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Abyssinia and its Apostle
Abyssinia and its Apostle
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This book contains a comprehensive religious history of Abyssinia and its apostle Saint Justin de Jacobis.
In English, and generally outside Ethiopia, Ethiopia was also once historically known as Abyssinia, derived from Habesh, an early Arabic form of the Ethiosemitic name "Ḥabaśāt" (unvocalized "ḤBŚT"). The modern form Habesha is the native name for the country's inhabitants (while the country has been called "Ityopp'ya"). In a few languages, Ethiopia is still referred to by names cognate with "Abyssinia," e.g., modern Arabic Al-Ḥabashah.
Saint Justin de Jacobis (9 October 1800 – 31 July 1860) was an Italian Lazarist missionary who became Vicar Apostolic of Abyssinia and titular Bishop of Nilopolis.
He was born at San Fele, Province of Potenza in southern Italy. On 17 October 1818, he entered the Congregation of the Lazarists at Naples, took vows there on 18 October 1820, and was ordained priest at Brindisi on 12 June 1824. After spending some time in the care of souls at Oria and Monopoli, he became superior, first at Lecce, then at Naples.
In 1839 he was appointed first Prefect Apostolic of Ethiopia and entrusted with the foundation of Catholic missions in that country. After laboring with great success in Ethiopia for eight years, he was made titular Bishop of Nilopolis in 1847, and shortly afterwards Vicar Apostolic, but he refused the episcopal dignity until it was finally forced upon him in 1849. Despite imprisonment, exile and every other kind of persecution from the local Ethiopian Church, he founded numerous Catholic missions, built schools in Agame and Akele Guzay, Eritrea for the training of a native clergy, founding the beginnings of the Ethiopian Catholic Church.
He died at Hebo in the Aligide Valley, while on his way to Halai (in modern Eritrea) where he hoped to regain his health.
The process of his beatification was introduced on 13 July 1904. He was canonized in 1975 by Pope Paul VI.
Today his tomb is visited by both Christians and Muslims.
The Holy See appointed Justin Prefect Apostolic of Abyssinia and all the Neighbouring Territories. The purpose of this title was specifically to remove him and his mission from the jurisdiction of any Vicar Apostolic in the region. He was given another Italian confrere, Luigi Montuori, as his assistant. Montuori had been with Justin on many missions in Italy. They departed for Ethiopia in May 1839.
Ethiopia was not like most missionary territories. It was not a country with a pagan population who had to be converted to Christianity. It had been Christian since the 4th century, but had slipped into schism and heresy. There had been several previous attempts to establish the Catholic Church there but none of them had succeeded. At the time of Justin’s arrival there was not even one Ethiopian Catholic in the country.
Justin and Montuori quickly made contact with Giuseppe Sapeto, the confrere who had left Syria and gone to Ethiopia without any official ecclesiastical authority. The three of them discussed what their best approach to the work would be. Sapeto was already accepted by the people of the area where he had settled, even though they knew that he was a Catholic priest. In theory, Catholic priests were liable to immediate execution if discovered. For this reason the three Vincentians decided that they would not, at least for the present, let themselves be seen celebrating Mass or praying the breviary.
Right from the start they decided to adopt the Ethiopian style of dress and accommodate themselves to Ethiopian food. They set about learning three languages: Amharic, the national language, Tigrina the local language of the area where they were, and Ghe’ez the liturgical language. There is plenty of contemporary evidence that Justin acquired a very good knowledge of these languages, and later on he even wrote some books in Amharic. He did not participate in religious services in the local church, but did spend long periods in the church praying by himself.
Until his death in 1860, Justin’s life was a series of problems, harassment, persecution, and even a spell of imprisonment, all originating in the opposition of the Orthodox Coptic bishop. With the exception of one young confrere, Carlo Delmonte, all Justin’s fellow-Vincentians disagreed with Justin’s missionary methods, especially with regard to indigenous clergy. Even the confrere who was to be his coadjutor bishop, Lorenzo Biancheri, who had the right of succession, said openly that when he succeeded Justin he did not intend to continue Justin’s missionary methods, especially in the matter of building up a body of indigenous clergy. He had anticipated by more than a century what Vatican II and Paul VI’s Evangelii nuntiandi would say about missiology.
In English, and generally outside Ethiopia, Ethiopia was also once historically known as Abyssinia, derived from Habesh, an early Arabic form of the Ethiosemitic name "Ḥabaśāt" (unvocalized "ḤBŚT"). The modern form Habesha is the native name for the country's inhabitants (while the country has been called "Ityopp'ya"). In a few languages, Ethiopia is still referred to by names cognate with "Abyssinia," e.g., modern Arabic Al-Ḥabashah.
Saint Justin de Jacobis (9 October 1800 – 31 July 1860) was an Italian Lazarist missionary who became Vicar Apostolic of Abyssinia and titular Bishop of Nilopolis.
He was born at San Fele, Province of Potenza in southern Italy. On 17 October 1818, he entered the Congregation of the Lazarists at Naples, took vows there on 18 October 1820, and was ordained priest at Brindisi on 12 June 1824. After spending some time in the care of souls at Oria and Monopoli, he became superior, first at Lecce, then at Naples.
In 1839 he was appointed first Prefect Apostolic of Ethiopia and entrusted with the foundation of Catholic missions in that country. After laboring with great success in Ethiopia for eight years, he was made titular Bishop of Nilopolis in 1847, and shortly afterwards Vicar Apostolic, but he refused the episcopal dignity until it was finally forced upon him in 1849. Despite imprisonment, exile and every other kind of persecution from the local Ethiopian Church, he founded numerous Catholic missions, built schools in Agame and Akele Guzay, Eritrea for the training of a native clergy, founding the beginnings of the Ethiopian Catholic Church.
He died at Hebo in the Aligide Valley, while on his way to Halai (in modern Eritrea) where he hoped to regain his health.
The process of his beatification was introduced on 13 July 1904. He was canonized in 1975 by Pope Paul VI.
Today his tomb is visited by both Christians and Muslims.
The Holy See appointed Justin Prefect Apostolic of Abyssinia and all the Neighbouring Territories. The purpose of this title was specifically to remove him and his mission from the jurisdiction of any Vicar Apostolic in the region. He was given another Italian confrere, Luigi Montuori, as his assistant. Montuori had been with Justin on many missions in Italy. They departed for Ethiopia in May 1839.
Ethiopia was not like most missionary territories. It was not a country with a pagan population who had to be converted to Christianity. It had been Christian since the 4th century, but had slipped into schism and heresy. There had been several previous attempts to establish the Catholic Church there but none of them had succeeded. At the time of Justin’s arrival there was not even one Ethiopian Catholic in the country.
Justin and Montuori quickly made contact with Giuseppe Sapeto, the confrere who had left Syria and gone to Ethiopia without any official ecclesiastical authority. The three of them discussed what their best approach to the work would be. Sapeto was already accepted by the people of the area where he had settled, even though they knew that he was a Catholic priest. In theory, Catholic priests were liable to immediate execution if discovered. For this reason the three Vincentians decided that they would not, at least for the present, let themselves be seen celebrating Mass or praying the breviary.
Right from the start they decided to adopt the Ethiopian style of dress and accommodate themselves to Ethiopian food. They set about learning three languages: Amharic, the national language, Tigrina the local language of the area where they were, and Ghe’ez the liturgical language. There is plenty of contemporary evidence that Justin acquired a very good knowledge of these languages, and later on he even wrote some books in Amharic. He did not participate in religious services in the local church, but did spend long periods in the church praying by himself.
Until his death in 1860, Justin’s life was a series of problems, harassment, persecution, and even a spell of imprisonment, all originating in the opposition of the Orthodox Coptic bishop. With the exception of one young confrere, Carlo Delmonte, all Justin’s fellow-Vincentians disagreed with Justin’s missionary methods, especially with regard to indigenous clergy. Even the confrere who was to be his coadjutor bishop, Lorenzo Biancheri, who had the right of succession, said openly that when he succeeded Justin he did not intend to continue Justin’s missionary methods, especially in the matter of building up a body of indigenous clergy. He had anticipated by more than a century what Vatican II and Paul VI’s Evangelii nuntiandi would say about missiology.
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