The XIX General Chapter committed to dedicating one year of continuing formation to reflection on mission (AC 2022, 25.1). In its six-year planning, the General Council mandated the General Secretariat for Mission (GSM) to organize a formation journey at the Institute level for 2026 and the first part of 2027.
Program Contents
The GSM has developed a proposal that, regarding content, revisits 5 themes of particular importance for the Institute, as outlined in the General Council’s letter on mission dated May 1, 2025, namely:
- Mission: Returning to the Source
- Decolonial Mission
- Mission Beyond Ordinary Pastoral Care
- Inculturation and Interculturation
- Economy and Mission.
Program Methodology
Regarding the program methodology, the proposal involves and integrates different levels of reflection: first, the personal level, by offering three brief essays—for each theme—to provide ideas and stimuli for reflection. These contributions reflect experiences and contexts from different continents and are proposed as possible keys for re-reading personal mission experiences. The fundamental level of reflection in the program, however, is the community level. Each community is invited to dedicate one day to sharing and discernment on each of the 5 themes. The GSM has produced worksheets to facilitate this work at the community level, which follows a rhythm of one day every three months. Finally, at the provincial level, it is requested to gather the community reflections and synthesize the key shared points. For sharing at the Institute level, the reflections from the community and provincial levels will be uploaded to a dedicated platform accessible via the GSM website (combonimission.net).
Schedule
Each theme will be introduced with a webinar (in five languages) that will explain the work to be done and in which the authors of the brief essays will introduce their contributions and interpretive keys. The journey will unfold as follows:
| Date of Webinar | Theme | Contributions |
| 15/01/2026 | Mission: going to the essentials | Mission: A Matter of Love (Fr. David Glenday); “Cenacle of apostles: missionary ministry as a community (Bro. Alberto Lamana); The Mission of the Comboni Missioaries in the Discernment of General Chapters (1985 -2022) (SGM) |
| 16/04/2026 | Decolonial Mission | Ther Urgencyof a Decolnial Model of Mission: A Style of Mission for our Time (Fr Stefano Raschietti SX); Comboni and is Distancing from Colonialism (Prof. Giampaolo Romanato) A Decolinal Style of Mission in Africa (Fr Antoine Pooda) |
| 14/07/2026 | Mission beyond Ordinary Pastoral Care | A Church “going forth”: missionary pastoral work as the paradigm for all ecclesial activity (Maria Soave Buscemi); Comboni Specific Pastoral Approaches and Continental Priorities (SGM) Missionary Parishes: The Case of Kariobangi – Nairobi (Fr Jean Paul Bitia) |
| 13/10/2026 | Inculturation and Inter-culturation | The Requlification of Mission through Inculturation and Inter-culturaltion (Prof. Carmelo Dotolo) Dialogue and Inculturation in the Mission of Comboni Missionaries in Asia (Fr Paolo Consonni) The Challenge of Inculturation in Africa (Fr Edward Kanyike) |
| 12/01/2027 | Mission and Economy | Sustainable Models of Mission: Ministering to the Nuer (Fr Fernando González Galarza); Missionary Youth Ministry and Social Enterprises (Bro. Jonas Yawovi Dzinekou) Mission and Economy (Bro. Alberto Parise) |
Walking Together and Rekindling the Fire of Mission
The proposed program offers an opportunity to pause and reflect for personal and community growth. This growth stems from a dialogue between personal and community experience, a journey of faith, and the stimulus of thematic explorations that are particularly significant for the Institute’s mission.
Despite its richness and structure, the program easily adapts to the time and rhythm of daily life. At the personal level, the three brief readings suggested for each theme can be incorporated into one’s rhythm of prayer and personal reflection. To facilitate reading, each contribution (typically 4 or 5 pages) is preceded by a half-page abstract and a one-and-a-half-page summary. At the community level, one day every three months is planned for guided sharing and discernment. The outcome, each time, will be community decisions to translate the fruits of the work done into practice.
In conclusion, the program guides us on a journey of action-reflection regarding mission, with a common horizon yet strongly contextualized and related to the lived experience of individual communities. A journey that will bear fruit in proportion to the availability and commitment of individual missionaries and local communities.
