All Saints’ Parish, Rejaf

All Saints’ Parish at Rejaf East is one of the most historically important Catholic sites in South Sudan. The Catholic Archdiocese of Juba identifies it as the first and oldest parish of the archdiocese and states that it originated on 16 July 1919 through the missionary work of Comboni Fathers, Brothers and Sisters.

The archdiocese further describes Rejaf as the mother church of the present Catholic jurisdictions of Juba, Torit and Yei, reflecting the site’s formative role in the growth of Catholic institutions in the region. The main parish church continues to celebrate Mass in Bari, while the wider parish also includes other chapels and church institutions.

Rejaf is not significant only as an old parish. Comboni Missionaries have documented Catholic pilgrimages to the site. One account describes religious and lay faithful walking from St. Theresa Cathedral in Kator to All Saints Parish, where a thanksgiving Eucharist was celebrated in the church the Comboni source identifies with its 1919 mission foundation.

This pilgrimage practice connects present-day worship with the documented memory of early Catholic missionary activity. It should not be confused with a claim of supernatural events: the sources reviewed describe historical commemoration, prayer and pilgrimage, not a verified apparition or miracle. Rejaf is therefore included as a major heritage and pilgrimage site within South Sudanese Catholic history.