Aid to the Church in Need, Published with permission.
Of all the current war zones in the world, Sudan is among the least likely to heed Pope Francis’s repeated calls for peace in the world, as both sides show no signs of wanting to end hostilities, and the Christian presence in the country is minuscule. In this article, ACN shares the story of a bishop who bravely continues to lead his flock in the city of El-Obeid and finds hope in the Blessed Sacrament. The bishop spoke of this during his visit to ACN’s international headquarters in Germany, to which he traveled at great personal risk. Upon his return to El-Obeid, he was severely beaten by militants of the Rapid Support Forces but fortunately survived.
The Cathedral of Our Lady, Queen of Africa, in the Sudanese city of El-Obeid, is located in between a military barracks, a police station, and a building belonging to the security forces. So, when civil war broke out on April 15th, 2023, and the Rapid Support Forces began shelling the city, the cathedral was right in the hot zone.
In a conversation with pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Bishop Yunan Tombe said that when the first shells hit, he went into the cathedral and prayed before the Blessed Sacrament. Soon, he received an unexpected visit.
“I remember it was the first Saturday of Easter. The cathedral was hit by bullets and shrapnel, and the windows were broken. I was praying when a group of members of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) arrived. They had climbed over the wall, looking for shelter. I remained seated before the Blessed Sacrament and the Easter candle, but I noticed that one of them was trembling in fear, so I called him over to me, and after a bit, he calmed down.”
Seeing that their colleague had calmed, the other members of the team, all Muslim, also went to sit near the bishop, he recalls.
“After three hours, the fighting subsided, and they all left, back over the wall. But after some hours, the gate opened, and one of them came back and told me, while pointing at the tabernacle: ‘Bishop, this candle is strong and powerful. It has protected us.’ He didn’t understand that the candle was there because of the Blessed Sacrament. From that day, I took up the candle and the Blessed Sacrament as my strength, and I have managed to have adoration every day, four times a day. I divide my time between the people and God. I get my strength from the Blessed Sacrament and believe that this is my strength and my joy.”
Christians are only a very small minority in Sudan, and the same applies to El-Obeid, the country’s second-most important city. Nonetheless, the Catholic Church operates six kindergartens, six primary schools, and one secondary school in El-Obeid, and these are the only educational institutions that remain open, according to Bishop Tombe. “We were visited by the governor in August, and he thanked us for keeping our schools open, because all the Muslim schools closed after an incident in which a shell killed 35 young girls in a school in the city,” he explains.
Born and raised in war
Either due to ethnic divisions or social and economic reasons, Sudan has been at war for as long as anyone can remember, though the current civil war is probably the worst that the country has experienced in recent decades.
Bishop Tombe, who is originally from the Nuba Mountains, home to the largest Christian community in the country, says that he has grown used to this reality.
“I was born in 1964, and the war in the area of the Nuba Mountains began in 1955, so I was born into a decade of war, and that war continues, with others, until today. I was born in war, brought up in war, and studied in war. It is part of me. Perhaps that has helped me to get through this, and to understand that it is possible to do more, and that God is with us.”
Although there are no immediate prospects for a truce, Bishop Yunan Tombe hopes that Western powers may be able to use their influence to achieve some form of peace in his country. “If they cannot bring the two leaders together, then at least allow international aid workers to open corridors and bring food. But I have hope that European powers can use their influence with neighboring countries and ask them to use possible relationships with powerful figures in Sudan to push for peace, to listen, and save their people.”
Meanwhile, despite all the difficulties, the Catholic Church continues to keep Jesus Christ present in the midst of the suffering and brutality of the war, and there are more workers being prepared to serve in the vineyard. “We currently have more than 70 youngsters in our formation houses, and this year, I will be ordaining six new young priests. Vocations are growing! God is at work,” the bishop concludes.
