Funeral of Fr. Lino Novato Sebit in Chukudum

On Tuesday I journeyed with eight other priests, seven from the Diocese of Torit and one of the religious congregation the Apostles of Jesus, and a layman - all packed into a Land Rover, to Chukudum for the funeral and burial of Fr. Lino Novato Sebit, a native of the town in which he was serving and where he died. As a native of Chukudum, Fr. Lino was a member of the Didinga tribe.

Packed into the rear of the Land Rover

Fr. Lino was ordained to the priesthood on April 20, 1997 in Khartoum, capital of northern Sudan, because of the disrupted functioning of his home Diocese of Torit due to the civil war. On July 29 of the following year, when he was just 30 years old, he was arrested and falsely accused, along with Fr. Hillary Boma and 24 others, for bombings that had taken place the previous month in the capital. Both priests were held for a year and beaten and tortured by their captors. A Google search of Fr. Lino Sebit’s name yielded results documenting his imprisonment by Amnesty International, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, the United States Department of State and Human Rights Watch. Both priests were taken to Germany for recuperation after their release; Fr. Hillary has never been able to return to Sudan. Fr. Lino returned in the year 2000 to take on the role as vocations director and vice rector of the minor seminary of the diocese, still bearing the physical and psychological scars of his captivity. While the immediate cause of his death was most likely a protracted case of malaria, the remote cause was the weakening of his health caused by the torture he endured from a radical Islamist regime because he was a Catholic priest. According to the report we received, Fr. Lino breathed his last in the small local hospital just as his widowed mother arrived to see him.

Checking the river

A swamped vehicle

The “road” (a “cowpath” might be a more accurate description) that leads to Chukudum from the main “highway” that connects the Kenya border and the Southern Sudanese capital of Juba, is a very rough ride of several hours, depending on the weather. It reminded me of the road we took many times in Honduras to the village of Los Planes del Horno, only the destination of Chukudum was much larger and more developed. At one point several of our passengers got out to check out on foot whether the river in front of us, that had already claimed several vehicles on earlier occasions, was passable. Assured that it was we continued our journey.

Garage behind the rectory

Poster in the rectory

Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, Chukudum

Entrance to the church

Arriving in Chukudum we were deeply moved to find the Catholic community of the village keeping vigil over the body of their pastor, which was placed at the foot of the tabernacle behind the altar, since the day before when Fr. Lino had passed away. Mass was celebrated partly in Didinga and partly in English. Two of the priests in our delegation were natives of the village. He was buried afterward in a special grave prepared for him behind Sacred Heart parish church. The parish was established by the Comboni Missionaries whose apostolic labors have clearly shaped the community and left an enduring legacy.

Fr. Lino's body and coffin

Chukudum is an amazingly beautiful village situated at the base of the Didinga Mountains, often shrouded in clouds. Two waterfalls pour off the mountains behind the village to form a single large stream that passes through town. The village reportedly received its name from a large rock at the base of the falls where the first settlers used to grind grain. “Chukudum” apparently carries the double meaning of “sadness” and “seeing;” upon seeing the beautiful and fertile fields of the area, the first settlers were sad that it was not their own. Chukudum had served for some time during the civil war as the headquarters of the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Army, and so was bombed 28 times; there are still evident bullet holes in the roof of the parish church. Its soil has now been consecrated by a man who bore in his own heart and body “the brandmarks of Jesus” (Gal 6:17).

Bullet holes in roof of church

Chukudum rock

Fertile fields of Chukudum

Mountains and waterfalls behind village

Closeup of waterfalls

Native mahogony - subject to poaching

Village children at well

Girl carrying younger sibling;

shell is used to cover and protect baby

Stop along Kenya - Juba "highway"