St. Daniel Comboni Day in Torit

The feast of St. Daniel Comboni (October 10) is a solemnity in Sudan. He had a great love for Africa from the time of his youth and came to the continent as a young priest. His motto was: “To save Africa with Africans.” Though at one point he had to leave for health reasons, he later returned as Bishop of Central Africa, based in Khartoum, and as the founder of a missionary religious order. He died and was buried in Khartoum, though the exact location was lost due to a subsequent Islamic uprising that temporarily gained control of the city. He is called the Apostle of Africa.

The day was celebrated in Torit with special festivity. In addition to a single, large unified Mass in the morning, there was also entertainment scheduled for the afternoon. It included songs and dances, such as the one performed by the “Crusaders” group above, as well as skits. One group performed an interesting drama entitled "Trust in God," about two drinking men who go to a witch doctor to help them win over the women they’re in love with, and who are eventually rescued by a preacher (below).

Our group, the St. Daniel Comboni Missionary Youth, decided to perform a skit about the coming of the first missionaries to Sudan. It was their creation from start to finish, and they did an amazing job. Peter Acheri played the tribal chief with regal sovereignty; Alice Lakot was the queen with Flora as her attendant; George and Wilson were convincingly severe and threatening as tribal guards. Omer and Beatrice were the first members of the tribe to meet the missionaries. David Liwaya played the missionary priest, with young Solomon as his religious brother companion; they were accompanied by Hellen Lakot as a catechist.

The skit offered an interesting contrast to the drama about the men caught between the witch doctor and the pastor. But even more it offered a beautiful witness about the meaning and effect of Christianity. As the missionary priest, David was very peaceful, humble and persevering in contrast to the loud and high handed authoritarian manner of the chief. The conversion to Christianity began with the ordinary members of the tribe, then the guards, next the attendant, then the queen and finally the king. The patience and willingness to endure threats on the part of the first converts helped to win over the others. It was also clear that Baptism bestowed on each of the new Christians the same dignity that somehow made them equals despite their social distinctions in the tribe.

I was really surprised and proud of the creativity and talent of the group. They’re pretty good actors, and comics, too. But what impressed me even more was their grasp of the meaning of the Gospel and their ability to communicate it so clearly and effectively to their peers.

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