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C OMBONI MISSION C OMBONI MISSION T HE Q UARTERLY M AGAZINE F ROM T HE C OMBONI M ISSIONARIES Winter 2013 A plea for the migrants of Africa Pages 6–7 and 12–13

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Page 1: T HE Q M FROM T HE C OMBONI ISSIONARIES OMBONI MISSION · bang’. The end of 2013 draws close. Christmas and the New Year dawn. Exciting times for some (especially the kids) and

COMBONIMISSIONCOMBONIMISSION

TH E Q U A R T E R L Y M A G A Z I N E F R O M T H E C O M B O N I M I S S I O N A R I E S

Winter 2013

A plea for themigrants of Africa

Pages 6–7 and 12–13

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2 Comboni Mission • www.comboni.org.uk

COMBONI MISSION ISBN 0962-7154 is a quarterly publica-tion of the Comboni Missionaries (also known as the VeronaFathers), a Catholic Missionary Institute for the evangelisa-tion of peoples, issued free to their friends and supporters.

Current issue: Winter 2013.

Comboni Missionaries are sponsored by freewill donations.Please support the Comboni Missionaries,charity registration numbers 220240(UK), 8653(IRE),(SC 039530) Scotland.

Copyright © 2013 by the Comboni Missionaries

Designed and Printed by Artworks, Dalkey.Telephone: 00 353 1 275 1707.

Our thanks to contributors whose photographs andletters we have used.

COMBONIMISSION

COMBONIMISSION

T H E Q U A R T E R L Y M A G A Z I N E F R O M T H E C O M B O N I M I S S I O N A R I E S

Winter 2013

A plea for themigrants of AfricaPages 6–7 and 12–13

COMBONI MISSIONARIESIN BRITAIN AND IRELAND

ENGLAND MISSION OFFICEComboni MissionariesBrownberrie Lane

HorsforthLEEDS LS18 5HETel: 0113 258 2658

e-mail: [email protected]

SCOTLAND MISSION OFFICEComboni Missionaries138 Carmyle AvenueGLASGOW G32 8DLTel: 0141 641 4399

e-mail: [email protected]

IRELAND MISSION OFFICEComboni Missionaries

8 Clontarf Road,DUBLIN 3

Tel: 01 833 0051e-mail: [email protected]

CMS MISSION OFFICEComboni Missionary Sisters

151 Baillieston RoadGLASGOW G32 0TGTel: 0141 771 1773

EDITOR’S OFFICEVerona FathersLondon Road

SUNNINGDALE SL5 OJYBerks.

Tel: 01344 621 238e-mail:

[email protected]

OTHER COMMUNITIES16 Dawson PlaceLONDON W2 4TJTel: 0207 229 7059

COMBONI MISSIONARY SISTERS2 Chiswick LaneLONDON W4 2JETel: 0208 994 0449

www.comboni.org.uk

COMBONIMISSION

Winter 2013

COMBONIMISSION

From the Editor

As I write we have just witnessedthe biggest storm since 2002.Here at Sunningdale only one tree

was blown down and fortunately(though it landed in our patch), it wasfrom the neighbour’s garden! It is asthey say ‘going out with abang’. The end of 2013 drawsclose. Christmas and the NewYear dawn.

Exciting times for some(especially the kids) andcertainly gloom for manyothers. Life is just like that. Thehealthy and the sick, the well –fed and the hungry, the bulliesand the victims. As ever anunequal and divided world.

Yet the coming Feasts and theNew Year should fill us withgreat expectancy. Maybegovernments will look morekindly and justly at the poorand needy. Maybe the CatholicChurch, with Pope Francis atthe helm, will continue tosteer us all towards calmerseas and welcoming shores.Maybe our families will drawcloser and bear each other’sburdens. Maybe more peaceand fairness will descend onmankind. This is what shouldlead us forward to the end and start of aNew Year!

You may have noticed that on the coverpage and then back page we have theimage of Our Lady. She makes us thinkof Africa and Comboni’s Cry ‘Africa orDeath!’ But as he was not imagining adoe-eyed virgin so are we. At this time ofChristmas it is the strong, resilientMother of God and Mother of all peoplewho announces in the outpouring of herMagnificat:

‘He has pulled down princes fromtheir thrones, and raised high thelowly.He has filled the starving withgood things, sent the rich awayempty.’

May all our missionaries spreadthroughout Europe and all corners ofthe World together with theircommunities, enjoy a strengthening ofthe Faith and perseverance.

And to our Friends and Benefactors – toall the priests and people we met in ourtravels preaching Mission Appeals in theDioceses of Leeds and Plymouth – Mayyou be given a Happy and BlessedChristmas and a Happy and HealthyNew Year!

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Comboni Mission • Winter 2013 3

From the EditorPAGE 2

In BriefChurch News

PAGE 3

Getting to know theComboni Missonaries

PAGES 4 - 5

‘Stop Sinai Torture’PAGES 6 - 7

A Visit to the TheatrePAGE 8

‘Blessed are thePeacemakers’

PAGE 9

St. Daniel ComboniPAGES 10-11

Eritreans dying on theroad to FreedomPAGES 12 - 13

Italian priest author…PAGE 14

Pope Francis on WorldMission Day

PAGES 15 - 17

Pope Francis – MaryPAGES 18-19

You Write/RoundupPAGES 20 - 21

Sr Gesualda McCauley RIPPAGE 22

Fr Martin Devenish –25 years a Priest.

PAGE 23

Christmas GreetingsPAGE 24

CONTENTSIn Brief CHURCH NEWS

Some 14 million Brazilian households– or 50 million people – have beenbenefiting from the “Bolsa Familia”programme to combat hunger in thecontext of the “Zero Hunger” policysponsored by the Workers’ Party. In2013 the programme’s budget wasraised to 23.95 million reais (around€7.9 million) as was announced by theMinister of Social Development andFight against Hunger, TerezaCampello. She stated that in 2013alone, “Bolsa Familia”, which includesthe provision of subsidies in exchangefor families committing to sendingtheir children to school – has beenequipped with four million reais (€1.3million) more than in 2012.In the ten years since the start of the

programme, the percentage of chil-dren and adolescents in conditions ofextreme poverty has dropped from10.5% (2003) to about 0.3 % this year.As a result, 39% of Brazilians who havecome out of extreme poverty over thepast decade were less than 14 yearsold and 29% of whom aged between14 and 29 years.The programme, which provides a

coupon valid for a minimum of 70reais (€23) per person per month, has

directly contributed to improving par-ticipating children’s nutrition.Combined with the improving publichealth system, this has also helped re-duce the rate of infant mortality,which has dropped by 40% through-out Brazil and 50% in the Northeast,the country’s poorest region.“The only requirement to qualify for

aid is to be poor”, said Campello re-sponding to complaints about the riskof manipulating the electoratethrough social programmes. The pro-gramme’s resources, insisted theminister, “were delivered to all mu-nicipalities, regardless of which Partyis in charge”.As for the criticism on the possibility

that similar programme’s would causepoor citizens to become excessivelyreliant on government aid, Campelloreplied that, according to official data,75% of beneficiaries are “economicallyactive”. The beneficiaries, said theminister, “work, but they are em-ployed in the worst jobs. The onlything the programme does is to equipthese families with resources to reach70 reais” in accordance with the UNMillennium Development Goals,which expire in 2015.

“BOLSA FAMILIA” (FAMILY PURSE) ISTEN YEARS OLDEconomy and Politics Highlight Justice andHuman Rights

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4 Comboni Mission • www.comboni.org.uk

Cairo preludeDuring the first two days in Cairo, wevisited the Pyramids and we discov-ered that there were only two tourists(Normand and a German woman) inthe Pyramids area and the first im-pression had been that there issomething wrong happening.

In Old Cairo we found the same real-ity. Even those Asian and Indiantourists I saw few months ago disap-peared. Many shops were closed andthe shops owners were looking to this"phenomenon" tourist desperately try-ing to sell anything to him. I will nottalk about the horse riders' fight to getthis "precious tourist" on their horses.

We met Mgr. Kirillos William, Bishopof Assiut in the Seminary of Maadi.Normand interviewed him coveringthe whole situation and our upcoming

Getting to knowthe ComboniMissionariesFriends in Glasgow andScotland will rememberFr Paul Annis who workedthere for five years in theearly nineties. Although aMember of the LondonProvince, he was born inCairo, Egypt , and latermoved with his parents toLondon where he wasordained in 1991. It is fromthat same country, Egypt,where he now works, thathe sends us an update of therecent attacks on Christianand Orthodox Churches.

A youthful Fr Paul Annis, (right) and Fr Anthony Wolstenholme visiting the Combonishrine in Verona

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Comboni Mission • Winter 2013 5

visit to Upper Egypt. You will find thisinterview very soon on the web. Mgr.Kirillos welcomed us in his Diocese inwhich we felt a warm communionwith the priests and all those who col-laborated with us.

We had been also welcomed by Mgr.Botros Fahim, Bishop of Minia whohelped us visiting critical and danger-ous areas and we felt the same warmcommunion with the Diocesan priests.As you will see, we visited only fivesites due to security restrictions as weknow that those who burned all theseplaces are still living and breathingvery close to us.

Within two weeks these two bishopswill meet an EU committee to talkabout the whole situation in Egypt.

AssiutSt. Teresa Franciscan churchThe church had been burned, statuesbroken, the sacristy completelyburned and we have only burnedwalls. Offices and books had been at-tacked and burned. Liturgical objectshad been broken and even used to de-stroy the church. The tabernacle hadbeen broken and the hosts (for thecommunion) had been profaned.

What is surprising is the fact that theybroke the glass surrounding a statue ofJesus sleeping but they did not touchthe statue.

Assiut Burns CentreWe visited Assiut BurnsCentre and we met twopatients one of them is aone- year-old child badlyburned. We hope to findthe best way to help him.The Centre is actually try-ing to start using "artificialskins" to cure his patientsinstead of taking skin fromtheir own body or fromtheir relatives (which lastsfor a short period just tocover the burned areas).

MiniaJesuits and FrèresAssociation3 persons jumped inside thebuilding area which consistsof many facilities and is con-nected to the Jesuits’ school inMinia. After shooting the main

gate, 400 to 500 persons attacked thecomplex, destroyed and burned cars,buildings, library, books and transportfor the disabled. Before entering abuilding having a gate covered withglass they shot the glass to kill anybodywho could be behind it.

What is surprising is that they couldnot burn a theatre full of wood andchairs in the second floor because thefire prevented them from continuingtheir dirty work.

Father Magdi Seif gave us a detaileddescription of what happened.

St. Joseph of Lyon SchoolAt the same time another group at-tacked St. Joseph school andcompletely burned the old buildingcontaining the school files, books,dresses, etc. The Kindergarten hadbeen burned and this part must be re-built. After the terrorists’ departure,people did everything to stop the firereaching the new building.

Prince Twadaros ChurchWhen we arrived on Friday, the Churchwas celebrating a mass in an open areaand we had even participated in a bap-tism. This big church itself had beencompletely burned and we just findburned walls. A small bookstore had

been also burned; books and wallswere covered with ashes.

The parish priest who talked with usin the middle of the burned churchtold us what happened but what sur-prised us is the fact that he ended hisspeech by condemning the attackagainst Syria considering it as an attackagainst Egypt.

Anba Musa churchThis church had been attacked overthree consecutive days. The first twodays they completely burned the mainchurch and in the third day they at-tacked another underground church.As we knew, this church was an oldLatin cemetery and the oldest part ofit was the underground altar of thiscemetery.

The parish priest’s house had beenalso completely destroyed.

The burning of Churches did notcause any Christian to retaliate with vi-olence but only increased a call forpeace and unity. At the end love willprevail over all forms of discrimina-tion, oppression and hate. We remainunited with Christ and his words ut-tered on the cross: “Father, forgivethem for they do not know what theydo.” Fr Paul Annis

Burned Churches throughout Egypt.

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6 Comboni Mission • www.comboni.org.uk

Friday 18th October2013 was UKAnti-slavery Day and EU Anti-Human Trafficking Day. To support

this the Cenacle of Missionary Prayergroup, based at the Comboni MissionarySisters’ house in Chiswick, organized aWalk of Witness March to launch the StopSinai Torture campaign. This march to theHouses of Parliament, joined by a largenumber of the Eritrean community inLondon, was peaceful and prayerful. Itended at the place where William Wilber-force lived while campaigning to abolishthe slave trade in Britain over 200 yearsago. Today, in the 21st century, we are stillcampaigning to abolish the slave trade.This time the human traffickers are lo-cated in the Sinai, kidnapping, torturingand ransoming refugees, primarily fromEritrea, but also from the Sudan andEthiopia.On Old Palace Yard, opposite the

Houses of Parliament, we heard the mov-

ing testimonials of many Eritreans whoare suffering having lost family or friendseither in the torture camps of the Sinai,or having drowned off the coast ofLampedusa while fleeing their country.Their presence on the march brought thereason for our campaign much closer tohome and made it much more urgentThe walk was met at the end by Rt Hon

Frank Field MP who, with Theresa May,the Home Secretary, is working on a newModern Slavery bill targeted at bringinghuman traffickers to justice in the UK.Frank Field received our petition to the

UK government appealing to them to putpressure on the United Nations to workwith the Egyptian and Israeli govern-ments to arrest human traffickers in theSinai, release the kidnapped victims heldfor ransom in torture compounds and en-sure they are helped to rebuild their livesin a secure environment.The whereabouts of the torture camps

and the traffickers is known as well astheir mobile phone numbers. Now thatthe Egyptian and Israeli governmentshave agreed that more Egyptian militarycan enter the Sinai to find militants, it istime for the trafficking torturers to be ap-prehended and held to account for theircrimes. The currently lawless Sinai needsto be policed so that this trafficking can-not continue.There are hundreds of witness state-

ments gathered of how people have beenraped several times daily, babies beingbeaten, oil poured over bodies and setalight, limbs amputated, hung by the feetand hair, burnt with plastic, and the listof tortures goes on and on. They are tor-tured whilst on the phone to theirfamilies so that they will pay the ransomsof up to $50,000.This march was organized by the Cena-

cle of Missionary prayer, which is a groupgathered together earlier this year by

Marching through London’s West End to Houses of Parliament

Walk of Witness on Anti-Slavery Day in London:Campaign to end human trafficking in the Sinai

‘Stop Sinai Torture’

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Comboni Sister Natalia, from the parishof Our Lady of Grace and St. Edward inChiswick. It has to be added that thegroup’s inspiration comes from the Ce-nacle of Jerusalem, the charism andspirituality of St Daniel Comboni, and theYear of Faith. We have been very encour-aged in this connection by the repeatedemphasis of His Holiness, Pope Francis,since his election, upon the missionaryaspect of the faith of the laity and the im-portance of extending the missionaryactivity of the Church into the lives of allCatholics. We, like so many others, wereparticularly moved by the visit of His Ho-liness Pope Francis to the island ofLampedusa on the 8th July 2013, duringwhich he called for the end of the global-ized indifference of so many people andgovernments around the world towardsthe suffering of migrants at the hands of

traffickers, people who exploit thepoverty of others, people who live off themisery of others.Our Cenacle meets to read together a

passage from the scriptures, followed bya reflection or an account by missionariesabout the experience of life in the mis-sions, with the purpose of awakeningmissionary prayer and a missionary per-spective on our own lives and the lives ofthe world around us. We then considertogether whether, in the light of thosereadings, there is a missionary action thatthe group might undertake.During the summer, we met an Er-

itrean Comboni Sister, Sister AzezetHabtezghi Kidane, who is a volunteerwith Physicians for Human Rights-Israel(PHR-Israel), an NGO which providessupport to migrants from Africa in Israel.At our meeting, she described to us the

physical and mental pain and suffering in-flicted in recent years, and still today, bycriminal gangs on thousands of Africanrefugees, migrants and asylum seekers inthe Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, who are thesilent victims of kidnapping for ransom,slavery, human trafficking and torture.The testimony and commitment of Sr.

Azezet and her appeal for us to raiseawareness among the British society andthe world at large touched us deeply andwe felt we had to respond immediately.Our response has included continuous

prayer and an invitation to many otherpeople from all over the world to praywith us, for the Stop Sinai Torture cam-paign and for the migrants who aresuffering torture as well as for their fami-lies and friends.The actions we have carried out are to

write to key people asking for support sothat a new wave of awareness and com-mitment could start on behalf of thevictims. A website has been created tomake the public aware of the plight of theEritrean and Sudanese refugees crossingthe Sinai, and an online petition to theUK government was prepared to putpressure on the United Nations to takeaction and end this inhuman behaviourin the Sinai.We have been completely over-

whelmed by the support this campaignhas received so far by bishops, the parish,the Eritrean community and several Mem-bers of Parliament. Fiona MacTaggart MPhas agreed to help the campaign for theSinai victims by writing to the Foreign Of-fice Minister for the Middle East.Everyone worked tirelessly bringing

their special skills to the group and infour short weeks the march was organ-ized. The result has been that the petitionwill now be presented in the House ofCommons by Frank Field MP. It has allbeen the miraculous work of God. Wehave all been united by our trust in Godand His love has fostered confidence forthe way forward. The prayers said on themarch surrounded us with His love, sothere was no aggression only peacefulunity as we walked the streets of LondonOur being together in prayer and ac-

tion is enhanced by the charism andSpirituality of St. Daniel Comboni, who inall situations, keep repeating to us: "Theomnipotence of prayer is our strength".

The Cenacle of Missionary PrayerGroupComboni Sisters HouseOur Lady of Grace and St EdwardParishChiswick, London W4

By Ginette Lytton Cobold

Comboni Mission • Winter 2013 7

Handing over of petition to Frank Field MP

Cenacle Missionary prayer group

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8 Comboni Mission • www.comboni.org.uk

St Maximilian KolbeA visit to the theatre

The event had as organisers, MrCharles McPhillips and Mrs KittyHooey helped to organise the

outing to the theatre under the aegis ofthe Church's pastoral committee. Fiftythree members took part in whatturned out to be a most enjoyable andthought-provoking experience.

The ‘Ten Ten’ theatre company respon-sible for the production has as its goalthe bringing of matters of faith and lifeto a wide public sphere. Its mottoreads: “I have come that you may havelife, life to the full.” {Jn 10:10}

The background to the playfollows:Maximilian Kolbe was a Polish Conven-tual Franciscan Friar. Born January 8,

1894 as Rajmund Kolbe, he was canon-ized as a saint by the Catholic Church in1982 for taking a stranger’s place in theAuschwitz concentration camp.

To the Catholic readers, this may not bea surprise, as he is the patron saint ofdrug addicts, political prisoners, fami-lies, journalists, prisoners, and thepro-life movement. The late Pope JohnPaul II even declared him "The PatronSaint of Our Difficult Century."

During World War II, Kolbe providedshelter to refugees from Greater Poland,including more than 2,000 Jews that hehid from Nazi persecution in his friary.He was also an anti-Nazi radio host dur-ing this time. On February 17, 1941,

however, he was caught and arrestedby the Gestapo.

On May 25, he was moved toAuschwitz. In July of that year, a manfrom Kolbe’s barracks vanished, inwhat was believed to be an escape at-tempt. In order to discourage furtherattempts, the deputy camp com-mander picked ten men from the samebarracks to be starved to death in Block13, which was notorious for torture.

One of the chosen men, named Fran-ciszek Gajowniczek, was hysterical overthe idea of never seeing his familyagain. Kolbe took his place. During thestarvation time, Kolbe led the men insong and prayer. After an incrediblethree weeks, Kolbe and three otherswere still alive.

They were all killed by an injection ofcarbolic acid. The worst part was thatthe man who was thought to have es-caped was found drowned in thelatrine. Gajowniczek survived to be lib-erated from Auschwitz, though, whichmeans Kolbe’s sacrifice was still worth-while.

Though his sons had died, Gajown-iczek’s wife had survived. He lived withher until her death in 1977. Gajown-iczek himself died in 1995. On a visit tothe United States, Gajowniczek toldthe story himself:” Fr Kolbe told thecommandant, “I want to go instead ofthe man who was selected. He has awife and family. I am alone. I am aCatholic priest. ” The priest also con-tended that he was ‘elderly’,Gajowniczek added. Fr Kolbe was then47. Gajowniczek was 41.

Charles McPhillips.

On the 2nd of October a group of members of the Sacred Heart Church,Sunningdalemade amost successful trip to theWest End, London, towatch a production – ‘Kolbe’s Gift’, based on the final tragic events of thelife of St Maximilian Kolbe at Auschwitz.

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Comboni Mission • Winter 2013 9

John Dear SJ the peace activist and ad-vocate of Gospel nonviolence touredScotland. He inspired audiences

around the country with stories of hisown front line work for peace and jus-tice in places as diverse as El Salvador,Colombia, Derry, Afghanistan; with blackand marginalised women in the USA, hiswork with the Berrigan brothers and hispresent anti-nuclear campaigning. Hehas paid the price by being arrested nu-merous times and being imprisoned.Fr Dear challenged his audience “Have

you worked for peace? How are yougoing to go deeper into working forpeace? He reminded us that Gandhimeditated morning and evening on theSermon on the Mount which deepenedhis convictions and gave him a moraland spiritual framework that determinedthe rest of his life. We need to do thesame to take Jesus words as a call to ac-tion.He described how we can chose to live

a life of nonviolence, how to put an end

to the days of killing.Firstly we need to practice non-vio-

lence towards ourselves so that wecultivate inner peace and claim our

union with the God of peace. That re-quires us to spend time in prayer andmeditation.Secondly, we need to practice nonvi-

olence towards others, all creatures andall creation so that love and justice canspread and all creation is protected.Thirdly, to practice nonviolence by

joining the global grassroots movementsof nonviolence so that more and moreof us participate in the struggle to endwar, poverty, nuclear weapons, environ-mental destruction and all forms ofstructural violence and make inevitablegreater breakthroughs for justice anddisarmament.Fr Dear stressed that activists need to

be clear that results are and will be slowto come but we need to be there for thelong run. He also spoke of how activistsin the USA are looking at Scotland withsome excitement as there is the possibil-ity that we could be the first country toget rid of Trident missiles and encour-aged us to campaign on that issue. On avisit to Lochgilphead he was also de-lighted to hear that the parish priestand some parishioners along withBishop Toal had been at the recentdemonstration at the Faslane base.

Fr Dear’s key message: Blessedare the Peacemakers; Love your ene-mies and pray for those whopersecute you. Jesus’ last words tothe Church were: “Put down thesword”. Words the world needs tohear and act upon.Thanks to the support of the Jus-

tice and Peace Commission andSCIAF many people got to hear FrDear and there are early plans for a

follow up. In the meantime we could usehis own prayer for peace:“Make me an instrument of your peaceand I will offer you the gift of a nonvio-lent life well lived for your greaterglory”.

‘Blessed Are ThePeacemakers’

By Dermot Lamb

A Message for Scotland

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10 Comboni Mission • www.comboni.org.uk

“Ibelieve this is a good oppor-tunity for us – writes FatherEnrique – to pause for a mo-

ment and give thanks for the gift ofthe holiness of Comboni. He, duringthese years, won over many peoplewho find in him a model and inspira-tion for living the spirituality andbeauty of the missionary vocation… Itis certainly a moment of gratitude. We

are witnesses and may state simplythat Comboni continues to be, today,not only a great missionary who in-spires and attracts many peopleinvolved in mission, but also a jour-ney of experienced holiness that maylead to an encounter with the Lordthrough personal consecration to theservice of the proclamation of theGospel.”

“On the other hand – he continues –this celebration becomes an opportu-nity we cannot forgo to ask ourselveshow we have lived the gift of the holi-ness of Comboni in our missionaryservice, in our experience of commu-nity life, in our life witness, and in thewholeheartedness and clarity of ouroptions.”

The Superior General pointed outthat, “We wish to celebrate the mis-sionary holiness of a man who wasable to open his heart to God’s planfor his life, allowing himself to betransformed into a tireless worker inbuilding the Kingdom among thosepeople who became his life’s pas-sion… We recognise the holiness ofComboni as a holiness that projects it-

Saint Daniel Comboni

The experienceof holiness

On the 10th anniversary of St. Daniel Comboni’scanonization, Father Enrique Sánchez, SuperiorGeneral of the Combonimissionaries, underlinesthe challenges of Comboni’s holiness and itsimplication on the life of themissionaries.

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Comboni Mission • Winter 2013 11

self towards and is reflected in thefaces of the poorest and most aban-doned. In these he finds the presenceof God who precedes us and waits forus. These are those to whom we aresent as missionaries… As missionar-ies, we can only reach holiness whenwe make common cause with thepeople to whom we are sent. Whenwe do not reject the pain and suffer-ing of those who are not important orwho are simply ignored by the pa-rameters of our contemporary society.When, in simplicity and humility, wecommit ourselves to building a hu-manity that is more just andrespectful of the rights of all.”

“This holiness reminds us that we arecalled to become hidden stones in thebuilding’s foundation, far from thetemptation to wish to be seen, to oc-cupy the front seats, to be in thespotlight or on the front pages of thenewspapers.”

Father Enrique writes that “In a word,Comboni’s holiness challenges us andprovokes us so that we do not allowourselves to be gripped by the temp-tations of our time. These pretend tooffer us an ‘easy’ mission permeatedby a middle-class lifestyle, opposed toanything that implies radicalism, sac-rifice, or the unconditional offering ofoneself.”

“In St. Daniel Comboni we wish tocelebrate a missionary holiness that ischaracterised by total commitment toannouncing the Gospel to all the peo-ple of our time and, in a special way,to the poorest and most abandoned,as the first recipients of the Gospel.”

“We wish to celebrate – he continues– the sort of holiness that speaks to usof celebration and rejoicing, of hopeand confidence, of simplicity andspontaneity, of welcome and lovewithout limits. These are the fruits ofthe Word sown with generosity in thehuman heart. A holiness that remindsus that, as missionaries, we are menand women destined to become wit-nesses who announce not a dark andgloomy future but the future pre-pared for us by God. His is a holinessthat invites us to read history, at alllevels, with the eyes of faith that donot allow us to distance ourselvesfrom, or ignore the issues of our con-

temporaries. For this reason it is a ho-liness that is achieved through asound commitment, a coherent life, asolid spirituality lived out in the smallevents of life and the great decisionsthat define our existence forever.”

The Superior General concludes, “Aswe live and strive daily to make Com-boni’s holiness our own, we wish tocontinue his evangelising work byconsecrating all our energy, our abili-ties, our entire lives, in the hope ofone day making our own the experi-

ence which enabled him to say un-flinchingly: ‘Africa or death.’ In thisway, we experience his total aban-donment to the will of God in his life.It is a missionary holiness that obligesus to deny ourselves so that we mayallow the Lord to manifest himselfthrough our lives, making us wit-nesses who announce the coming ofthe Kingdom more by our lives thanby our preaching, discourses, orwords. It is a holiness that lives in thejoy of offering the only thing we pos-sess: our entire lives.”

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Azezet Habtezghi Kidane, alsoknown as Sister Aziza, belongsto the Comboni Missionary Sis-

ters and volunteers as a nurse for theNGO Physicians for Human Rights-Is-

rael’s Open Clinic and was grantedthe U.S. State Department’s Traffick-ing In Persons (TIP) Heroes Award byHilary Clinton in 2012.Sr Aziza writes: ‘The Eritrean com-

munity in Israel is in deep mourning,following the terrible news of thetwo ships that capsized journeyingfrom Africa to Italy. More than 300bodies have been recovered. Many ofus here have relatives or friends whowere on the boats and met theirdeaths by drowning.Eritreans seeking their way to Italy,

like those of us here in Israel, arefleeing an Eritrean dictatorship thatsubjugates, persecutes and torturesits citizens. These refugees flee in thehope that they will be able to live indignity as free men.The disaster in Italy awakens in our

community the memories of the dif-ficult circumstances which caused somany to leave their country, and ofthe horrific events which occurred toso many of us on our way to Israel.Thousands were kidnapped by

smugglers and imprisoned in theSinai for many long months and evenfor years, during which they weresubjected to torture, beatings andabuse.This terrible situation has been tak-

ing place now for years, and thevoice of the asylum seekers who arecaptured in the Sinai is still notheard. We here in Physicians forHuman Rights – Israel , hear the tes-timonies of the lucky ones who havemanaged to escape the torturecamps, and accompany them in deal-ing with the difficult traumas,memories and scars that they carry.Together with them, we wish tospeak out and tell the world what ishappening.How sad that so many boundaries,

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Eritrean refugeesdying on the

road to freedom

Migrants

Sister Aziza, an Eritrean nun living in Israel, mourns the tragic loss of life of Eritreanrefugees in the recent Lampedusa shipwreck, and calls for international action

against the torture camps in the Sinai.

Sr Azezet conversing with police

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Comboni Mission • Winter 2013 13

fences, prisons and dangers stand inthe way of asylum seekers, who wishto arrive at a safe haven .Just recently we learned that, with

God’s help, 150 people escapedfrom the torture camps, as a result ofthe chaotic situation prevailing in theSinai following the attacks by theEgyptian army. But the escapees havedisappeared; we do not know whathas happened to them. Among themare two young girls, whose fathers

here in this country are anxious as totheir fate.Unfortunately, the Egyptian army

attacks in the Sinai do not have thegoal of rescuing those people still im-prisoned and tortured there. We prayfor their release and for the safety ofthose who have disappeared. Tothese regular prayers of ours, wehave added these days our additionalprayers in memory of the victims ofthe many shipwreck disasters near

Italy. Our hearts and our souls arewith the families and friends of themissing and the dead.Many thousands of Eritreans die on

the tortuous road to freedom. Wepray that the day will come when wecan return safely to our country. Untilthen, we ask the nations of the worldto look closely at our suffering, thatthey help the victims of the Sinai tor-ture camps and the Eritrean asylumseekers scattered around the world.’

A boat full of refugees.

Map of the journey made by Eritrean refugees

Joy at being reunited

A Refugee

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Italian author priest with afascination for all thingsIslamic

By James Martone

On a recent afternoon in Cairo, Comboni FrGiuseppe Scattolin was delving into 13th-centurySufi poems at his desk in the single room he in-

habits, on an upper floor of a building that also houses anArabic language school and its related administrative of-fices.The ancient odes he studied were written by Sufi Arab

poet Umar Ibn al-Farid, who lived in Egypt eight centuriesago, leaving behind a trove of verse in Cairo when he diedthere in 1235.They are little known in the Arab and Muslim world and

even less so in the Christian West.Bringing such Muslim texts to a wider audience is not

only Fr Scattolin’s passion but his duty as a Christian, hesaid from behind his open laptop and piles of books in Ara-bic, French, Italian and English.“What does it mean to be Christian? To know the other.

What is the identity of Christ. What does St Paul say ofChrist? ‘He emptied himself ”, Fr Scattolin said.And so “emptying” himself is what the missionary has

been doing for almost four decades now, in the form of nu-merous publications and studies, in multiple languages, onIslam’s different literatures and schools, and through dia-logue and other interfaith activities with Muslims, aimed atfurthering understanding among Muslim and Christiancommunities.“You must study the other,” said Fr Scattolin, whose ca-

reer in Islamic studies began in Lebanon and Sudan, beforeleading him in 1980 to settle in Egypt, where he has lived,taught, researched and written since.He argues in books, interfaith forums and his daily life

that understanding among religious groups comes throughdeepening one’s knowledge of the other’s texts and beliefsand through accepting the other’s “freedom of choice” tobelieve in a religion different from one’s own.“For me, it is difficult for people to put [Christians] as

the centre when they have their own beliefs,’ Fr Scattolinsaid.“To have faith, you need freedom of choice. We are in a

pluralistic world and this is good as it makes freedom ofreligion, and their is no faith if you don’t have freedom ofreligion,” he said.When not giving classes in Arabic and Islamic studies to

mostly Catholic priests and nuns at a Comboni-run insti-tute in Cairo, the 70-year-old Italian devotes his time toresearching and writing about Islam and to overseeingEgyptian students’ dissertations on topics related to Sufism,Islam’s inner, mystical dimension.Fr Scattolin’s most recent published work is an historical

look at Sufism, which he co-authored in Arabic with AhmedHasan Anwar, a Muslim Egyptian student whose doctoratethe priest helped oversee.The book won a 2012 UNESCO-sponsored award from

Egypt’s Zagazig University for contributing to Arabic cul-ture.Another book Fr Scattolin wrote in Arabic on interreli-

gious dialogue will be greatly accepted,” he predicted.“I start by saying that we all think to be innocent but we

all have committed violence. Now we only have to repent,”he said of his book, whose title he loosely translated intoEnglish as ‘Meditations on Sufism and Religious Dialogue.’Fr Scattolin said that recently a colleague from an Egypt-

ian university challenged him on the usefulness ofpromoting understanding between Muslims and Christiansthrough his books and interfaith forums.The colleague said Christians and Muslims ultimately

seek to convert the other. “Either Islam is right and Chris-tianity is wrong or Christianity is right and Islam is wrong,so why dialogue?” Fr Scattolin quoted the young man assaying.The priest said that, in his response, he drew on what

both Islam and Christianity say about the source of one’sbelief.“I in my faith and you in your faith believe faith comes

from God, so if I am trying to convert you, I am contra-dicting my faith,” Scattolin told the man, a Muslim, adding:“The only thing we can do is to exchange what we have.After that, each of us is free and responsible before God.”

Fr Scattolin a man of deep study.

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Comboni Mission • Winter 2013 15

This year, as we celebrate WorldMission Day, the Year of Faith,which is an important oppor-

tunity to strengthen our friendshipwith the Lord and our journey as aChurch that preaches the Gospelwith courage, comes to an end. Fromthis perspective, I would like to pro-pose some reflections.

Faith is God’s precious gift, whichopens our mind to know and lovehim. He wants to enter into relation-ship with us and allow us toparticipate in his own life in order tomake our life more meaningful, bet-ter and more beautiful. God loves us!Faith, however, needs to be accepted,it needs our personal response, the

courage to entrust ourselves to God,to live his love and be grateful for hisinfinite mercy. It is a gift, not reservedfor a few but offered with generosity.Everyone should be able to experi-ence the joy of being loved by God,the joy of salvation! It is a gift thatone cannot keep to oneself, but it isto be shared… Each community is

In his first message forWorld Mission Day, Pope Francis proposes some reflections.A synthesis of hismessage.

Pope Francis:“The Church’s

missionary spirit is atestimony of a life”

Paraguay - Church of Christ

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“mature” when it professes faith, cel-ebrates it with joy during the liturgy,lives charity, proclaims the Word ofGod endlessly, leaves one’s own totake it to the “peripheries”, especiallyto those who have not yet had theopportunity to know Christ. Thestrength of our faith, at a personaland community level, can be meas-ured by the ability to communicate itto others, to spread and live it incharity, to witness to it before thosewe meet and those who share thepath of life with us.

The Year of Faith, fifty years after thebeginning of the Second VaticanCouncil, motivates the entire Churchtowards a renewed awareness of itspresence in the contemporary worldand its mission among peoples andnations. Missionary spirit is not onlyabout geographical territories, butabout peoples, cultures and individ-uals, because the “boundaries” offaith do not only cross places andhuman traditions, but the heart ofeach man and each woman…

The work of evangelization oftenfinds obstacles, not only externally,but also from within the ecclesialcommunity. Sometimes there is lackof fervour, joy, courage and hope inproclaiming the Message of Christ toall and in helping the people of ourtime to an encounter with him.Sometimes, it is still thought that pro-claiming the truth of the Gospelmeans an assault on freedom… Wemust always have the courage andthe joy of proposing, with respect, anencounter with Christ, and beingheralds of his Gospel. Jesus cameamong us to show us the way of sal-vation and he entrusted to us themission to make it known to all tothe ends of the earth. All too often,we see that it is violence, lies and mis-takes that are emphasized andproposed. It is urgent in our time toannounce and witness to the good-ness of the Gospel, and this fromwithin the Church itself. It is impor-tant never to forget a fundamentalprinciple for every evangelizer: onecannot announce Christ without the

Church. Evangelization is not an iso-lated individual or private act; it isalways ecclesial…

In our era, the widespread mobilityand facility of communicationthrough new media have mingledpeople, knowledge, and experience.For work reasons, entire familiesmove from one continent to another;professional and cultural exchanges,tourism, and other phenomena havealso led to great movements of peo-ples. This makes it difficult, even forthe parish community, to know wholives permanently or temporarily inthe area. More and more, in largeareas of what were traditionallyChristian regions, the number ofthose who are unacquainted with thefaith, or indifferent to the religiousdimension or animated by other be-liefs, is increasing. Therefore it is notinfrequent that some of the baptizedmake lifestyle choices that lead themaway from faith, thus making themneed a “new evangelization”. To allthis is added the fact that a large partof humanity has not yet been reachedby the Good News of Jesus Christ.

We also live in a time of crisis thattouches various sectors of existence,not only the economy, finance, foodsecurity, or the environment, but alsothose involving the deeper meaningof life and the fundamental valuesthat animate it. Even human coexis-tence is marked by tensions andconflicts that cause insecurity and dif-ficulty in finding the right path to astable peace. In this complex situa-tion, where the horizon of thepresent and future seems threatenedby menacing clouds, it is necessary toproclaim courageously and in verysituation, the Gospel of Christ, a mes-sage of hope, reconciliation,communion, a proclamation of God'scloseness, his mercy, his salvation,and a proclamation that the power ofGod’s love is able to overcome thedarkness of evil and guide us on thepath of goodness.

The men and women of our timeneed the secure light that illuminatestheir path and that only the en-counter with Christ can give. Let usbring to the world, through our wit-ness, with love, the hope given byfaith! The Church’s missionary spirit

Meditating the Word of God

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Comboni Mission • Winter 2013 17

is not about proselytizing, but thetestimony of a life that illuminates thepath, which brings hope and love.The Church – I repeat once again – isnot a relief organization, an enter-prise or an NGO, but a community ofpeople, animated by the Holy Spirit,who have lived and are living thewonder of the encounter with JesusChrist and want to share this experi-ence of deep joy, the message ofsalvation that the Lord gave us. It isthe Holy Spirit who guides theChurch in this path.

I would like to encourage everyoneto be a bearer of the Good News ofChrist and I am grateful especially tomissionaries, to the Fidei Donumpriests, men and women religiousand lay faithful – more and more nu-merous – who by accepting the

Lord's call, leave their homeland toserve the Gospel in different landsand cultures. But I would also like toemphasize that these same youngChurches are engaging generously insending missionaries to the Churchesthat are in difficulty – not infre-quently Churches of ancientChristian tradition – and thus bringthe freshness and enthusiasm withwhich they live the faith, a faith thatrenews life and gives hope. To live inthis universal dimension, respondingto the mandate of Jesus: “Go there-fore and make disciples of allnations” (Mt 28:19) is something en-riching for each particular Church,each community, because sendingmissionaries is never a loss, but again. I appeal to all those who feelthis calling to respond generously tothe Holy Spirit, according to your

state in life, and not to be afraid to begenerous with the Lord…

At the same time I urge missionaries,especially the Fidei Donum priestsand laity, to live with joy their pre-cious service in the Churches towhich they are sent and to bring theirjoy and experience to the Churchesfrom which they come…

Finally, I wish to say a word aboutthose Christians who, in various partsof the world, experience difficulty inopenly professing their faith and inenjoying the legal right to practice itin a worthy manner. They are ourbrothers and sisters, courageous wit-nesses – even more numerous thanthe martyrs of the early centuries –who endure with apostolic persever-ance many contemporary forms ofpersecution. Quite a few also risktheir lives to remain faithful to theGospel of Christ. I wish to reaffirmmy closeness in prayer to individuals,families and communities who sufferviolence and intolerance, and I re-peat to them the consoling words ofJesus: “Take courage, I have over-come the world” (Jn 16:33)…

“May this Year of Faith increasinglystrengthen our relationship withChrist the Lord, since only in him isthere the certitude for looking to thefuture and the guarantee of an au-thentic and lasting love” (Porta fidei,15). This is my wish for World Mis-sion Day this year.Youth as missionaries

Christ died for all.

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18 Comboni Mission • www.comboni.org.uk

Addressing pilgrims in StPeter’s Square, during oneof his general audiences,Pope Francis said that theChurch is like Mary whobrings Jesus, but it is not ashop or a humanitarianagency.

A meditation for Christmas:

Pope Francis

‘Mary wishes to bring all of us to the great giftthat is Jesus with his love, his peace, his joy.’

Mary as model offaith and charityfor the Church

AChurch which does not bringJesus is a dead Church, hesaid. Among the crowds on

that occasion wereCatholic MPs from the All-Party Parliamentary Groupon the Holy See. Duringhis address Pope Franciscontinued his catechesis onthe model of the Churchand reflected on how “Maryis a model of faith and char-ity for the Church.” He said“Mary’s life was centred onChrist, the incarnation ofGod’s infinite Love.”

She teaches us to live a life offaith by her obedience toGod’s will and by her unfailingdevotion to Jesus and hiswork. As a model of Charity,the Pope continued, “Marywishes to bring all of us to the

great gift that is Jesus with his love,his peace and his joy.”

“The Church,” he said, “is not ashop, or a humanitarian agency, oran NGO, the Church’s mandate is tobring Christ and the gospel” toeveryone. The Church brings Jesusand his love and “if the Churchwere not to bring Jesus it would bea dead Church.”

Turning to our responsibilities asChristians, Pope Francis asked:

‘what is the nature of the love webring to others?’. “Is it the love ofJesus who shares, who pardons andwho accompanies us” or is it “aweak love” that “looks for favours inreturn?” “A love based on self-inter-est?” Our love towards others mustbe a free love. As he has done in thepast, the Pope warned the faithfulagainst gossip and “speaking ill ofour brothers and sisters in our deal-ings with those in our community”or in our parish.

The Birth and Adoration of Jesus

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Comboni Mission • Winter 2013 19

He concluded by urging those pres-ent to maintain “a constantrelationship and profound friend-ship with Jesus” and not justremember him “when we haveproblems and need his help.”

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

In our continuing catechesis onthe Church, we now look to theVirgin Mary who, as the SecondVatican Council reminds us, is“the model of the Church in the

order of faith, charity andperfect union with Christ”(Lumen Gentium, 63). As adaughter of Israel, Maryresponded in faith to God’s calland became the Mother of hisSon. She teaches us to live a lifeof faith by her obedience toGod’s will and by her unfailingdevotion to Jesus and his work.Mary also models the Church’scharity, born of faith, whichbrings the joy and peace ofChrist’s presence to others andto our world. Finally, Marymodels the Church’s union withChrist through her constantprayer and participation in themysteries of his life, death andresurrection. As Mother of theChurch, may Mary, by herprayers, bring us ever closer tothe Lord, open our hearts toshare his transforming andredeeming love, and inspire usto put our firm faith in God’sword, trusting in his goodnessand his gracious plan for usand for our world.

The Church gathered as a community

The Church's mandate is to bring Christ and the gospel

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20 Comboni Mission • www.comboni.org.uk

Mailbag

Letters from readers are most welcome but we regret we cannot publishthem all. Some may be shortened due to lack of space.

You can also email us at:[email protected] • leeds@[email protected]

[email protected] - Editor • [email protected]

You Write

Dear Father,Thank you for the 2014 MissionaryCalendar – some excellentphotographs and a good source ofMission intentions to pray for andthink around.I really enjoy the magazine too!

Marian F. BakerChesterfield

Dear Comboni MissionariesThank you for your on-going prayerand support right through(almost!) another year and for yournewsletters, magazines and

Missionary Calendar.All of these with their reports

and colour photos remind mevividly of my time in Africa from1963 to 1971. I was teaching inUganda at Fort Portal with theLadies of Mary (now Daughters ofMary and Joseph) at a teachertraining college. I recall meetingthe Verona Fathers but can’tremember where…I think wewere travelling during holidaytime – could have been in Kenya.God bless you and surround

you with His infinite loving care.Joan Urwin,Darlington

Dear Fr.I pray for all those people inAfrica and elsewhere in theworld who are suffering suchterrible hardships at this presenttime. By comparison we here inthe more affluent countries aremillionaires compared to them.God help and comfort all whocry out in despair. Thank Godfor all those working in themissions, not least the VeronaFathers.

M. Houlihan,Bolton

Comboni Mission8 Clontarf RoadDUBLIN 3IRELAND

Comboni MissionBrownberrie LaneHorsforthLEEDSLS18 5HEENGLAND

Comboni Mission138 Carmyle AvenueGLASGOWG32 8DLSCOTLAND

St Daniel Comboni intercede for us.

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Comboni Mission • Winter 2013 21

On the Feast Day of St DanielComboni,10 October, the ComboniFathers and the ComboniMissionary Sisters met at Chiswickto celebrate. A concelebrated masstook place with severalconcelebrants and Fr MartinDevenish, Provincial, presiding andpreaching. Fr Martin gave a conciseinsight into the life and times ofour Founder and his message fortoday. The mass was enlivened bythe Comboni Sisters’ ensemble ofvoice, guitar, violin and drums. Itwas a joyful and upliftingcelebration in honour of St Daniel.In the mass we remembered allmissionaries and our families,relatives and all our dearbenefactors. May St Daniel blesstheir missionary work.

Later we sat down to a finelunch prepared by the Sistersand enjoyed together in avery jovial and friendly spirit.

The church community atSacred Heart Church,

Sunningdale, has an ongoingformation programme running formembers of the parish. Led byJamie McCaul, more than twenty

adults are taking part in a sixsession reflection on the SecondVatican Council document onDivine Revelation (Dei Verbum).

Last year the course reflected onthe Constitution on the Liturgy(Sacrosanctum Concilium).

The present course is part of thepreparations to celebrate theGolden Jubilee of the Diocese{2015} of Arundel and Brighton towhich the church at Sunningdalebelongs. The participants arepursuing the reflections with greatenthusiasm.

Our community at Glasgowcontinues with the work ofpromoting the MissionaryCalendar throughout parishes inthe West of Scotland. The Fathersare aided in this work by adedicated team of helpers andstudents from local schoolsworking under the auspices ofthe charity organisation‘CARITAS’.

From our other communities allis quiet on the western front. As

they say ‘no news is good news’!

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22 Comboni Mission • www.comboni.org.uk

Shewas born on 26th of February1923 of Irish descent, in theCowcaddens, Glasgow. She was

16 years old when she accepted thechallenge of a missionary vocation, toleave her family and native land andenter the Congregation of the Com-boni Missionary Sisters (then calledMissionary Sisters of Verona, the townof origin of the Congregation). Thatwas a courageous step to make as itwas 1939, the world was about to beplunged into World War II and SrGesualda was heading for Italy – a dif-ferent culture, a different language,and subsequently a country overrunby the Nazi Germans. It was indeed adangerous place for British peoplewho, if discovered, were deported toGerman concentration camps.

As it happened, an Italian official hidthe documents of the 6 British sistersof the Congregation, who were for-bidden to speak English at any time.During this time Sister Gesualdamade her first vows on 28th October1942, and stayed in Verona until theend of the war. In 1948 Sr Gesualdaagain took leave of familiar surround-ings and left for the mission inUganda.

However, her health had been under-mined and so, after a few years, shehad to return to Britain because of illhealth. The strain of those first yearsin the Congregation had taken its tollbut her missionary spirit was intact. SrGesualda would spend the next fewyears in Mirfield, Yorkshire, in theservice of young seminarians prepar-ing for the missions.

These long years were hidden andhumble, full of work and prayer.

The young seminarians from all overBritain and Ireland were her joy and

her exasperation! The sisters’ com-munity cooked and washed clothes,sewed and kept house for these ladsand for the Verona Fathers, all to fos-ter their missionary vocation. She wasno “softy” however. The studentsoften received the cutting edge of hertongue when they handed in theirfootball jerseys covered in mud – andglory – from the sports “battlefield”.She chided and chivvied those boys,but she loved them by serving themhumbly and making them strong forthe mission.

Equally, when she was transferred tothe Chiswick London community sheworked for the welfare of those train-ing for the mission. She taughtEnglish to the young Italian sisters,and prepared them to face examina-tions. She also included in herschedule external students who ap-preciated her efforts. Indeed this area

of her work among young girls be-came the centre of her life andconsumed most of her energies. Manypupils laboured hard under her de-manding tuition. She pushed themhard and most often got the best outof them. They knew that Sr Gesualdawanted the best from them, and theyloved her. Years after she had retiredmany of those young people, oftenaccompanied by their families, came(even from Italy) to visit her and bringgifts as tokens of their affection.

Something of the gentleness of OurLady gained from Sr Gesualda’s dailyquiet time in the Lady Chapel, hadbeen transmitted through the teacherto the pupils.

Sr Gesualda suffered greatly in herlast years. Now she is completely re-stored in Christ to whom she wasfaithful all her life.

Sr GesualdaMcCauley,

Sr Gesualda died in London on 20th August 2013 at the age of 90 years.

Sr Gesualda relaxing while in retirement at the Sisters’ house in Chiswick

CCoommbboonnii MMiissssiioonnaarryy SSiisstteerr,, RRIIPP

By Sr Mary Thomas Johnston, Comboni Missionary Sister

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Comboni Mission • Winter 2013 23

Martin James Devenish was or-dained to the priesthood inhis home parish of St.

Urban’s, Leeds, on Saturday 8th. Oc-tober 1988. Fr. Martin has nowcompleted twenty-five years of Apos-tolic Ministry as as a ComboniMissionary and fittingly marked theevent with a Mass and modest recep-tion on the evening of Saturday 12th.October 2013 at the same churchwhere he was ordained.He was joined for this special occa-

sion by his mother, Margaret (Walter,Martin’s father who died back in 2001,was remembered fondly during theMass), his brothers, sisters (and theirrespective spouses and families – toomany to name individually), Confrèresfrom the London Province (includingFrs. Robert Hicks, Franco Mastro-mauro, Meluku Tafesse – an EthiopianConfrère, and Louis Kouevi – a Con-frère from Togo), Fr. Alberto Pelucchi –our Vicar General and representingthe General Council in Rome, Fr. PeterJohnson from the Leeds Diocese andFr. Martin’s Parish Priest at the time ofhis Ordination, Fr. Michael Krychiwskj

– the current Pastor, and, of course,the larger family of St. Urban’s Parish.It was rather a nice touch that thecaterers for the reception after Masswere the same as for the celebrationsafter the ordination 25 years ago.The homily on Saturday was given

by Fr. Robert Hicks who has known –and mentored – Fr. Martin for a lotlonger than twenty-five years. Fr.Robert’s sermon conveyed a very sim-ple message – that whateverDublin-born Fr. Martin had managedto achieve in the past 25 years (... andthere was the devastatingly road acci-dent and subsequent recovery shortlyafter Ordination; two lengthy periodsof service in the wilds of a very unpre-dictable and dangerous Karamoja inNorth-eastern Uganda; the refusal ofhigher office; and two six-year terms asProvincial Superior here at home ...) itonly made sense, and thus gained inmeaning, effect and indeed in joyous-ness, because it was all done for theglory of God. In short, Fr. Martin’stwenty-five years of Missionary Servicehave unfolded in fulfilment of the well-known words of the psalmist that ‘the

Lord has shown his salvation to the na-tions.’Fr. Martin’s own reflection, offered

the following day at the 10.30 Mass inSt. Urban’s, took up where Fr. Hickshad left off. Fr. Martin shared a story,from his days in Karamoja, that under-lined the impact of the Gospel on thelives of those who come upon it afreshand demonstrated in a very immediateway the courage and the depth of thegift of faith as a newly-baptised Chris-tian, together with his catechist, optedfor the God of Love when the age-old- and honour-bound - local tradition ofrevenge and killing demanded other-wise.We pray that Fr. Martin’s service may

continue for many a long year yet, thathis efforts may bear still more fruit,that his shortcomings – few as theymight be – may be redeemed by theGod of love and that his service so farmay meet with the good Lord’s warmapproval.

Fr Martin, Provincial, celebrates 25 years of Priesthood in home parish.

The Lord has shown hisSalvation to the Nations

Fr Martin with his mother and the anniversary cake !

Fr Martin at the side of St. DanielComboni

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ENGLAND & WALES IRELAND SCOTLANDComboni Missionaries Comboni Missionaries Comboni MissionariesBrownberrie Lane 8 Clontarf Road 138 Carmyle AvenueHorsforth, LEEDS LS18 5HE DUBLIN 3 GLASGOW G32 8DL0113 258 2658 01 833 0051 0141 641 4399

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