convinced that love is fundamental in the formation of missionaries and of communities ~ charity was needed to make people capable. Jesus gave us an example, selecting men that were all different in culture, character and profession, though all Jews. St. Comboni brought all kinds of characters into the community as well ~ as long as they shared the ideal, "To sacrifice our lives for the love of God, for the love of His holy Church and for the poorest in Africa."

Fatherhood and Brotherhood, despite human limitations has survived and grown through the years in the Institute. There are many recorded episodes of the experience of brotherhood shared. The Comboni Missionary takes the experience of community within religious life as a commitment assumed in the Church for the service of the Mission. The international make-up of our Institutes, from the beginnings ~ as St. Comboni envisioned ~ witnesses to the  "catholicity" , the universality of the Mission. It is lived as a gift, a richness, a treasure and a sign of communion for the people we evangelize.