Visit to the St. Francis of Assisi Foundation in Sudan and South Sudan

From the 17th to the 27th June 2026, Br. Siphelele Gwanisheni, Definitor General for African Conferences, Br. Baptist D'Souza, Delegate of the Secretary General for relations with the OFM Fraternitas Foundation, and Br. Gil Noriega of the OFM Fraternitas Foundation visited the friars of the St. Francis of Assisi Foundation in Sudan and South Sudan. Ten days to get to know the life of the friars on mission and the activities promoted in the pastoral and social inclusion fields in favour of the population. 

Br. Siphelele presided, together with Br. Federico Gandolfi, President of the St. Francis of Assisi Foundation, the Assembly held in Juba from the 24th to 26th June, which saw the participation of all the missionaries. 

Br. Baptist and Br. Gil, led by Br. Federico, visited the Franciscan presences and the projects underway in the cities of Wau and Juba. 

In Wau, about 650 km northwest of the capital Juba, Br. Baptist and Br. Gil visited, in the heart of the forest, a convent for friars under construction and a small building adjacent to the friary, which, once completed, will be used for parish activities. 

The St. Francis of Assisi Foundation is also repairing wells for drinking water, thanks to private donations and the support of the OFM Fraternitas Foundation. 

Brother Gill and Brother Baptist then went to the leper colony, where the young people in vocational reception carry out a voluntary service of assistance to the sick, preparing meals for them. 

From Wau they then moved to Juba, where they visited the Parish of the Holy Trinity, previously built with mud and today, totally rebuilt. 

They then reached the five villages where the friars serve, up to 75 km away from the parish: welcomed with joy by the population, they went to the camps for refugees and internally displaced persons, where children go to school during the week, whilst on Sundays, the same tent built with walls of reeds, hosts Sunday mass. 

The St. Francis of Assisi Foundation has also created a free educational sports course for girls and boys between 7 and 20 years old: this is how "Food for Camp" was born, a 3-week camp active during the school holidays, where young people can play sports, receive two meals a day for free and have the opportunity to get in touch with peers from different local tribes.  It is not only the beneficiaries who benefit from the Food for Camp programme: the instructors who train the students are university students who, thanks to the salaries they also receive, are able to pay their annual university fees. 

Another project that Br. Baptist and Br. Gil was able to view its PGP (Peace and Good People), where young local volunteers provide basic medical care and basic necessities to peers living on the streets. 

At the end of the visit, the friars were able to attend the renewal of the vows of six temporarily professed South Sudanese, a concrete testimony of the growth of the Franciscan vocation in the country. 

Br. Siphelele, Br. Baptist, and Br. Gil thus returned to Rome grateful for the welcome received and with the commitment to continue to support, through the OFM Fraternitas Foundation, the projects and life of the mission.