Today, July 8, 2025, the Diocese of Makeni marks the 75th anniversary, or diamond jubilee, of the Xaverian Missionaries’ presence and pastoral service in Sierra Leone. This landmark celebration commemorates the arrival, on July 8, 1950, of the first four Xaverian priests from Parma, Italy, who disembarked in Freetown on the SS Apapa from Liverpool, United Kingdom. Their missionary quest was warmly welcomed by Bishop Ambrose Kelly of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, then the Bishop of Freetown.
The pioneering group of missionaries included Fr. Augustus F. Azzolini, who would later become the first Bishop of Makeni; Fr. Camillo Olivani, renowned for establishing the missions in Lunsar and Mange Bureh; Fr. Attilio Stefani, who was instrumental in the construction of churches, schools, and mission houses for clergy; and Fr. Serafino Peter Calza, who pioneered the mission in Kabala and extended evangelization zest to the remote northernmost mountainous chiefdoms of the country.
In 1952, an ecclesiastical milestone was achieved when the Makeni Mission was elevated to the status of Apostolic Prefecture. Fr. Augustus F. Azzolini was appointed as its first Apostolic Prefect with the ecclesiastical title of Monsignor. The Prefecture was organized into six Quasi-Parishes: Makeni (led by Mons. Azzolini), Kabala (Fr. Calza), Mange Bureh (Fr. Olivani), Port Loko (Fr. Stefani), Lunsar (Fr. Zanon), and Magburaka (Fr. Noaro).
A decade later, in 1962, the Apostolic Prefecture was raised to the Diocese of Makeni. Monsignor Azzolini was subsequently consecrated as its first Bishop, a role he held until 1986. His episcopal leadership was succeeded in 1987 by Bishop George Biguzzi, who served as shepherd of the diocese until 2012.
From 2012 to 2023, the Diocese of Makeni was administered by Bishop Natale Paganelli, the Bishop of Gudafalla, who served as Apostolic Administrator. A new chapter began in 2023 when Pope Francis appointed the Most Reverend Hassan Bob John Koroma as the third Bishop of Makeni, marking the first time in over 72 years that the diocese was led by a non-Italian and non-Xaverian prelate in the annals of the Catholic Church’s mission in northern Sierra Leone.
Over the past seventy-five years, the Xaverian missionaries have made significant investments not only in evangelisation.
Today, there are with over twenty-six parishes with two chaplaincies’, hundreds of churches, primary schools, several dozen secondary schools, and a modern university second to none in the country and have touched almost every sphere of human endeavour, spanning human development from the individual to practically every stratum of life: education, health, agriculture.
The 75th anniversary of the Xaverian Mission in Sierra Leone stands as a testament to the enduring legacy of evangelisation, community development, and intercultural solidarity. The pioneering missionaries not only brought the Gospel message of Jesus but also laid the foundations for educational and ecclesial institutions that continue to shape the spiritual and social life of northern Sierra Leone.
As most of the pioneering Xaverian missionaries migrate to heavenly glory and pass on the missionary baton to a younger, more self-reliant church, their legacy continues in the generations of faithful who are now tasked with continuing their work. In the hands of the local clergy and lay faithful, led by Bishop Bob John Koroma, this legacy endures.
Let all of us remember that whether clergy or lay faithful, we stand on the shoulders of men and women who hoped for a better and just world, proclaiming not only the gospel but also Jesus’ message of liberation to all people, regardless of status and creed.
Professor Unisa Patrick Kamara
Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences
University of Makeni, Sierra Leone.
