Our Story

Daniel Comboni, born in Limone, Italy, in 1831, knew at an early age that he would be a priest and missionary. His love was Africa, and in 1854, when God called him there, Daniel answered with all his heart and soul.

St. Daniel devised a Plan not just to bring the Gospel to people who never heard it but also to prepare Africans to evangelize their own people — a revolutionary idea for his time. His motto, “Save Africa with Africa,” captures the essence of the trust he had in the African peoples.

Named the first Bishop of Central Africa in 1877, St. Daniel continued his faithful ministry until, at the age of 50, worn out and plagued by fever, he died, but not before founding the Comboni Missionaries and Missionary Sisters who today carry out their founder’s charism across Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas. St. Daniel Comboni was canonized in 2003 and remains an inspiration to all who have a heart for the mission. We celebrate his feast day every October 10.

St. Daniel’s Timeline

1831 — Daniel Comboni is born March 15th at Limone on Lake Garda in Italy
1849 — Consecrates his life to Africa
1854 — Ordained a priest by Blessed John N. Tschiderer, Bishop of Trento on December 31st
1857 — Makes his first trip to Africa but returns to Italy because of extreme challenges from climate and disease
1864 — Launches a project designed to “Save Africa through Africa,” with full confidence that Africans will become the leading agents of their own evangelization
1867 — Founds the Comboni Missionary Institute
1870 — Approaches the First Vatican Council to petition the Bishops that every local Church be involved in the conversion of Africa
1872 — Founds the Comboni Missionary Sisters and has no qualms about bringing them to Africa to work shoulder-to-shoulder and heart-to-heart with him
1877 — Is consecrated bishop and named Vicar Apostolic of Central Africa
1881 — Dies in Khartoum (Sudan, Africa) in the late hours of October 10th, worn out from sickness and never-ending ministry
1995 — Is recognized for the miraculous cure of an Afro-Brazilian girl, Maria José de Oliveira Paixão that came about through his intercession
1996 — Beatified by John Paul II in St. Peter’s on March 17th
2003 — Is recognized for the cure of a Muslim mother from Sudan, Lubna Abdel Aziz, a miracle worked through his intercession.
2003 — Is canonized by John Paul II in St. Peter’s Basilica on October 5th

First Missions in Africa

September 1857: Leaving Italy, he journeys to Africa for the first time.
February 14, 1858: Comboni reaches the Holy Cross mission station on the White Nile in South Sudan. He eventually has to return home to Italy due to severe malaria and to recover from the exhaustion of the harsh environment.
September 15, 1864: While praying at the Tomb of Saint Peter in Rome, he conceives his revolutionary “Plan for the Regeneration of Africa”.

Founding the Institutes

June 1, 1867: Comboni founds the Institute for African Missions in Verona (later known as the Comboni Missionaries).
January 1, 1872: He establishes the Institute of the Comboni Missionary Sisters to dedicate themselves to the education and healthcare of African women and children.

Episcopal Ministry & Final Years

1870: He attends the First Vatican Council, passionately appealing to the global bishops to unite in the evangelization of Africa.
1872: Comboni is consecrated as the Vicar Apostolic of Central Africa.
1877: He is officially appointed as the first Bishop of Central Africa and serves as the Bishop of Khartoum, Sudan. Throughout his time in Sudan, he relentlessly fought against the destructive slave trade.
October 10, 1881: Exhausted by his labors and the loss of many of his missionaries, he dies of illness in Khartoum at the age of 50.

Canonization

October 5, 2003: Pope John Paul II formally canonizes him, making him Saint Daniel Comboni. His feast day is celebrated annually on October 10

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. — St. Daniel Comboni

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