In a series of 13 episodes recorded shortly before her passing in October 2024, Sr. Maria Vidale, a Comboni Missionary Sister, shares groundbreaking insights from her over 20 years of historical research on the origins of the Comboni mission. From Verona, Italy to Cairo, Egypt, this first episode unveils the little-known story of how Comboni championed the role of women in the evangelization of Africa.
The year was 1853. In Verona, at the Mazza Institute, a sizable group of young African girls, rescued from slavery in Cairo, was eagerly awaited. Don Nicola Mazza had entrusted Fr. Jeremia da Livorno with redeeming these children, having understood that welcoming them could forge future apostles for Africa. Among them was nine-year-old Fortunata.
Comboni, then a student at the Institute, undoubtedly encountered these girls, whose arrival deeply resonated with Mazza’s appreciation for women’s evangelizing potential. As Mazza believed, no one could transmit the faith to a child more powerfully than a mother, through her very blood in the womb and milk in infancy.
Fast-forward to the 1860s. Now a priest, Comboni became the director of Mazza’s African project. His ambitious plan was to establish the “Work of the Good Shepherd” in major European cities to support the formation of male and female missionaries. The goal: to bring the Gospel to Africa through Africans themselves.
Obstacles soon arose. The death of Mazza in 1865 and the resistance of his successor stalled the mission’s handover to Verona’s diocese. Undeterred, Comboni journeyed to Cairo in 1867 with a band of African women, including Fortunata, now trained as teachers. Together they founded schools at the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, pioneering Comboni’s vision of Africans evangelizing Africa.
Defying conventions, Comboni assembled an international missionary team of priests, sisters, laity, and Africans to sustain this work. He advocated forming strongholds on African coasts to prepare local missionaries, sparing European struggles. But his progressive “Work of the Good Shepherd” met unexpected opposition, forcing recourse to new strategies.
This initial chapter of Sr. Maria Vidale’s historical account powerfully testifies to Comboni’s revolutionary vision: the centrality of women, especially African women, in spreading the faith in their homeland. His daring initiatives and resilience in the face of setbacks laid the groundwork for the transformative missionary presence of the Comboni Sisters that endures to this day. In upcoming episodes, we will dive deeper into this captivating and inspiring history.
