Comboni Missionary Sisters

The Comboni Missionary Sisters (S.M.C.; Italian: Suore Missionarie Comboniane)[1] are a Catholic religious institute originally founded under the name Piae Madres Nigritiae,[2] translated as the "Pious Mothers of the Nigritia"[3] or "The Devout Mothers of Africa".[3] They are also known as the Missionary Sisters Pie Madre della Nigrizia[4] or the Missionary Sisters of Verona,[5]

History
Daniele Comboni

Daniele Comboni was a missionary in Sudan briefly in 1858–1859.[6] In 1864 he wrote a plan for the regeneration of Africa to focus the global Church's interest in the evangelization of the continent[7] while emphasizing the African people themselves as agents of this evangelization.[8] He established a male religious order, the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus, on 1 June 1867.[9][8] Comboni attempted to affiliate the male order with a female congregation to cooperate in missionary action (the Virgin of Charity). The attempt to set up the female branch failed and was postponed, so Comboni spoke to the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition.[10] With the support of these sisters[10] and the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, Comboni founded the Institute of the Motherland of Nigrizia in Montorio Veronese in Verona, Italy on 1 January 1872.[7]

On 8 December 1874, the bishop of Verona, Luigi di Canossa, handed over to the first eight aspirants the constitutions. He reviewed and approved and allowed them to start the novitiate. Comboni returned momentarily to Verona to received the profession of the vows of the first two Sisters of his Congregation on 15 October 1876.[11] The first Comboni sisters came to Africa in 1877.[12]

Comboni died on 10 October 1881,[13] around the same time that the Mahdist War in Sudan began. The order struggled with both a leadership vacuum and the loss of eight sisters who were held as prisoners by the Mahdist rebels.[11][12] Eventually, Maria Bollezzoli,[lower-alpha 1] who had joined the order on 6 September 1874,[8] emerged as a strong first General Superior,[8] and led the Pious Mothers through rapid development[11][12] until her death in 1901.[8]

Throughout Bollezzoli's lifetime, the Comboni sisters were active only in Egypt, Sudan, and at their motherhouse in Verona. Between 1900–1930, they spread into Eritrea, and the African Great Lakes region.[8] Between 1930 and 1960, they spread even more to additional African countries, the United States, Latin America, the Middle East, and created new centers for novitiate formation in Europe.[8][12]

Formal recognition

The Congregation received the Papal Decree of Praise on 22 February 1897 and its constitutions were approved by the Holy See on 10 June 1912.[14]

Vision

Comboni founded the order not for nuns, but as strong-willed missionaries.[3] He told the sisters not to hold their "head bent to one side, because in Africa one needs to hold the neck straight and be ready for lots of sacrifices and, if necessary, even for martyrdom."[3] Contrary to typical views at the time, he regarded them as of equal dignity with the male missionaries in Africa, and wanted them to have the same training and practices.[3] In his correspondence, Comboni sometimes described the ministry of missionary sisters as a "priesthood".[15][16]

Comboni listed the activities of early sisters: "religious instruction, school, orphanages, refuges for slaves, nursing the sick in hospital and at home, baptism in harems and in pagan families."[3]

Activity and dissemination
Map of countries where the Comboni Sisters are active.

While the specific purpose of the Combonis is missionary work among the peoples of Africa, they also work in the field of evangelization on other continents.[12] The Comboni Missionary Sisters are present in Europe (Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Spain), Africa (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Zambia), the Americas (Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, United States of America) and Asia (United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Israel);[17] The headquarters is on Tito Livio Avenue in Rome.[1][18]

On 21 September 2016, Luigia Coccia was elected Superior General of the Institute.[19] On 31 December 2008, the congregation had 1,529 religious in 192 houses.[1]

Notes
  1. See her biography at the Comboni Missionary Sisters website.

Citations
  1. Ann. Pont. 2010, p. 1600.
  2. Giorgis, A.W. (2014). Eritrea at a Crossroads: A Narrative of Triumph, Betrayal and Hope. Strategic Book Publishing and Rights Company. p. 461. ISBN 978-1-62857-331-2. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  3. "Comboni Missionary Sisters". Comboni Missionaries Province of South Africa.
  4. "Comboni, Daniele, Bl.". New Catholic Encyclopedia: Com-Dyn. New Catholic Encyclopedia. Thomson/Gale. 2003. ISBN 978-0-7876-4008-8. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  5. Bunson, M. (2007). Our Sunday Visitor's Catholic Almanac 2008. Our Sunday Visitor's Catholic Almanac. Our Sunday Visitor. ISBN 978-1-59276-334-4. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  6. Agasso 2001.
  7. Bertolotti 1997, p. 310.
  8. Asme.
  9. Melton 2014.
  10. Gilli 1980, col. 1679.
  11. Gilli 1980, col. 1680.
  12. Bertolotti 1997, p. 311.
  13. Holy See 2003.
  14. Gilli 1980, col. 1678.
  15. South Africa 2015.
  16. Comboni, Daniel (5 May 1878). "Afrique Centrale Dossier". Letter to Mother Eufrasia Maraval. Khartoum. here the Sister’s work is a priesthood.
  17. "Where we are". Archived from the original on 8 January 2010. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
  18. "Comboni Missionary Sisters home page". Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  19. New Superior General
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References
  • Agasso, Domenico (21 May 2001). "Saint Daniele Comboni" (in Italian). Santi e Beati. Retrieved 13 September 2017.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Annuario pontificio per l'anno 2010 [Pontifical directory for the year 2010] (in Italian). Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 2010. ISBN 978-88-209-8355-0.
  • Asme. "Nuestra hisotira" [Our history]. Comboni Missionary Mothers in Peru (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 September 2017.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Gilli, A. (1980). Rocca, Giancarlo (ed.). Dizionario degli Istituti di Perfezione (in Italian). VI. Milano, Italy: Edizioni Paoline.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Bertolotti, A. (1997). Schwaiger, Georg (ed.). La vita religiosa dalle origini ai nostri giorni [Religious Life from Origins to Today] (in Italian). Milano, Italy: San Paolo. ISBN 978-88-215-3345-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Holy See (1 September 2003). "Daniel Comboni (1831–1881)". Holy See. Retrieved 13 September 2017.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Melton, J.G. (2014). Faiths Across Time: 5,000 Years of Religious History. ABC-CLIO. p. 1524. ISBN 978-1-61069-026-3. Retrieved 11 July 2017.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Further reading

McCarthy, T.P.; Cicognani, A.G.; Vagnozzi, E. (2002). Guide to the Catholic Sisterhoods in the United States (5th ed.). Catholic University of America Press. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-8132-1312-5.

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