Field tracker · Ethiopia · Sub-Saharan Africa

AFRICA/ETHIOPIA - In the Apostolic Prefecture of Robe, many small projects at the service of pre-evangelization

Robe – "At the beginning of June I visited the community of Kokossa, which I saw come into being when, almost 18 years ago, together with the Missionaries of Charity, I established the first missionary presence and proclaimed the Gospel there for the first time." This is how Father Angelo Antolini, O.F.M. Cap., Apostolic Prefect of Robe, described the visit to Fides. Kokossa is one of the communities entrusted to the Apostolic Prefecture. "Today," the Capuchin missionary continues, "within a small 200-square-metre compound that includes a chapel and the priest's residence, around 150 faithful gather—people whom the Lord has chosen from among the poorest in the area." Father Nicola, a fidei donum priest from Padua , serves these brothers and sisters with dedication and pastoral zeal from Adaba, another community of the Apostolic Prefecture of Robe, where he lives with the other missionaries, some 98 kilometres away. "Whenever I visit Kokossa, I experience the same deep emotion that Jesus must have felt when he saw that the Father was calling as His followers the simplest, the poorest, those considered insignificant by the world: 'I praise you, Father, because you have revealed your mysteries to the little ones... and hidden them from the wise of this world,'" Father Antolini says. "During this visit we baptized ten adults and confirmed sixteen already baptized faithful. This month I was also able to spend almost ten consecutive days in Robe—something that rarely happens—and devoted that time to improving the compound." For the past seven years, missionaries from the Villaregia Missionary Community have been serving in several areas of the Apostolic Prefecture. They are now preparing for another important step: their permanent transfer to Ginnir, in the East Bale area in Oromia. "In mid-September 2025 theycompleted the dairy cow project," Father Antolini explains, "and I decided to invest instead in a large flock of sheep, which require far fewer personnel, expenses and maintenance." "Regarding the long-term goal of making the hospital financially self-sustaining —an objective that may seem almost impossible, but one we continue to pursue—we are gradually expanding the 'Bread that Heals' project, according to the donations we receive." "We already have two functioning grain mills and a storage facility. I have now begun building a woodshed for the bakery. At the same time, I have started setting up a henhouse for laying hens, and construction of the wood-fired oven will begin shortly. In the meantime, I have managed to obtain refractory bricks, which are not easy to find because they are not manufactured in Ethiopia." I also spent several days in Gode to celebrate the Eucharist with the small but vibrant Catholic community there. "The new chapel is almost completed. It will be dedicated to Charles de Foucauld, the master of silent life in the desert and witness to the Gospel in the Muslim world. May he protect us and help us live in the silent adoration of God's love for all. On my return from Gode, I stopped for two days in Adaba for the meeting of the Prefecture's Pastoral Council. It was a very important occasion to review our three-year pastoral plan and to map out our priorities for the next three years." The Apostolic Prefect concludes by noting that the school year is drawing to a close in the ten primary schools and eleven kindergartens run by the Apostolic Prefecture, which together serve more than 5,000 pupils. "This is our social service to society: preparing, as best we can, the future citizens and leaders of our country. It is a mission that deeply engages us and requires considerable financial effort. It is also a form of pre-evangelization, since the majority of our students are Muslims. As is customary in Ethiopia, the end-of-school celebrations will be lively and joyful occasions, with the participation of families."

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