FR. ANGELO VINCO, THE PIONEERING MISSIONARY

OF GONDOKORO,INSPIRER OF DANIEL COMBONI

Fr. Guido Oliana

The pioneering missionary figure of Gondokoro, Fr. Angelo Vinco,stands out as really fascinating and inspiring.[1]To underline hisexceptionalpersonalityfrom the start it is worth mentioning the fame thatheacquired among the Bari, who calledhim the “son of thunder”, as Comboni attests, or juok(diviner, a man of the spirit), as Vinco himself writes in his Diary (1851-1852). In a perhaps exaggerated way,Cardinal Massaia, the Apostle of the Gallas in Ethiopia, compared him to St. Francis Xavier, showing the extraordinary impact Vinco had on people.When Vinco died, the Bari population paid him honour with a royal funeral and mourned him for eight days. Songs about himwere composed and sung for many years after his death. Abuna Vinco was the inspiring source of the vocation of the young Comboni, when in Verona he first encountered and heard himspeaking so passionately about his missionary experience in the Sudan.

  1. Fr. Angelo Vinco: from Verona to the Sudan

Fr. Angelo Vinco (1819-1853),from the diocese of Verona (Italy),reached the Sudan with the first missionary expedition in 1847 led by the Polish Jesuit Fr. Ryllo as Pro-vicar.[2]The Apostolic Vicariate of Central Africa had been established by Pope Gregory XVI the year before.[3]The grouparrived in Khartoum the following year. Ryllo died in the same year. At the time Khartoum counted about 15.000 people. It was a market place of thousands of slaves. Some of them were ransomed by the missionaries, who brought them to the mission and began to instruct them.[4]At the end of1848,due to the serious financial problems of the mission of Khartoum,Fr.Vincowent back to Italy to plead for help. He arrived in Verona on January 19, 1849. There he spoke passionately about his missionary experience.

Fr. Vinco made three journeys on the White Nile up to Gondokoro (Juba) (1849-1853). The first journey wasfrom the end of 1849 to 1850.Members of this first expedition were the new Pro-vicar Knoblecher, diocesan priest from Jugoslavia, who had studied in Propaganda Fide with Fr. Vinco, and the Jesuit Fr. Emanuel Pedemonte. Both Knoblecher and Pedemonte gave a report of their first exploration.[5] The second journey was in 1850-1851, of which we have the account that Fr. Vinco gives in his diary.[6] The third was in 1852-1853. Fr. Vinco died in 1853.

  1. Fr. Angelo Vinco inspires Daniel Comboni

In his return to Europe in January 1949, just one year after his arrival in the Sudan, Fr. Vinco spoke about his first missionary African experiencebefore 500 students of the Mazza Institutes of Verona, of which he was a former student. Among them there was Comboni, who was then 17. Fr. Vinco - Comboni reports - spoke

with the full fervour of his soul a number of very interesting details. [...] He kindled in them the passion of divine charity that cannot be assuaged except in the career of complete dedication and sacrifice for the salvation of the infidels. Fr. Angelo Vinco’s accounts made a great impression on the ardent spirit of that marvel of charity and wisdom, Fr. Nicola Mazza, [...] [who] decided to cooperate in the apostolate of Africa.[7]

Comboni tells how he felt motivated to dedicate his life to the African mission.

In January 1849, a 17-year old student I promised at the feet of my most reverend Superior Fr. Nicola Mazza to dedicate my life to the apostolate of Central Africa; and with the grace of God it has never happened that I have been unfaithful to my promise. I then began to prepare myself for this holy undertaking.[8]

  1. First journey of Fr. Vinco on the White Nile (1849-1850)

Fr. Vinco returned to Khartoum from Italy in October 1849. The journey up the White Nile began on November 13, 1849. The missionaries, the Pro-vicar Ignaz Knoblecher, Fr. Emanuele Pedemonte and Fr. Angelo Vinco, left Khartoum, passed through the Schilluk, Nuer and Dinka lands and approached the Bariland on December 25.

The Bari were described by Fr. Pedemonte as “more sociable than the preceding tribes [...]. Their character is happy and care-free. These people, too, feared abduction and hid their boys and girls.”[9] He recognized that they are “the most courteous of all the native people living the rivers banks.”[10] Hence it was decided that Frs. Pedemonte and Vinco would study the possibility of a foundation among the Bari. Fr. Vinco was to study the geographical nature of the country and Fr. Pedemonte was tolook for a place to build their residence while applying himself to agriculture. They were welcomed by the two brother sons of a chief (actually a rain-maker): Shoba and Nyigilò.[11]The lattercame to know the work of the missionaries in Khartoum and developed with them “a long-standing friendship.”[12]

The Turks, commanders of the boats and other traderson behalf of the Pasha (governor) of Khartum, tried to convincethe populations not to trust the missionaries and scared themsaying that the missionaries -as Knoblecher reports -were “cannibals, incendiaries, and sorcerers with the power to withhold the rain and wither the grass.”[13]The same is told by Pedemonte, who writes that the Turks were trying to convince the naive and credulous Bari chiefs that the two missionaries [Vinco and Pedemonte], who were supposed to settle in Bariland, were “two evil sorcerers who would have stopped the rains on their soil, thus depriving them of their durra for food and drink, and their pastures” and that “as soon as the food became scarce in his country”, [they] “would feed on the flesh of their children.”[14] Vinco himself writes: “The Turks had told the people here that, if we remain among them, their animals would die, the rain would stop, the vegetation would wither and perish, and what was more terrible, many of the people would die.”[15]The result was that when people saw any boat approaching the bank of the Nile,“women, girls, boys and cattle were running away inland for safety.”[16]

The missionaries had really to struggle to convince people that they had good intentions and wanted theirreal welfare. They gave them gifts(mainly in form of coloured beads) to appease the chiefs and through them their populations. The Pro-vicar Knoblecher even played the accordion. People were astounded. “They attentively followed the movements of the hands and fingers, and they would have liked to know how such pleasing and measured sounds were possible.”[17]

Due to the slanders of the Turks, which were confusing the feelings and attitudes of the various populations towards the missionaries, before deciding to settle in the areathe Pro-vicar Knoblecherwanted to make sure - in his words - of “the freedom and the independence of the Mission from our sworn enemies the Turks.”[18] The situation was not easy for the missionaries, because they were confused with the traders, among whom there were also slave-traders. Taking into account the infelicitouscircumstances, the missionaries “sadly [...] decided that it was impossible to establish themselves among these people on this trip. On the same day, 21 January, they left for Khartoum.”[19]

  1. Second journey of Fr. Vinco on the White Nile (1851-1952)

Fr. Vinco made a second journey, this time alone,on the White Nile. He reached the Bariland in autumn 1850 and in 1851 opened the mission at Gondokoro.

The situation of Kondokoro by the mid 1840s at the time of Fr. Vinco’s pioneering missionary work among the Bari is described by historians in quite dramatic terms. There were two groups firmly established: on one side, the missionaries; as on the other, the Arab traders from Khartoum, who also indulged in the slave trade. They were “at each other’s throats,” drawing local chiefs and people to their support. The chief Subek-lo-Logonou supported the slave traders, aided also by the white trader Alexandre Vaudey, who in 1851in Khartoumbecame Vice-consulof Sardinia (Italy).The Bari son of a chief, Nyigilò, who had been in Khartoum and saw the work of the missionaries, supported the missionaries. On the side of the missionariesthere was also the Savoyard trader Brun-Rollet who fought slavery.[20]

Comboni reports on Vinco’s apostolate as follows:

In short time, Fr. Vinco learned the language of the country, painstakingly visited many places in the Bari south-east of Gondokoro. In the hope that the missionaries would follow to settle, he began a true apostolate among those people. His patience, his self-denial, his gift of charity and above his courage, soon made him the most important and venerated man in the country. He started teaching children; he baptized many in “articulo mortis”, and prepared the villages properly to receive the Missionaries with true love.[21]

Comboni narrates an episode about the courage of Fr. Vinco that made him a legend among the Bari. He managed to tame a lion that was threatening and devastating the area.

In one Bari village an enormous lion was devastating the area and devouring people, especially children. Being used from his youth to hunting in the mountain of Cerro[Verona], where he was born, he managed with great effort and trusting in God to kill the terrible animal with a rifle. It is impossible to imagine the cries of joy and the gratitude he inspired in those people who called him “son of thunder” and brought him oxen and many gifts as a sign of extraordinary veneration. His name was famous among the Africans.[22]

In the Historical Outline of the African Discoveries of 1880 to the Rector of the African Institutes in Verona, in whichhe shows an extraordinary acquaintance of the history and geography of all explorations of Africa of his time, Comboni reports that “Fr. Vinco in 1851 was the first European to have stayed so long on the White Nile at that latitude.” He studied the climate, the nature of the country, travels round also to visit other tribes, studied their languages, customs and character.[23]Fr. Vinco collected information about “the unexplored stretch of the Nile, its tributaries and the people who inhabited the equatorial regions of its sought after sources.” In 1852 he even tried an expedition among those populations.[24] “Vinco travelled further South than anybody before him.”[25]He reached beyond Nimule and visited most probably parts of the Acholiland and Madiland in the present Uganda. He was the first European who at that time reached so far in the effort of discovering the sources of the Nile.[26] Fr. Vinco himself says: “Even since I had decided to remain among the Bari I has also made up my mind to try and discover the source of the White Nile, and this end left nothing undone.”[27] Again: “I was very anxious to visit these tribes and discover the source of this river.”[28]

In the middle of 1852, from the interior of Bariland Fr. Vinco returned to Marju, a large Bari village on both banks of the Nile(now disappeared). InMarju, Fr. Vinco found the news that the Mission of Khartoum wanted him as soon as possible in Khartoum, where he arrived on the 11th of June 1852. He was received in arather cold manner because of the heineous slanders spread about himwith the result that he was considered the cause of the difficulties that the mission in Central African was undergoing. Only his friend Brun-Rollet, who was the only true witness of what Fr. Vinco had actually done among the Bari,truly supported him. Fr. Vincodefended himself against the slanders with a hearthy letterdated August 9, 1852and addressed to the Cardinal Prefect of Propaganda Fide.[29]

  1. Fr. Vinco’s third journey and untimely death

Fr. Vinco remained in Khartoum very shortly. Soon he left for the third and last journey to the Bariland.

Comboni states that Fr. Vinco in 1853 was struck by fevers before accomplishing his plan of explorations of the sources of the Nile.[30]Certainly his weakness was also due to the psychological harassment of the chiefs, manipulated by the Arab and non-Arab slave traders.As an author states, Fr. Vinco died prematurely due to the conflicts with the group supporting slavery with the Bary-chief Subek and the trader Alexander Vaudey. His death was “a result of stress caused by the continuous harassment and intrigues of Vaudey and the slave traders and their Bari allies.”[31]No surprise, because it is a common experience that malaria and other fevers find a vulnerable prey when a person is weak both psychologically and physically.

On January 3, Fr. Knoblecher with other three missionaries reached Gondokoro. Assisted by his colleague missionaries,Fr. Vinco died on January 22, 1853 at the age of 33.He was given a royal Bari funeral. He was buried in the middle of Marju, a section of Ilibari. Fr. Vinco’s friend the trader Brun-Rollet in 1855 writes that over “3000 to 4000 came to wail at his tomb and eight days of morning were observed.”[32] There was a touching detail. Mr. Alexander Vaudey himself, who was a major cause of distress for Fr. Vinco, helped in digging his grave. He repented and publicly asked the dead Fr. Vinco for forgiveness.[33]

  1. Fr. Vinco’s Missionary Apostolate according to his Diary (1851-1852)

I would like to revisit Fr. Vinco’s apostolic journeys through his own diary. Fr. Vinco was firmly convinced that good relationships with people were essential conditions for his missionary apostolate. He tried his best to gain the confidence and affection of people to counteract the slanders of the Arab traders of Khartoum and their European supporters, who did not want any contact between the Catholic missionaries and the local populations. His strategy was to befriend first of all thechiefs,in the conviction that in this way he would attract the benevolencealso of the various populations.

Before he reached the Bariland, he passed through the land of the Schilluk, Nuer and Dinka. In order to show the nature of Fr. Vinco’s apostolic commitment, I would like to highlight an episode of his courage and concern about establishing good relationships with people.

As soon as the boat was approaching the bank of the river where a group of Nuer was, Fr. Vinco saw that all run away as soon asthe boatwas approaching. These people feared that the ship belonged to the Turks interested in slave-trading.To show that they were not the ones,Fr. Vinco threw some colourful beads to them and through an interpreter told them to approach him without fear,becausehe did not have any bad intentions.The crew discouraged him to approach the Nuer saying that they werevery fierce. Fr. Vinco insisted that he wanted to meet them. Then they called for him the chief Kan. Fr. Vinco talked to himpeacefully and befriended him by offering him some glass necklaces. The chief was so pleased that he told Fr. Vinco: “I will consider you traitor if you do not pay me another visit on your return, provided, of course, that you are not accompanied by Turks with whom I want no dealings.” Then they blessed him “using a vessel filled with ox-urine and water”, in which the most important people spat and asked Fr. Vinco to do the same. Fr. Vinco writes:

It filled me with great joy to think that I had been received with such a great kindness because, in view of the warnings I hadpreviously received, I had really expected troubles. I felt encouraged tocarry out what I had undertaken, despite the fact that I was alone and with scarcely any means of defence in case of attack. I had refused to join a government expedition [i.e. the annual trading expedition], as I was certain that the Turks would have once more upset all my plans, as they had done on previous expedition.

Fr. Vinco intended to settle among the Bari, but he was completely alone and felt anguish, because he then did not know well the language and felt harmless among those possibly violent tribes. He felt the temptation to go back to Khartoum. Yet he had a strong desire to remain among them:

I cannot express the anguish I felt. I could see myself being forced to turn back and, what was more important to me, I would have been unable to remain among the Bari [...]. However, I trusted myself to God, and without further meditation I gave order to set sail, and the voyage continued.[34]

On 14 February 1851 he arrived in Marju. There he spent eight or ten dayswhile waiting for his friend Nyigilò. Fr. Vinco took the chance to get to know the chief Jubek, the most feared rain-maker. This man used to receive many gifts from people, like numerous heads of cattle in payment for the gift of rain, less their cattle and the people die because of draught. Fr Vinco befriended him. He writes:

I cultivated his friendship by making him daily gifts of beads, and continually yawa, milk, sesame, and many other things I could find for him and his family, especially when I became aware of the supreme authority he wielded among the people. In addition I presented him with a suit of clothes and I had the satisfaction of knowing that he was very pleased, and was presenting me in favourable light among the people.[35]

On March 4, 1851 Fr. Vinco arrived at Belinyan,in the interior of Bariland (the present area of Gumbo Catholic Parish run by the Salesians Don Bosco), where he wanted to explore the mountain, while staying in the house of his friend Nyigilò. He narrates his first encounter with the people at Belinyan, who had never seen a white man before.On the advice of Nyigilò some shots were fired in the air to announce the arrival of the exceptional guest. He took residence in the house of Nyigilò, where people brought immediately some pots with water and merissa. He wanted to rest a little bit because he was tired of the journey, but people were eager to see him. Fr. Vinco writes in his diary: