2015-10-02 15:50:00

“Daniel Comboni will be happy!” Father Tesfaye Tadesse Gebresilasie, the newly elected head of the Comboni Missionaries has said. St. Daniel Comboni is the founder of the Comboni Missionaries.

“It is a great responsibility for me and those who I represent. Africans have for decades been members of the congregation, but this time, for the first time, one of us has been elected as superior general. Africa is now at home. My confreres, sons of St. Daniel Comboni, have renewed their trust. Comboni will be happy, because he had a great love for this continent (Africa) and its people! I come from a small African Church, not from Uganda or Congo; also for this reason, more than Ethiopia, I represent all of Africa,” Father Gebresilasie told MISNA.

The final text approved during the just ended General Chapter of the Comboni Missionaries calls for mission to be seen in light of criteria such as closeness to the poor and attention toward signs of time. What do these commitments mean?

“As Combonis we are called to share the joy of the Gospel with the needy, the poor and impoverished. Today we must continue this tradition, strong with the new impulse of Pope Francis and the Evangelii Gaudium apostolic exhortation. We are reflecting on our presence in Europe beyond the missionary animation or assistance to the confreres in need, opening to migrant realities, which are the signs of our time,” the new Superior General continued.

In Europe, Father Gebresilasie says the Combonis are now present in Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Britain. He is convinced that these nations are not only a place of passage between missionary experiences, but on the contrary, they are a fundamental space for announcing the Gospel.

Fr. Tesfaye Tadesse was born on 22 September 1969 in Harar (Ethiopia). He was ordained priest in 1995. After his ordination he went to Egypt to study the Arabic language. In 1997 he was assigned to Sudan and worked in Khartoum for three years. From 2000 to 2001 he was in Rome, Italy studying at PISAI (Pontifical Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies) to complete his licenciate in Islamic studies, after which he was assigned to Ethiopia. In 2005 he was elected the first Ethiopian Provincial Superior in the country.

(Source MISNA and Comboni Missionaries)