(1831-1881) Daniel was the fourth of eight children born to poor Italian gardeners, and the only child to survive to adulthood. He attended the Religious Institute of Verona and became a priest, vowing to become an African missionary after reading about the Japanese martyrs. He spent his life as a missionary and bishop in Sudan, Africa, and founded the Comboni Missionaries and Missionary Sisters. Daniel helped suppress the slave trade, establish missions, contribute to the science and geography of the region, and administer hospitals, orphanages, and schools. He contributed to the study of local languages and spoke six European languages, Arabic, and many central African dialects.
“We need evangelizers with the enthusiasm and apostolic outreach of Bishop Daniel Comboni, an apostle of Christ among the Africans” (Pope Saint John Paul II, canonization homily, October 5, 2003). What are you doing to spread the message of recovery (Step 12) and the Catholic faith?
“The Missionary must be prepared for everything: for joy and sadness, for life and death, for embrace and abandonment, and I am ready for it all” (Saint Daniel Comboni).
Reflection by Brad Farmer