Featured News
Recent features on The Heart of Nuba, press, news from the coalition and more.
EWTN News: Only surgeon for 2 million, American doctor perseveres in war-torn Sudan
As the only doctor at a hospital serving more than 2 million people, Dr. Tom Catena works seven days a week and is on call every night — and still makes time for morning Mass. An American Catholic missionary and the only surgeon at Mother of Mercy Hospital in the...
Dr. Tom in the Jesuit Review: I Am a Doctor in Sudan…
by Tom Catena I first met my patient, whom I will call Halima, when she was referred to our hospital while suffering from advanced cervical cancer. In her mid-40s, she initially sought treatment in her home community, in the war-ravaged Darfur region, but the doctors...
Dr. Tom at Notre Dame: War zone doctor explains life and service in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains
Dr. Tom spoke at the University of Notre Dame Institute for Social Concerns’ annual lecture in honor of Fr. Bernie Clark this Wednesday. Catena shared an inside look at his past 17 years as the only permanently stationed doctor in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains. He described...
St. Louis Review: American surgeon inspired by St. Daniel Comboni to serve in remote areas of Sudan
In the remote Nuba Mountains of Sudan’s South Kordofan region, Catholic missionary Dr. Tom Catena says that the smallest victories are magnified in the biggest ways. It could be a patient’s unexpected improvement or a good outcome from a medical procedure. Or it’s the...
Word on Fire: Hope and Mercy in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains
By Dr. Maria C. Geba After ten years of medical training, I decided to take a break. A break from the grind of academic medicine, from the constant striving for the next publication, the next accolade, the next prestigious conference. Busyness had distracted me from...
Tom Catena ’86 Names 2024 NCAA Theodore Roosevelt Award Recipient
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Dr. Tom Catena, a former All-American football player and mechanical engineering major at Brown, developed a sense of service in his collegiate years. It wasn't until he was driving home from his aunt's funeral shortly after he graduated in...
Newsweek: Why an American Doctor Remained in War-Torn Sudan
Should happiness be the focus of one's life, or something deeper? Tom Catena, a doctor for 14 years in the Nuba Mountains in Sudan — a desolate, rebel-held area that was bombed repeatedly from 2011 until 2018 by the Khartoum government when Omar al-Bashir was...
Dr. Tom Catena Receives Honorary Doctorate from Duke University
One of the highlights of the commencement ceremony is the awarding of honorary degrees to individuals for outstanding accomplishments and service the world. This year, President Vincent Price conferred bestowed degrees upon a medical missionary, a scientist turned...
A Chance to Give Back, by Tom Catena
This coming March, we, at the Mother of Mercy Hospital, will celebrate our fourteenth year of operation. We are located in rebel-held territory in the remote region of the Nuba Mountains in the southern part of the Sudan. Even though there is currently a ceasefire...
Dr. Tom on Events in Sudan
Dr. Tom Catena emailed Kennth Carlson (Director of The Heart of Nuba) today and spoke briefly about the current events, and coup, in Sudan. As usual, he is walking with a steadfast vision forward, to the job at hand, taking changes in stride as he continues to focus...
Video Update from Dr. Tom
Dr. Tom sent us a short video update from his phone, with some warm words for The Heart of Nuba and the network that has gathered around the film and provided invaluable support for the hospital. Enjoy.
Update from Dr. Tom in Nuba
Hello from rainy Nuba. Finally getting some good rain on this end after a dry start. Nasima spent the day planting peanuts. Francis is in a neighboring village this week visiting his cousins. He thinks he’s a big man now but he doesn’t realize...
Aurora Foundation Launches New Global Initiative
The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative has launched its new program, the Aurora Community, to actively support the program members by connecting them with each other in accordance with their area of intervention, encouraging them to exchange their knowledge, and promoting...
Dr. Tom Delivers Keynote for WISH Summit
Dr. Tom Catena delivered the keynote address to the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), on November 15. The theme of this year's Summit was ''One World Our Health''. To quote the WISH promotion of the event: ''Dr. Tom,' as he is affectionately known to his...
The Catena Family Expands!
We could not be more delighted to share some recent photos from Dr. Tom of his and Nasima's new family member! This year the adoption of their son, Francis Gene, was finalized, bringing a much-earned source of love and joy into the Catena tukal (household). There is...