SPECIAL 35TH ANNIVERSARY • 2013-2020

I WORKED in South Africa for the first time between 1991 and 1996, mostly in Glen Cowie, Limpopo Province. In 1996, my superiors were considering asking me to replace the first editor of the magazine, the Tyrolian missionary, Fr Anton Pramstrahler († Brixen, 10.5.2016), but that plan never materialized. I learnt about their intentions when I was called to Portugal to edit the magazines that the Comboni Missionaries were publishing there. After eight years in Lisbon and a Sabbatical year in Mexico, I was eager to return to South Africa, the Rainbow Nation. Instead, I was sent to Manila, Philippines, to edit World Mission. In this way, my return to South Africa was delayed by 17 years. 

Thus, I started my job as editor of Worldwide with the April-May 2013 issue, barely one month after arriving. I hit the ground running. The aim was to rebrand the magazine. Therefore, with the advice of some friends, we immediately introduced some changes, aiming to refresh the contents and the magazine’s appearance: the layout was redone, the number of pages increased, and new sections were added. We introduced a sponsor subscription of R500 for those who felt more generous towards the enterprise. This helped us support the printing costs and enabled us to continue distributing the magazine to those who could no longer afford their subscriptions, both in South Africa and throughout Africa.

As the new issue was published, we started promoting it. I remember that the first parish we went to was Holy Trinity, in Midrand. It was Good Shepherd Sunday. The reception we got encouraged us to pursue our journalistic endeavour and promotional efforts. Thereafter, weekend after weekend, we visited hundreds of parishes, especially in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town, and Port Elizabeth. It was particularly rewarding to meet people, receive accolades from our readers, and recruit new subscribers.

The improvements, especially in the field of graphic design, were constantly adjusted in the next issues and were appraised by subscribers and readers. Every issue was a challenge to conceive and realize, to make it beautiful and meaningful. The themes and the angles of approach were discussed and refined with great care. The texts were edited and corrected professionally by Mrs Beverley Momberg. The photos and the layout were subject to critical eyes. The magazine had to be popular and inspiring. How uplifting it was when subscribers signalled any delay in the delivery caused by the Post Office!

We tried to promote faith, missionary awareness, and justice, peace, and integrity of creation—the values of the Kingdom of God that can bring people together, members of other Churches and believers of other religions, and people without faith but with goodwill. In this way, Worldwide has always been ecumenical and inter-religious, without losing its Catholic identity.

Hitting the road

Mission is a source of news, courage, and inspiration. Knowing that, I always tried to visit missionaries in their places of work, listening to them, and accompanying them on their safaris, even in perilous situations, and then portraying them accordingly on the pages of the magazine. Over the years, I met remarkable missionaries from different nationalities, working in different and daring contexts, under straining conditions. Some were priests and Religious from different Congregations and Institutes; others were lay people. Their testimonies of courage, selflessness, and determination were most enriching for me, for which I am truly grateful. And I used the pages of the magazine to let their testimonies be known, thereby becoming an inspiration for our readers. 

I was uplifted by the courage of missionaries in different countries on three continents. I witnessed the selfless work done for, amongst others, the sick, the poor, young addicts, single mothers, trafficked and abused women, prisoners, children with disabilities, and people in despair. I witnessed the good done by so many missionaries and “anonymous Christians” for the development of communities and countries, through education and development. 

I felt confirmed in my approach by Pope Francis’ Message for the 2021 World Communications Day entitled “Come and See” (Jn 1:46), in which he encouraged journalists to “hit the streets” to “meet people face-to-face to research stories or to verify certain situations first-hand”. “Communicating by Encountering People Where and as They Are”; the late and beloved Pope suggested that with this approach, in which we are not “mere spectators”, we are more able to “grasp the truth of things and the concrete lives of people, the more serious social phenomena or positive movements at the grass roots level.” The Pontiff underlined that “in communication, nothing can ever completely replace seeing things in person. Some things can only be learned through first-hand experience.”

A great communicator

The Combonis’ work in the media, particularly in magazines, is “a precious inheritance” from our Father and Founder, St Daniel Comboni, who in the 19th century availed himself of the means at his disposal to bring the mission further and reach a greater number of people virtually. He was a media-minded person and a great communicator. He believed in the power of information, and throughout his life, he used his eloquent words in spoken and written form. 

St Daniel Comboni had an encyclopaedic knowledge and was interested in all matters of Africa—its people and their vicissitudes, history, geography, fauna, flora, discoveries, exploratory expeditions, customs and culture, trade, development, etc… He wrote chronicles about his trips, as well as ethnographic, geographic, and biographic articles, historical essays, and especially, annual reports about the progress of his mission, and asked for prayers and financial aid. It seems he believed in the power of communication as much as in the power of prayer. 

In addition to writing, he read and subscribed to a great number of Italian, German, French, and English periodicals, especially Catholic papers. In his Writings, mention was made of more than 40 papers and magazines. One wonders how, in the midst of his strenuous labours, exhausting trips through sickening swamps and scorching deserts, he still found time to read and write so extensively.

Mission is communication

We communicate our perception and experience of God, but also what we are, the experiences we have, and the work we do. We do it out of love for people. We do it by means of the written word, even in Africa, where oral tradition has the upper hand, and in an age of smartphones and social media, such as Facebook, X, WhatsApp, and Instagram. 

We do so because we still believe in the benefits of writing and reading. Writing helps us to clarify and deepen our ideas. Reading enlightens our minds and provides relaxation and adventure; it stimulates creativity, critical thinking, and social skills; it increases our vocabulary, sharpens our minds, and enhances our way of thinking and expressing; it unveils a new vision, encourages a sense of mission, and urges us to do our best to transform society (cf. Worldwide, June-July 2018). 

Therefore, communication is mission. True mission. Through the magazine, we reach out to so many people, touching their lives and inspiring them to deepen their discipleship of Jesus, working for a better world for all.