Justin de Jacobis

Arriving in Adwa, in Tigray, in October 1839, Justin de Jacobis adopted a missionary method based on respect for local culture and liturgical traditions. He learned the language, lived in poverty in the manner of Ethiopian monks, and earned the esteem of the populations, who affectionately named him "Abouna Yaqob" (our father Jacob). Convinced that the future of the Church in Abyssinia rested on an indigenous clergy, he founded a seminary which he placed under the patronage of the Immaculate—the "Collegio dell'Immacolata"—in order to train priests from the country. Among his most notable fruits is the conversion of the learned monk Ghebre Michael, whom he instructed and ordained a priest, and who would die a martyr in 1855. De Jacobis established mission centers in several locations in Tigray and Akele Guzay. Consecrated titular bishop of Nilopolis in January 1849 by the Capuchin Guglielmo Massaia, he became Vicar Apostolic of Abyssinia. His work laid the foundations for the current Ethiopian and Eritrean Catholic Churches of the Alexandrian rite.

The holiness of Justin de Jacobis was manifested above all in humility and patience in the face of adversity. Preferring persuasion to polemics, he always favored a respectful approach toward the Ethiopian Coptic Christians separated from Rome as well as toward Muslim communities, seeking to bring together rather than to oppose. The development of the Catholic mission, however, aroused the hostility of the Orthodox patriarch Abouna Salama and, subsequently, of Emperor Tewodros II. De Jacobis was imprisoned, then forced into exile. He endured these trials without renouncing his ministry, continuing to evangelize and support his priests until his strength was exhausted. During his canonization, Pope Paul VI highlighted two traits of his apostolate: the formation of an indigenous clergy and his concern for fraternal unity with separated Christians. His reputation for holiness, already vivid during his lifetime among the Ethiopian people who venerated him as a father, was confirmed after his death and led to the opening of his cause.

The reputation for holiness of Justin de Jacobis led the Church to open his cause. He was beatified in 1939 by Pope Pius XII—according to sources on June 25, 1939, at St. Peter's Basilica. His canonization was pronounced by Pope Paul VI on October 26, 1975, during the Holy Year, in St. Peter's Square. In his homily, Paul VI presented him as the pastor who had regenerated Christian Ethiopia in the fullness of the faith received from Saint Frumentius in the 4th century, and particularly praised his zeal for the formation of the local clergy and his spirit of ecumenical openness. His liturgical memorial is celebrated on July 31, the anniversary of his death. He is honored not only by the Congregation of the Mission, of which he is one of the saints, but also by the Catholic Churches of Ethiopia and Eritrea, which consider him one of their founding fathers.

The legacy of Justin de Jacobis is measured first by the vitality of the Catholic communities of the Alexandrian rite that he helped to bring into being: the Ethiopian and Eritrean Catholic Churches venerate him as one of their fathers. His method—respect for local liturgy and culture, priority given to the formation of an indigenous clergy, refusal of polemics—is often cited as an early model of inculturation and dialogue with Eastern Christians. Within the Vincentian family, he is honored as one of the saints of the Congregation of the Mission, and his feast day on July 31 is celebrated there. The memory of "Abouna Yaqob" remains particularly alive in Ethiopia and Eritrea, where parishes and institutions perpetuate his memory. His figure is associated with that of Blessed Ghebre Michael, his disciple and first indigenous martyr priest, whose cause remains linked to his missionary work.