Pietro Salvatore Colombo, OFM (28 October 1922 – 9 July 1989) was an

Italian Catholic The Italian Catholic Church, or Catholic Church in Italy, is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the Pope in Rome, under the Conference of Italian Bishops. The pope serves also as Primate of Italy and Bishop of Rome. In add ...

prelate who served as Bishop of Mogadiscio from 1976 until his assassination in 1989. He was a member of the

Order of Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (commonly called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; Post-nominal letters, postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a Mendicant orders, mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis ...

Biography

Colombo was born in

Carate Brianza Carate Brianza is a ''comune'' in the province of Monza and Brianza, in the Italian region of Lombardy. The city lies at an elevation ranging from above sea level, on the Lambro river. History The history of Carate Brianza dates back to the Ston ...

, near

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. He served the people of Somalia from 1946, after he had been ordained a priest in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. He was appointed as the first Bishop of Mogadishu in 1975, and consecrated on 16 March 1976. Colombo was well regarded by non-

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, whether

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

or secular. Colombo was known for his pragmatic oversight of aid projects, making sure that aid projects could operate after the foreign aid workers went home. The government of President

Siad Barre Mohammed Siad Barre (, Osmanya script: , ''Muhammad Ziād Barīy''; 6 October 1919 – 2 January 1995) was a Somali military officer, politician, and revolutionary who served as the third president of Somalia from 21 October 1969 to 26 Janu ...

did not tolerate proselytizing, but was comfortable with the humanitarian aid dispensed by the Church. Colombo was killed in the

Mogadishu Cathedral Mogadishu Cathedral () is a ruined Catholic cathedral located in Mogadishu, Somalia. Between 1928 and 1991, it served as the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mogadiscio. Built in 1928 by Italian colonial authorities, much of the building wa ...

by an unknown

assassin Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

. Barre blamed radical

Islamists Islamism is a range of Religion, religious and Politics, political ideological movements that believe that Islam should influence political systems. Its proponents believe Islam is innately political, and that Islam as a political system is su ...

and offered a bounty for their capture. But many people believed that Barre had ordered the assassination, perhaps because Colombo had been critical of the Barre regime or perhaps because Barre wanted a scapegoat which would increase military and other aid from Western governments, or perhaps because Colombo had helped a clan which was out of favor with Barre purchase some land."Former Somali Government Killed Bishop, Christians Charge
Catholic World News July 16, 2003
/ref> To this day, the controversy of who killed Colombo persists although his murder is seen as a turning point for Islamic/secular relations because of the severe crackdown by Barre in response to the murder.

Legacy

Four days after Colombo's death, several Somali

sheikhs Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning " elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim scholar. Though this title generally refers to men, there are also a small number of ...

and other men were arrested on suspicion of having a connection to the assassination. The next day, on 14 July 1989, government forces massacred those leaving the Sheik Ali Suufi Mosque after the

imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

gave sermon denouncing the government. News of this resulted in civilian riots against government forces. The Church got involved in the civil war of Somalia that started in the capital. The church was funding a group named Fai Ali Youth. No bishop has been appointed for Mogadishu since Colombo's death. Currently, the welfare of Catholics in Somalia is overseen by the

Apostolic Administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of Mogadishu,

Giorgio Bertin Giorgio Bertin (born 28 December 1946) is an Italian Catholic prelate who has served as Bishop of Djibouti since 2001 and Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Mogadishu since 1990. He is a member of the Order of Friars Minor. Early li ...

, OFM, the Bishop of Djibouti.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colombo, Salvatore 1922 births 1989 deaths Italian Roman Catholic bishops in Africa Italian expatriates in Somalia 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Somalia English Friars Minor 20th-century Roman Catholic martyrs People murdered in Somalia Italian people murdered abroad People from Brianza Roman Catholic bishops of Mogadishu 1989 murders in Africa 1980s murders in Somalia Assassinated Italian people Assassinated bishops People assassinated in the 20th century Murder in Mogadishu

Biography

Legacy

See also

Footnotes