Combon Missionaries 101

Comboni Missionaries 101: 

March 2013 ENews

What do the letters mccj mean?

This is the place where the questions you have had in the back of your mind find a quick, concise and – hopefully – clear answer. So, ask away!

Q. Many thanks for explaining to us what a great man St. Daniel Comboni was. Now I would like to know what those letters mccj after your name mean. Was there once also an fscj?

A. Religious in general, including priests belonging to religious orders or congregations, have initials after their name to indicate the group they belong to. So, for instance, when you see ansj, you know that the person is a Jesuit (Society of Jesus), when you see SC, you know that the person is a Sister of Charity, etc. In most cases the initials refer to the official name in Latin.

We are the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus (Comboni Missionaries, for short) and our mccj stands for our name in Latin, namely, MissionariiCombonianiCordisJesu.

In the old days, our official name was Sons of the Sacred Heart (popular name, Verona Fathers) and the Latin initials of our name were fscj, namely, FiliiSacriCordisJesu.

Hopefully this bit of ‘alphabet soup’ will help you to understand us better.

Fr. Joseph Bragotti, mccj

COMBONI MISSIONARIES 101:  February 2013 ENews

In this space we plan to answer your questions about the identity, the purpose and the work of the Comboni Missionaries you have been supporting. Feel free to write or to call us with your questions and we will answer them as promptly as possible.

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Q. You are Comboni Missionaries. What is the meaning of the word Comboni?

A. Comboni is the last name of our founder, St. Daniel Comboni, who was born in what is now Northern Italy in 1831, went to Africa as a young priest and became the first bishop of Central Africa. He died in Khartoum, Sudan, in 1881.

He first relied on the help of volunteers from all over Europe, but in 1867 he molded them into an institute. We became known as the Sons of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and our initials were FSCJ.

Many people in the United States came to know us as Verona Fathers, because the congregation started in Verona, Italy. In the late 1970s, due to some significant internal changes, it was deemed proper to change our name and we became officially known as the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus and our initials became MCCJ. We are now popularly called Comboni Missionaries for short.