Daniel Comboni (1831–1881)

Biography

Despite being the only child, when Daniel decided to dedicate his life to the evangelization of Africans, his parents did not object, although it meant a painful sacrifice. He was ordained a priest at the age of twenty-three and three years later he left on his first trip to Africa. In his first meeting with the Africans, Daniel was impressed by the misfortune of the slaves. With an impetuous and brave character, he did not consent to the suffering inflicted on so many men and women and decided to take all the fugitive slaves he found in his path. However, 2 years after entering Africa he had to return to Italy. He had realized the biggest problem to evangelize that continent: the climate and diseases. The European did not last long in Africa and the African could not resist the cold or European life without uprooting himself. He then devised the “Plan for the regeneration of Africa” which consisted of establishing missions, schools, hospitals and universities in strategic locations along the African coast, surrounding the entire continent; temperate places where Europeans could coexist with Africans. In these centers, future Christians would be trained: teachers, nurses, nuns and native priests who would later enter the continent to evangelize the populations and promote their development. Upon being ordained bishop of central Africa, Daniel had no qualms about ordaining the first African priest in those places: a former slave he himself freed. In 1867 he founded the Institute for the missions of Africa that would later give rise to what today are the Comboni Missionaries. Comboni wanted his work to be universal, that is why he sought help in many countries: Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Russia... He did not want his missionary work to be tied to a certain colonial power. Weakened by illness, overwhelmed by the heat of the tropics and the sweat of fevers, before exhaling his last breath, he raised his hand and blessed his companions, telling them: “Do not fear, I die, but my work will not die.”