By Edwardo Revolledo, Mccj.
Historical Expansion of the Comboni Missionaries
In the late 1980s, the Comboni Missionaries extended their service and missionary activity to the continent of Asia. With an initial team of four missionaries, they established the Comboni Missionary Centre in Manila, Philippines, and have since developed a missionary awareness programme.
Following this orientation, the Comboni Missionaries opened a commitment to the first evangelization among the Chinese people in Macao with the arrival of the first members of the institute to Chinese lands to study Cantonese Chinese and in 1997 Fr. Paolo Consonni (Italy) and Fr. Daniel Cerezo (Spain) arrived in Taipei, Taiwan, to study Mandarin Chinese. With the arrival of Fr. Victor Mejia (Mexico), in 2002, the first Comboni Missionary Community was established in the Catholic Church of Ren Ai, in Taipei, Taiwan.
The Catholic Church in Taiwan: Context and Challenges
Taiwan is an island in East Asia, known for its vibrant technological economy, rich and diverse culture, and unique political history. It is an autonomous region with its own government, has a democratic political system, and its economy is one of the most advanced in the world, excelling in the manufacturing of semiconductors, which are essential for global technological products. Its capital, Taipei, is a modern urban centre with a mix of traditional and contemporary influences.
The Catholic Church in Taiwan has a minority, but significant, presence within a society largely influenced by Buddhism, Taoism, and other traditional Chinese religions. Since the 17th century, Catholic missionaries have attempted to establish themselves in Taiwan, but their expansion was limited by political conflicts and power shifts on the island. It was in the mid-20th century, with the arrival of foreign missionaries and the migration of Catholics from mainland China after the Chinese Civil War, that the Catholic Church consolidated its presence. Today, the Catholic community in Taiwan represents about 1% of the population.
Despite being a minority, the Catholic Church in Taiwan has focused on social and educational activities, standing out in the fields of health and education. The Church runs hospitals, social welfare centres and several prestigious schools and universities. In addition, it has played an active role in defending human rights and promoting social justice in Taiwanese society. Although it faces challenges due to secularization and a decline in vocations, the Catholic Church in Taiwan continues to be very significant for Taiwanese society.
The Missionary Work of the Comboni Community in Taiwan
The Comboni missionaries are currently in the periphery of New Taipei City. We arrived in the Wugu district, on the outskirts of the city in 2010, to serve in a peripheral context, helping the local church and pastoral ministry among the indigenous people and migrants in the area, attending to the needs of the parishes where we are located. From our residence in Wugu, we serve three missionary parishes. The first is Wugu where we live and have been present since we moved here.
Comboni Missionaries in Peripheral Communities
We also serve the parish of Huilong, also located on the outskirts of the city and attached to a leper colony. We have been serving in this parish since 2014. In addition, since 2022 we have also been entrusted with helping the parish community of Yilan where we carry out our pastoral ministry. They are all small parishes with a small but very significant group of Christians. Very similar to the first Christian communities, since they are very fervent and always ready to witness to their faith.
The International and Missionary Spirit of the Comboni Community
Our Comboni community is quite international and missionary, dedicated to first evangelization. Currently, we are three Comboni missionaries who form a small missionary cenacle, and we try to bring missionary charisma to these beautiful Taiwanese lands where we live. Father Adam Szpara, a Polish who has been serving in these lands for more than 15 years, Father Margarito Garrido from the Philippines and with almost 10 years of service here and finally Father Eduardo Revolledo, Peruvian who has only been serving in Taiwan for 5 years and was the last to join the community.
We Comboni Missionaries have been present in Taiwan for 27 years as missionaries, and since then many missionaries of different nationalities have passed through our community. They have always been very excited to share their faith and to be living and visible witnesses of the mission of the Church in these lands. These years that we have spent in these lands that God has placed before us have been very memorable, full of experiences and blessings that have marked and enriched our missionary nature. I think that all the missionaries who have passed through here carry in our hearts the faces of so many people that we have accompanied and who have shared with us in a simple and very sincere way their faith in God, who is love and is very present among his people.
