Where it begins
All the Catholic missions now established in South Sudan date back to the time of the so-called Apostle of Africa, Saint Daniel Comboni.
Over the period 1857–58, Daniel Comboni lived in a mission station on the western bank of the Nile called The Holy Cross at Shambe. From that humble station, every subsequent mission to East and Central Africa began.
The evangelization of the region was severely hampered by the historical events of the time. Soon after Comboni's death the region was caught up in the Mahdi Revolution of 1881 to 1899 against the Egyptian occupation, and all Christian missionaries were expelled from the territory.
The Ordinaries of CDORThe record
The first mission
Saint Daniel Comboni lives at a station on the western bank of the Nile. Every subsequent mission to East and Central Africa begins here.
The missions closed
The revolution against Egyptian occupation sweeps the region. All Christian missionaries are expelled from the territory.
Erected
Bishop Ireneo Wien Dud is appointed the first Apostolic Vicar.
Fr. Ark-Angelo Ali killed
Soldiers kill the Vicar General during a raid on Rumbek. The cathedral is burned down soon after.
Return
An Apostolic Delegate is able to re-open the mission, though the Bishop of Rumbek is thereafter forced to lead the diocese from Kenya.
Nineteen years after its foundation
The Apostolic Vicariate of Rumbek becomes the Catholic Diocese of Rumbek.
What remained
By this year the entire compound and most of the cathedral had been destroyed. All that stood was part of the round wall and the wall behind the altar, with its painting of the Holy Family.
The twelfth ordinary
Ordained Bishop of Rumbek on 25 March at the Holy Family Cathedral.
The Mother Church
The Holy Family Cathedral of Rumbek is the Mother Church of the diocese, and its history has been ravaged by strife.
Little by little the mission and its cathedral were rebuilt, and renovations continue today. The cathedral remains far too small for the hundreds of people who now come to Mass, so a multi-purpose shelter has been built beside it — shelter for those who cannot fit inside, and an arena for religious and community events.
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