Detwoc is a Shilluk village in the state of Upper Nile in

South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...

, and is situated on the western bank of the

Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...

river, from the town of

Kodok Kodok or Kothok (), formerly known as Fashoda, is a town in the Fashoda County of Upper Nile State, in the Greater Upper Nile region of South Sudan. Kodok is the capital of Shilluk country, formally known as the Shilluk Kingdom. Shilluk had bee ...

, which is approximately two hours by boat north of the state capital

Malakal Malakal is a city in South Sudan, serving as the capital of Upper Nile (state), Upper Nile State in the Greater Upper Nile region of South Sudan, along the White Nile, White Nile River. It also serves as the headquarter of Malakal County and it us ...

. The

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

established a

mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

station in Detwok in 1923, its third in the region after Lul and

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

. A fourth mission was subsequently established in Yoynyang. The missions were originally managed by the

Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus The Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus (), also known as the Comboni Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, or the Verona Fathers, and originally called the Sons of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (''Congregatio Filiorum S. Cordis Iesu''), is a Cat ...

, a Catholic Missionary Order established by

Daniel Comboni Daniele Comboni, MCCJ (15 March 1831 – 10 October 1881) was an Italian Catholic prelate who served as Vicar Apostolic of Central Africa from 1877 until his death in 1881. He worked in the missions in Africa and was the founder of both the Com ...

. Immediately prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the Detwok mission was taken over by

Mill Hill Mill Hill is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is situated around northwest of Charing Cross, close to the Hertfordshire border. It was in the Historic counties of England, historic county of Middlesex until 1965, when it b ...

fathers. The mission station was a fairly typical one, and included a school, health centre and church. The station was abandoned by the church in the early 1980s because of the

second Sudanese civil war The Second Sudanese Civil War was a conflict from 1983 to 2005 between the central Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement, Sudan People's Liberation Army. It was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil Wa ...

, but began to be re-developed after the end of that conflict in 2005.

References

* James Dempsey, 1956, ''Mission on the Nile'', New York: Philosophical Library. Populated places in Upper Nile (state) {{SouthSudan-geo-stub