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The Southern Cross, March 5 to March 11, 2014

LOCAL

Parish celebrates 40 years By PoRTIA MTHeMBu

AINT Maria Goretti, in Riverlea, south of Johannesburg, is celebrating its 40th anniversary. A special Mass will be celebrated on March 16 by Archbishop of Johannesburg Buti Tlhagale. Previous clergy who served the parish during its 40 years, including current parish priest Fr Laszlo Karpati, are also expected to attend. The first parishioners moved into Riverlea in 1962 and travelled by bus to St Andrew’s in Noordgesig where they celebrated Mass, the anniversary planning committee of St Maria Goretti said. The late Fr Patrick McCullagh OMI, parish priest of St Andrew’s, was also assigned parish priest of the Catholic community in Riverlea. Proceedings to build a church in Riverlea began and a working committee was established to start raising funds towards the church. “Every Catholic family in the area contributed to the building fund,” the committee told The Southern Cross. Throughout the years St Marks, as the Riverlea parish was initially to be named, received substantial support from St Andrew’s parish and the local Anglican church, which offered the use of its church building for the celebration of Holy Mass. Sodalities in the parish were formed. “The Women’s Working Committee visited the sick and cared for the needs of the elderly,” the committee said. As Riverlea grew, the Riverlea Community Centre was built and “the parish had permission to use the community hall for the celebration of Mass”. As teenage pregnancies had also started to become prevalent in the area, Fr “Mac”—as Fr McCullagh became af-

Front view of St Maria Goretti church in Riverlea, Johannesburg fectionately known in the community—suggested that the parish be named after the youngest saint in the Catholic Church, St Maria Goretti, said the committee, as a means of “inspiring and encouraging the youth to spiritually connect with God and themselves”. In 1973 the “first soil was turned, and on March 17, 1974, the late Bishop Hugh Boyle officially presided over the opening and dedication of St Maria Goretti church,” the committee said. In the early years, some parishioners went on a pilgrimage to Rome, Lourdes, the Holy Land and Nettuno, the birthplace of St Maria Goretti. “Arrangements to bring a stone from Maria Goretti’s home and a statue of the saint to the parish in Riverlea began,” the committee told The Southern Cross. “They were shipped to South Africa a year later and Mrs Botterill, the Italian lady involved in the arrangements, personally presented the stone and statue to the parish.” Currently, the planning committee of St Maria Goretti is gathering historical photographs to be displayed in the church’s hall. All material gathered will form part of the parish archives.

St Patrick’s Day will be celebrated at the Cape Town Waterfront on Sunday 16th March. As part of these celebrations, the Association will host a three course luncheon at the Hilderbrand restaurant. For reservations please phone Maureen or Maryna at 021 713 0154. Cost R200 p/p. Email : members@ireland.co.za For information about functions in Gauteng and KZN visit our website www.ireland.co.za or email members.jhb@ireland.co.za or members.dbn@ireland.co.za

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Thousands of the faithful took part in a night vigil to pray for the success of the sainthood of Benedict daswa—potentially South Africa’s first saint.

Thousands pray for Daswa sainthood M STAFF RePoRTeR

ORE than 3 000 people from Tzaneen, Polokwane, Pretoria, Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, Witbank, Klerksdorp and Kimberley descended on Mokopane in Polokwane to partake in a night vigil of prayer to ask for God’s blessing on the sainthood cause of the Servant of God Benedict Daswa. Archbishop Jabulani Nxumalo of Bloemfontein, representing the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference, and Archbishop William Slattery of Pretoria, representing the metropolitan region, were present and concelebrated the concluding Mass with Bishop Jeremiah Masela of Polokwane. Also in attendance were the two bishops from Tzaneen—the home diocese of Mr Daswa. Bishop João Rodrigues and retired Bishop Hugh Slattery were joined by the Benedictine monks from Subiaco. The vigil saw a large number of religious from different congregations join together with large numbers of the faithful, many of them in sodality uniforms. According to the promoter of the cause, Sr Claudette Hiosan FDNSC, the eight adult children of Mr Daswa, some with their spouses, his two remaining brothers, some of his nieces and other relatives were also present. “Benedict’s mother, who was 93 last December, was not there as the long trip to Mater Dei Pastoral Centre followed by the night-long prayer vigil, would have been too much for her. She is, however, praying very earnestly to be alive for her son’s beatification,” Sr Hiosan said. She said the 24-hour vigil was

“permeated by a very joyful yet really prayerful atmosphere”. Some of the evening’s highlights included testimonies given by people who knew and had worked closely with Mr Daswa, including his eldest daughter, Helen. “Helen spoke very courageously and simply about her father,” said Sr Hiosan. “She said that she was only 13 years old at the time of her father’s murder and was the last person to speak to her father, who had asked her to tell her mother that he would be a home bit late as he was going to drive an old man carrying a 12,5kg bag of mealie meal to his house.”

fter dropping the man at his house, Mr Daswa was ambushed by a mob of youths goaded on by some adult men, then stoned and finally bludgeoned to death. “All this because he refused to give R5 to pay a sangoma to sniff out the supposed witch who had caused lightning to set alight a number of rondavels in the village the previous week,” Sr Hiosan said. The night vigil was hailed a success by Bishop Rodrigues and the people of Tzaneen, according to Sr Hiosan. “The success of this prayer vigil gave a clear indication that the cause of Benedict Daswa is gaining wider recognition and support in Southern Africa. There is a definite sense among all who participated in the vigil that Benedict Daswa is indeed a true martyr of the Catholic Church and at the same time, a very special intercessor for people in Southern Africa,” Sr Hiosan said.

“It is vitally important to continue praying for his beatification in the hope that more and more people will do so and receive abundant blessings for their lives. Already there have been a number of favours attributed to the intercession of the Servant of God.” Sr Hiosan said the cause was dependent on the prayers of the faithful and also their generosity. “Naturally, as the cause progresses, the demands will increase. This is especially true with regard to the development of the pilgrimage site and shrine in honour of Benedict Daswa. As the costs are huge, so much will depend on the success of seeking and receiving many generous donations both from outside the SACBC region and within it.” Bishop Rodrigues has indicated that this cause will be an important focus of the forthcoming ad limina visit of the bishops of Southern Africa to the Holy Father in Rome this coming Easter. Bishop Rodrigues will lead the Southern Cross pilgrimage of prayer for the cause of Benedict Daswa from September 25 to October 6 to Fatima, Lourdes, Paris, Avila and other places associated with Our Lady. To book, contact Gail on info@fowlertours.co.za or on 021 352 3809. The Vatican will examine the cause in October. n For more information on the cause, visit benedictdaswa.org.za or contact 015 395 2215. Donations can be made to Diocese of Tzaneen: Benedict Daswa Cause, account number 330911538, Standard Bank branch 052749.

Catholic Liturgical Arts Tel: +27 11 782 3135, Fax: 086 263 7303

We supply various items for the Easter Vigil: Incense briquette tongs, Briquettes, Incense, 2 types of Metal dishes for the ‘Holy Fire’ One is ﬂat, the other is on a stand, Incense burner, Crown of Thorns, Ampoule for the ashes.

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