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

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...

, and is situated on the western bank of the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...

river, from the town of

Kodok Kodok or Kothok ( ar, كودوك), formerly known as Fashoda, is a town in the north-eastern South Sudanese state of Upper Nile State. Kodok is the capital of Shilluk country, formally known as the Shilluk Kingdom. Shilluk had been an independe ...

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

Malakal Malakal is a city in South Sudan. It is the capital of Upper Nile State, South Sudan, along the White Nile River. It also serves as the headquarter of Malakal county and it used to be the headquarter of Upper Nile Region from 1970s to late 1990s. ...

. The

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

established a

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

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

Lul Lul is a Shilluk village located on the western bank of the Nile river, approximately one and a half hours by boat north from the city of Malakal, in Upper Nile province in South Sudan. The Catholic Church established one of its first mission st ...

and

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

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

Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus Bold text The Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus ( la, Missionarii Comboniani Cordis Iesu), abbreviated MCCJ, also known as the Comboni Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, or the Verona Fathers, and originally called the Sons of the Sacred ...

, a Catholic Missionary Order established by Daniel Comboni. Immediately prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, 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. Mill Hill was in the historic county of Middlesex until 1965, when it became part of Greater London. Its population counted 18, ...

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. It was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil War of 1955 to 1972. Although it originate ...

, 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. {{SouthSudan-geo-stub Populated places in South Sudan