Pope Francis Message for Lent 2023: “Our Lenten journey is synodal”
Pope Francis takes his inspiration from the Gospel account of the Transfiguration, proclaimed each year on the Second Sunday of Lent, he said: “During this liturgical season, the Lord takes us with him to a place apart. While our ordinary commitments compel us to remain in our usual places and our often repetitive and sometimes […]
The Youth Corner: Pope Francis to Congolese youth – “From your hands a different future, because the future is in your hands”
Looking at the hands with which a different future can be built, Pope Francis suggests “five ingredients for the future”, like the five fingers. In the stadium of the Martyrs of Kinshasa, 65,000 young Congolese welcome Pope Francis with songs and dances, with unimaginable joy in a country torn apart by violence and wars. The […]
Mission Diary: A Tiny Hospital in Chad Keeps Hope Alive
“St. Joseph Hospital needs at least five doctors,” says Sister Susan Akullo. “At the moment, there are three of us. One has worked here at least ten years without a break, so we will soon be just two.” Since 1994, the Comboni Missionaries have kept the doors open here twenty-four hours a day. Doctors and […]
Vocation story: Walking together
A simple sign of the cross leads him to discover God’s call in his life. Fr. Raoul Sohouénou Cakpo Edènan, Comboni Missionary from Benin, talks about it. I was born in 1981 in Cové 159 kilometres from the Beninese capital, Cotonou. I am the sixth of 14 brothers and sisters. I was born into a […]
Yvette Mushigo: Breaking the Silence
The Congolese activist and jurist Yvette Mushigo is the coordinator of the Synergie des Femmes pour la Paix et la Réconciliation (SPR), a network of associations operating in Bukavu (DRC) for women to know and claim their rights. “There are many types of violence that are perpetrated against women. From discrimination in employment and sexual […]
Nicaragua: Bishop Alvarez sentenced to 26 years imprisonment
Bishop Rolando Jose Alvarez Lagos of Matagalpa has been sentenced to more than 26 years in prison. He was convicted of “treason, undermining national integrity and spreading false news”, among other charges. The judge of the Appeals Court of Managua also announced that he would be fined and stripped of his Nicaraguan citizenship. The sentence […]
Mission Diary: Father P. Longinos – “Being a reference point”
I am in the parish of Kanawat, in the land of the Karimojong, in north-eastern Uganda. The irregular rains of recent years have brought us through a period of poor harvests. There are areas where things are better, but in others, there are people who need help. From the parish, we are supporting different groups […]
First Steps in Electric Mobility
Interesting developments also in developing countries, especially in India. In Africa the first Egyptian and Ugandan start-ups. The electric mobility revolution is advancing rapidly in industrialized countries, with some surprises also in other areas of the world. According to the latest estimates, in 2022, sales of electric vehicles exceeded the 10 million mark, with China, […]
Bolivia: Ch’alla – Rite of Thanksgiving to Mother Earth
Ch’alla is a rite of gratitude of the native Andean peoples towards Pachamama (Mother Earth), an obligatory gesture towards nature to obtain better crops, health, and prosperity in all activities of daily life. In Bolivia, the ceremony stands out for its picturesque authenticity, with an outpouring of gifts to Mother Earth, while at the same […]
Sr Zenaida: To bring the “Table of brotherhood” into prisons
She has dedicated more than 20 years of her life to prisoners. Something has changed in the Philippines since the arrival of Ferdinand Marcos Jr as president, “But we can’t say yet if the situation is improving; it’s too early and we don’t know his political agenda,” said Sister Zenaida Cabrera, of the Congregation of […]
