Daniele Comboni

Daniele Comboni is a monument in Verona, dedicated to a Catholic missionary whose life connected the city with Central Africa. Here, you encounter a figure born in 1831 in Limone sul Garda, raised in a family of gardeners and farmers. Verona shaped his early years through study at Don Nicola Mazza’s institute, where he discovered his vocation to the priesthood. He was ordained in Trento in 1854, then turned his attention towards missions in Africa.

His first journey there began in 1857 with five fellow missionaries and ended after four difficult months in Khartoum. Disease, harsh conditions and the death of companions strengthened his resolve to serve communities he considered among the world’s most abandoned. In 1864, prayer at Saint Peter’s tomb inspired his plan to “save Africa with Africa”, placing African people at the centre of evangelisation and development. He founded the Comboni Missionaries in 1867 and the Comboni Missionary Sisters in 1872, then became the first Catholic bishop of Central Africa in 1877.

He returned to Africa for the eighth and final time in 1880 and died in Khartoum the following year. His work continues through the institutions he established, while the monument recalls his connection with Verona and his African mission.