CAPUCHIN PRESENCE IN SOUTH SUDAN
I. The Origins of the Idea of Opening a Mission in South Sudan
February 2019 – Custodial Chapter of Chad and the Central African Republic
Among the missionary friars of the Kraków Province, the idea emerged that the time might have come to open our own missionary presence—directly entrusted to the Kraków Province—in another mission country. Fr. Robert Wieczorek suggested that South Sudan could be a possible destination.
March 2019
Pope Francis drew the world’s attention to the difficult situation in South Sudan through a striking gesture: he knelt and kissed the feet of the country’s political rivals who had come to the Vatican for a spiritual retreat organized for them.
November 2019 – Poland
The organization Aid to the Church in Need dedicated the 11th Day of Solidarity with the Persecuted Church to South Sudan. On this occasion, the Polish Bishops’ Conference invited Bishop Stephen Nyodho Ador Majwok of the Diocese of Malakal to Poland. At the initiative of the Provincial Minister, Fr. Tomasz Żak, Bishop Stephen was welcomed at our friary in Kraków-Olszanica on November 10. During a meeting with the Provincial Minister, his council, and the Provincial Mission Secretary, the bishop presented the situation of the Church in South Sudan, especially in the Diocese of Malakal, and invited us to visit his diocese.
II. The Discernment Process Toward Opening a Mission in South Sudan
January 2020
To gain a better understanding of the local context, Fr. Robert Wieczorek (missionary) and Fr. Augustyn Chwałek (Provincial Councillor) traveled to South Sudan on behalf of the Province. They visited Malakal and Bor in the Diocese of Bishop Stephen Nyodho, as well as Yambio and Riimenze in the Diocese of Tambura–Yambio. Upon their return, they prepared a report for the 30th Provincial Chapter.
September–October 2020 – 30th Provincial Chapter
The Provincial Chapter approved the proposal of the Provincial Administration to establish a new missionary presence in South Sudan. The proposal received the support of 51 out of 57 capitular friars.
May 2021
The Minister General sent the General Secretary for the Missions, Fr. Mariosvaldo Florentino, to South Sudan. He was accompanied by Fr. Robert Wieczorek. Together they visited the Diocese of Malakal, including Bentiu. Bishop Stephen Nyodho proposed that the Capuchins take responsibility for Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Parish in Rubkona, together with the nearby camp for internally displaced persons, located about 7 km from Bentiu.
11 November 2021
The Minister General officially entrusted the opening of a new mission in South Sudan to the Kraków Province of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin in Poland.
III. The Opening of the Mission in South Sudan
March 2022
Fr. Robert Wieczorek arrived in South Sudan and settled in Bentiu at St. Martin de Porres Parish. He began learning the Nuer language and familiarizing himself with the local environment.
2 February 2023 – Bentiu
The new Capuchin community in South Sudan was officially established. Present at the ceremony were Fr. Marek Miszczyński (Provincial Minister), Fr. Jerzy Steliga (Provincial Mission Secretary), Fr. Artur Ziarek (Superior of the new community), Fr. Robert Wieczorek (Administrator of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Parish in Rubkona), Fr. Augustyn Chwałek (member of the new community), and Fr. William Bawar, Parish Priest of St. Martin de Porres Parish in Bentiu.
The friars initially resided at St. Martin de Porres Parish while beginning their pastoral ministry in the neighboring parish entrusted to them—Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Parish in Rubkona, which also served the residents of the nearby camp for internally displaced persons.
3–5 February 2023 – Juba
Pope Francis made his historic ecumenical visit to South Sudan. All the Polish Capuchin friars serving in the country participated in the meetings with the Holy Father. The entire visit was dedicated to strengthening the peace process in South Sudan.
IV. Key Events During the First Three Years of the Capuchin Presence in South Sudan
20 March 2023 (Solemnity of St. Joseph) – Rubkona IDP Camp
The Capuchin community moved into the camp for internally displaced persons in Rubkona. This is the largest camp of its kind in South Sudan, home to approximately 100,000 people. The friars settled in simple houses made of mud and corrugated iron sheets, built by the previous parish priest.
This location became the base for their ministry among the faithful of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Parish. Of the parish population, approximately 65,000 live within the camp, 25,000 in the town of Rubkona (7 km away), 13,000 in Rotriak (60 km toward the Sudanese border), and about 7,000 on various islands created by the devastating floods that have affected the region since 2021.
3 July 2024 – Rome
Pope Francis established the new Diocese of Bentiu and appointed Bishop Christian Carlassare as its first Ordinary. When the Capuchin community first arrived in the Diocese of Malakal, it was located on the periphery of what was then the largest diocese in South Sudan. With the creation of the Diocese of Bentiu, the community suddenly found itself at the heart of the new diocese, only 15 km from the cathedral in Bentiu.
11 May 2025 – Rubkona Town
Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Parish celebrated the centenary of its foundation. The week- long celebrations were attended by the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Séamus Patrick Horgan. The entire jubilee was presided over by Bishop Christian Carlassare, whose Comboni confreres had founded the parish in 1925.
After them, the mission was continued by the Mill Hill Missionaries, then by lay catechists and the first local priests, and is now entrusted to the Friars Minor Capuchin.
11 October 2025 – Rubkona
Fr. Paweł Kubiak, a missionary from Chad, joined the Capuchin community in Rubkona. During the course of 2026, a fifth friar from the Kraków Province is expected to join the fraternity.
V. The Future?
The political situation in South Sudan remains highly unstable. Tensions between the government and the opposition have not diminished; rather, they continue to increase. By what can only be described as a miracle sustained by the prayers of countless people, God continues to spare this war-weary nation from yet another open civil war.
United Nations bases, present throughout the country, are gradually shrinking due to reductions in funding. Many non-governmental organizations have already closed their operations, and the eventual withdrawal of the UN presence is expected in the coming years. As a result, the future of places such as the Rubkona camp—which was established alongside a UN base—remains uncertain.
We can observe small movements of people leaving the camp, but this process remains difficult because of the ongoing flooding that continues to affect the region. Although the Rubkona IDP Camp remains the main residence of the Capuchin community, concrete steps have already been taken to prepare a place for a second fraternity in Rubkona town. The formal establishment of this new community is still some way off; however, the work already accomplished will make it possible for the friars to maintain a more regular rotational presence in the town where the mission first began.