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Frequently
Asked Questions
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Why
haven't I heard about Comboni?
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What
makes the Comboni Lay Missionaries different?
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What
should I look for when I am comparing lay mission
groups?
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What
are the key values of the Comboni Lay Missionaries?
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What
are the most difficult challenges for your lay
missionaries?
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What
does it take to be a good lay missionary?
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Why
a commitment of three years?
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What
will my support overseas be like?
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Which
kinds of backgrounds do your applicants come from?
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What
is a typical application timeline?
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What
if I don't like Italian food?
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Why
haven't I heard about Comboni?
North America is perhaps the region of the world where the Comboni Missionaries are least well known. An Italian priest, Daniel Comboni, founded the Comboni Missionaries in Europe back in the 1800’s. As a young priest, Daniel Comboni was moved by the extreme poverty and oppression that existed throughout much of Africa. During most of his life, he worked to get the churches of Europe more involved in helping Africa and fighting the slave trade.
Rather than bring Africans to Europe, he sought to develop education and social programs in Africa. He was a passionate promoter of human rights, as he struggled against the slave trade in Central Africa, set up centers for the education and training of Africans, and became the first bishop of Khartoum (Sudan).
The Comboni Missionary order of priests and brothers grew to include Comboni Sisters -- and later, lay men and women -- in the work of service to the poor in Africa. Today, the Comboni Mission family of priests, brothers, sisters, and lay has grown to more than 4,000. They serve in 40 countries, in some of the poorest areas of Africa, Latin America, and Asia.
There are currently about 40 Comboni priests in the North American Province (U.S. and Canada). They have parishes and social programs in the inner city of Los Angeles and Chicago,
a parish and the headquarters for Peace & Justice
advocacy in Newark, a parish in Ontario, and their headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio. A team of two lay people and one priest make up the staff of the Comboni Lay Mission Program in La Grange Park, Illinois.
Visit
the website of the North American Province here.
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What
makes the Comboni Lay Missionaries different?
Length of Commitment and Training: Our program invites lay people to serve overseas for a renewable contract of
three years. We have a 14-week orientation program in the U.S. and a 3-4 month language program
overseas, if needed. There are a few other lay mission programs
that invest as much as we do in our lay missionaries,
but most short-term programs (1-2 years) offer a month or less of training.
Internationality: The Comboni Missionaries are
a very diverse group of consecrated men and women from
many different countries of the world. They all have
in common the spirit of the founder, St. Daniel
Comboni, but come from a wide range of backgrounds.
There are Comboni Lay Missionaries working all across
the globe from 9 different Comboni provinces. In Peru,
for example, there is a local Comboni Lay Mission
organization that recruits Peruvians to serve within
the country.
Personable and Responsive: We are a small group. Sometimes our smallness enables us to be a little more flexible, personable, and creative. (You won’t get lost in the crowd with us!) That is not to say that we want to stay small. But as we grow, we will strive to keep a personal and
responsive approach.
We see ourselves as part of the lay mission movement within our Church. We are lay men and women, single and married, who make a commitment to serve the poor in other lands. We work with other lay mission groups when we can. We explore opportunities to do training together and to make contact with other groups serving in the same mission areas.
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What
should I look for when I am comparing lay mission
groups?
a) Look at how they describe their understanding of mission,
spirituality, and the role of lay
missionaries. Is mission about charity or solidarity? Does it incorporate a justice component? Does it respect the local culture’s beliefs and values?
What spiritual practices are important, and are they
compatible with your own? What role do the lay
missionaries play in the decision-making structure of
the organization, if any?
b) Ask yourself what kind of group or overseas experience you are looking
for. There are generally 3 types of ways to go
overseas to serve. There is the long-term mission
model, which allows you to serve for 3 or more years
overseas. This model usually involves a longer
training period, and better support in the field from
the central office (due to smaller numbers). The
second model is the type of service that is usually
for recent college graduates, and usually involves a
maximum commitment of 2 years. The size of the program
is often bigger, and while there may be more
volunteers at a site from whom you derive support, the
support from the central office may not be as
available. The third model is what is usually called
an immersion experience. This can be anywhere from 2
weeks to a few months. This experience is great for
what Albert
Nolan refers to as, "exposure," and
leads to developing compassion for the poor of the
world.
c) Look at their requirements and values and see if you are a good match. Do you meet their requirements? Do their values and vision match yours? (See our answer to question
#4 below.) Learn about our Eligibility
requirements.
d) Look at where they send lay missionaries to work. How soon in the process do they tell you about their placements and sites—during discernment, or after acceptance into the program? Would any of their placements match your skills, interests, and past experiences? Are their sites
well-established? Do they have an on-going presence of lay
missionaries in that community? See our list of sites at Where We
Work.
We generally determine where lay missionaries will
serve during the formation program. In some cases, it
may be sooner. We ask our candidates where their
interests lie, and we take that into consideration,
but we ultimately make the decision based on the needs
of the sites, and the abilities and personalities of
the candidates. We ask our candidates to be open to
any mission, and to going where the needs are
greatest.
e) Look at the training and ongoing support they provide. What kind of
formation do they provide, and how long
is it? What kind of language training is provided
(if any)? What will your living conditions be like?
How much of a living allowance will you receive? Who
will you be accountable to overseas?
Read about our formation program at Training.
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What
are the key values of the Comboni Lay Missionaries?
A strong, mature faith commitment: We are committed to the spirit and theology of the Catholic Church’s Post-Vatican II era.
Our candidates are strong in their Catholic identity,
and are comfortable with both traditional and
contemporary practices of the Catholic faith.
Cultural sensitivity and awareness: We seek to be sensitive to the cultural values of the people with whom we live and work. We do not want to impose our North American culture
and values.
Teamwork and community: Our program also emphasizes
making time for regular prayer, reflection, and meals
with other lay missionaries, the local Comboni
community, and/or local faith groups.
Solidarity: We strive to minimize the gap in lifestyle
amenities between us and the people with whom we work.
We strive to live a simple lifestyle, both in terms of
possessions and distractions.
Qualities we value: Maturity, humility,
faithfulness, resilience, flexibility,
resourcefulness,
creativity, humor,
perseverance, and patience.
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What
are the most difficult challenges for your lay
missionaries?
It's important to preface this answer with the
statement that much of life is about managing
expectations; it is about finding a balance between
what we hope for and what we actually end up with. How do we
cope with disappointment? For many of us, this is a
difficult task that takes discipline and self
awareness. Without self awareness, we find that we
hold many expectations in our subconscious, and these
unrealized expectations may lead to major disappointments. This
is true anywhere, but it becomes more pronounced when
living overseas and going through the stresses of
culture shock. Many challenges lay missionaries face
become manageable or unmanageable depending on how well they
realize and cope with their expectations.
From our experience, according to feedback from our lay missionaries, the
biggest challenges are usually not the hardships of living in poor areas with occasional water and electricity
shortages. For most of our
missionaries, the toughest challenges are being away from family and
friends (a familiar support network), getting through culture
shock, and learning to work with a community that may
have very different values.
Sometimes the Comboni Missionaries who welcome lay
missionaries are from a different culture. In many
cases, the host Comboni community will have members
from Europe, Africa, and Latin America all living and
working together. Learning to communicate well, to negotiate differences, and to get along can take time—as in any relationship.
Lay missionaries may not "click" right away
with the other personalities in their receiving
community. Lay missionaries may, in fact, never
"click" with the others in community. This
does not make it less of a community, but this
surfaces one expectation people may bring into
overseas lay mission work: that they will become close
friends with others in community. This does not always
happen.
Many times, the Comboni Missionary community will have
its own idea about what community life with a lay
missionary should be like, and the lay missionary will
have a very different idea. For example, a lay
missionary may go to a mission site hoping for a close
working relationship, and the Comboni community will
expect the lay missionary to be more autonomous and
capable of seeking out his or her own work. Sometimes
these expectations for each other do not get
verbalized, and conflicts can ensue. It is essential
for a lay missionary with any mission organization to
understand that community relationships take time to
build. Hopes for community life should be named in some way, but
it must be understood that they must be negotiated.
Part of why these assumptions are not always clearly
verbalized is because of the cultural assumptions of
the people in the community. Many assumptions that we
make about others in our own culture are not
necessarily true about people from other cultures. For
example, in North America, we are very
results-oriented and we value being organized, efficient, and punctual. In other cultures,
those characteristics are not as valuable, and a
primacy may be placed instead on the process rather
than the result, spending time together, family, and
community. We may think that if we leave a note for a
someone or send an email, this is a sufficient way to
communicate. Others may expect that you speak with
them personally, and consider anything less to be rude
or condescending. This can be very disconcerting and
difficult to adapt to--especially if we are not even
aware how the other feels! Flexibility, patience, and
a spirit of "giving the benefit of the
doubt" are necessities to succeeding as a
Comboni Lay Missionary.
With this spirit, many challenges can be coped with
more effectively, and the lay missionary can learn a
great deal from the values of other cultures and other
people in the Comboni community, and in the broader
overseas community.
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What
does it take to be a good lay missionary?
One of our lay missionaries once said that it takes 3 things to be a good
missionary: patience, patience, and patience.
In addition to patience, it takes a high level of
emotional maturity. That is, the lay missionary has
adequate control of his or her emotions, and does not
act impulsively. It takes resourcefulness and creativity for dealing with the variety of obstacles that come your
way, particularly because there are usually few
resources with which to deal with the obstacles. It takes a strong faith to remember that God is walking with you, as you walk with the people. It takes enthusiasm and joy,
love for others, and it takes a high level of
resilience in order to hang in there when the going gets tough.
Language ability is important in every mission area. A basic foundation in Spanish is important for service in Peru and Guatemala. For service in
Ethiopia or Malawi, our lay
missionaries need to study Amharic or Chichewa for 3-6
months before they begin their service.
Lay missionaries must be committed to learning and
using the language of the region in which they
serve.
Look back on your life experience up till now. Based on your past experience, can you make the case that you have what it takes? What experiences in your life provide evidence that you have the maturity
and other virtues for overseas mission with the Comboni Lay Missionaries?
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Why
a commitment of three years? Do you offer other
lengths of time?
Since we are a lay mission program — not a volunteer program or an “immersion experience” — we strive to live out, best as we can, values of solidarity, simple lifestyle, and community. We
do not offer shorter options for overseas work.
This type of cross-cultural work needs a commitment of at least three years. As many people who have served overseas can attest, the first year is really a chance for the
missionary to settle in and learn about his/her surroundings and the culture. The second year is where language ability improves and the work starts to flow. The third year is when the
missionary really feels close to the people, establishes good friendships, and experiences a real sharing of talents and faith.
We are not flexible on this subject. If you are
interested in a shorter period of time, it is best to
contact other organizations.
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What
will my support overseas be like?
A bag of M & M’s from time to time. (Just kidding!)
One or two local Comboni priests, brothers, or sisters will
be available to provide support to the lay missionaries.
We do our best to put together a few lay
missionaries who can serve together in the area, but
this is not always guaranteed.
The staff back in La Grange Park, IL, also keep in close touch with the lay
missionaries and with the leadership of the Comboni mission sites.
We try to schedule phone calls every couple of months,
and email a few times a month (on average). We
do our best to ensure that the lay
missionaries are receiving responses from us about their
needs and requests. (And sometimes we even try to send
a care package or two to the folks in the outlying areas.)
We provide a sounding board if conflicts
arise, and get involved in conflicts where
prudent.
We do evaluations
once a year, usually around the time of the contract
signing.
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Which
kinds of backgrounds do your applicants come from?
Our applicants typically have in common:
- a demonstrated commitment to service and the church
- a strong Catholic identity
- an active spiritual life (including both traditional
and contemporary faith practices)
- some coursework/study of theology
- experience in an intentional community
- previous travel or overseas volunteer experience
We have had applicants with Doctoral, Master’s or Bachelor’s degrees in Education, Pastoral Studies, Divinity, Sociology,
Business, Spanish, Graphic Arts, Anthropology, Social Work,
Public Health, etc.
They have come from careers such as Business, Journalism/Marketing, Accounting, Nursing, Campus Ministry, Farming, Carpentry, Case Management,
Parish Ministry, etc.
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What
is a typical application timeline?
Since 2007, the Comboni Lay Missionaries only offers 14-week Orientation Programs in the
Fall of each year, from September to December.
A sample breakdown of the process:
March-- last chance to submit preliminary form
February/March/April-- attend a Discernment Weekend
April/May/June-- attend a Call to Mission Weekend
September-December-- attend the formation
program
January-April-- attend language school (if
needed--otherwise travel to site directly)
April-- move to begin work at the site
We
accept applications on a rolling basis, which means
that we will take applications at any time during the
year. Completed written applications are due two
weeks before the candidate attends a Discernment
Weekend. As
candidates apply and attend Discernment Weekends, they
are invited to the formation program. The number of
placements we have is limited, so the sooner a
candidate applies, the better his or her chance of
getting a placement with us.
Many people also find that starting the
application much earlier (one or two years in
advance) gives them plenty of time for discerning if
this is the right path for them, and for taking care
of any logistics that need to be finalized.
Other important things to know:
At the completion of
the 14-week formation program, we have a
Commissioning Ceremony at which lay
missionaries will sign a contract to begin the 3 year commitment. They will have 2-3 weeks to spend saying
goodbye to friends and family before departure.
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What
if I don't like Italian food?
We just threw that question in to make sure you were paying attention. But food and hospitality are some identifying characteristics of the Comboni Missionaries.
In the overseas mission sites, the food may be very basic, but you will find hospitality wherever you find Comboni Missionaries –- whether they be priests, brothers, sisters, or lay
missionaries.
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Books
on Discernment
A
Sacred Voice is Calling
 "VOCATION
is not only about 'me' and my personal fulfillment, but
about 'us' and the common good. In Buechner’s words, our
callings are found in the places where our 'deep gladness'
and the 'world’s deep hunger' meet, on the holy ground
where our heart’s desire comes together with what the
world most needs from us.
Authentic vocational
discernment, therefore, seeks a proper balance between
inward listening to our hearts and outward, socially
engaged listening with our hearts to the realities of the
world in which we live. These come together in our
heart’s response to the needs and sufferings of the
world. 'What matters,' writes José Garcia, 'is that the
world should touch the heart and that the heart should go
out towards the world.'"
John
Neafsey is a clinical psychologist and senior lecturer
in the theology department at Loyola University Chicago.
His book, A Sacred Voice is Calling, is published by Orbis
Books.
The
Call to Discernment in Troubled Times
"We
live in troubling times. While people can connect as
never before, the world seems more fragmented. We are
awash in information, yet it is hard to get a sense of the
whole...
With
major institutions in crisis, we find it hard to say where
the world is headed. Some believe this affords groups of
deeply committed people a better chance to shape the
future than they would have under more stable, less fluid
conditions: an encouraging way to think about this state
of uncertainty. In any event, we urgently need a critical
mass of such people to make this century the century of
solidarity and turn the swelling tide of misery, violence,
and environmental crisis.
The
good news (gospel) assures us that it makes sense to
struggle against the odds and to celebrate along the way.
I do believe, as the song says, that we shall overcome
some day. I hope these reflections will stoke the inner
flame of generous readers and provide them with resources
to help bring that day closer."
Dean
Brackley, SJ, is a Jesuit priest and Professor of
Theology and Ethics at the Universidad Centroamericana
(UCA) in El Salvador. He has taught at the UCA since 1990
when he succeeded one of the 6 Jesuits martyred in the UCA
massacre the previous year. The Call
to Discernment in Troubled Times: New Perspectives on the
Transformative Wisdom of Ignatius Loyola is
published by Crossroad
Publishing.
Let
Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation
 "From the beginning, our lives lay down clues to
selfhood and vocation, though the clues may be hard to
decode. But trying to decode them is profoundly
worthwhile--especially when we are in our twenties or
thirties or forties, feeling profoundly lost, having
wandered, or been dragged, far away from our birthright
gifts.
Those
clues are helpful in counteracting the conventional
concept of vocation, which insists that our lives must be
driven by 'oughts.' As noble as that may sound, we do not
find our callings by conforming ourselves to some abstract
moral code. We find our callings by claiming authentic
selfhood, by being who we are...The deepest vocational
question is not 'What ought I to do with my life?' It is
the more elemental and demanding 'Who am I? What is my
nature?'"
Parker
J. Palmer is senior associate of the American Association for Higher Education and senior advisor to the Fetzer Institute. In 1998, he was named one of the thirty most influential senior leaders in higher education. Author of such widely praised books as
The Courage to Teach and To Know As We Are
Known, he holds a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. He is a member of the Religious Society of
Friends (Quaker) and lives in Madison, Wisconsin. Let
Your Life Speak is published by Jossey-Bass.
Doing the Truth in
Love: Conversations about God, Relationships and Service
 "'What
you receive as a gift, give as a gift' (Mt 10:8). This
seems to me the ultimate instruction to all disciples:
what you have been given as a gift, give to other people
as a gift. This is why we must develop our talents. Why is
your work at a university or for a family important? So
that you can give it to other people later. There is a
saying attributed to Catherine of Siena, one of the great
women of the Dominican tradition, that the only reason to
learn is to teach, the reason to gain knowledge, is to give
it away.
But
how do we find the best way to give ourselves away? What
are some criteria that we can use in decision making? How
do we discern our individual vocations? How do we discover
what the call to service means for each one of us
concretely? There are three signs which, taken together,
are nearly infallible. The first is to discover whether
this work or service is a source of joy for you...The
second is ability and opportunity for growth...The third
sign is that the vocation which you are considering is a
concrete expression of agape. Does this way of living and
working meet a genuine need in the community?"
Michael
J. Himes is a Catholic priest of the diocese of Brooklyn, New York.
He serves as a professor of theology at Boston College and
is a popular teacher, preacher, and workshop presenter.
Himes is the author of Fullness of Faith and Ongoing
Incarnation. He holds a PhD from the University of
Chicago, as well as several honorary degrees. Doing the Truth in Love is published by
Paulist Press.
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