Holy Trinity ChurchComboni Missionaries
This coming weekend, July 18 & 19, Fr. John Richard Kyankaaga, MCCJ will be in our parish to talk about the missions that he and his community are doing. Fr. John Richard Kyankaaga, MCCJ was born in Buwunga, Masaka District in Uganda on February 14, 1964. He did both his elementary and secondary education in Uganda. In 1983, he started his formation journey to missionary life and priesthood in the Congregation of the Comboni Missionaries, first in Uganda (1983-1986) in the initial three years of training in Philosophy and then in Kenya where he did his Novitiate (1986-1988) and Theological Studies (1988-1992). He took his first vows in 1988 and was ordained as a priest on June 20, 1992.
As his first assignment, he was sent to Egypt for the study of Arabic and Islam in 1992 and eventually to Sudan in 1994 for missionary apostolate. While in Sudan he worked in Khartoum and in the restive region of Darfur in the west of the country, where he served as parish priest (Pastor) for four years. In 2000, the Superiors sent him to Rome for studies in Sacred Theology, with specialization in Islamic Studies and Arabic Language, obtaining a PhD in 2006. From 2005 to the end of 2016, he was Director of the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies in Cairo, founded by the Comboni Missionaries to prepare missionaries, both religious and lay, to work as missionaries in Islamic countries. In 2017, he was elected and appointed Provincial (Regional) Superior of the Comboni Missionaries for the Egypt Sudan Province. He served in this capacity until the end of 2022.
In 2023 he was back in Rome for a sabbatical Year and since August, 2023 he is serving as educator in Uganda, preparing young seminarians for future missionary service in the Church. He speaks several languages: fluent in English, Italian and Arabic, basic French and he understands Spanish. He speaks a few African languages like Swahili besides a number of some Ugandan native languages and dialects. Fr. Richard is not a stranger in the US, as this will be his 10th visit to the country.
The Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus were founded in 1867 by Saint Daniel Comboni, the first Bishop of Central Africa. Today, the Comboni Missionaries number close to 1,500, with an equal number of Comboni Missionary Sisters. Together, they serve in over forty countries in Africa, Europe, the Americas, and Asia.
The Comboni Missionaries remain true to their original calling as missionaries, and often serve where the Church is new and where people are just forming their Christian identity. They also serve in marginalized communities, including in some of the most impoverished places on Earth. Their parishes can be the size of American States, or within the slums of the developing world. Emphasis is given to evangelization, and to service to people who are poor, many of whom have no place else to turn.
Funds collected through the Missionary Cooperative Plan are directed to projects in Africa and Latin America to evangelize, educate (especially girls and young women), and create better living conditions, such as through clinics and the provision of clean water. Beneficiaries range from street vendors in Peru to the Pygmies in the Central African Republic to desert dwellers in Ethiopia, Eritrea and Kenya.
In North America, the Comboni Missionaries have a contingent of 30 members in Chicago, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Newark and Hamilton, Ontario. Their North American Mission center is at 1318 Nagel Road, Cincinnati, OH 45255.
Remember, The parish that we dream is the parish that I help to build!
God bless you, and may the Blessed Virgin Mary be with you always!
Fr. Jorge Ramirez
Holy Trinity Church… 165 years evangelizing!
