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The Southern Cross, September 4 to September 10, 2019
COMMUNITY Grade 10 life science and geography learners at Holy Family College in Glenmore, Durban, went on an excursion to the Beachwood Mangroves, accompanied by teachers Irlene Ross and Sophie Govender.
Aranda Textiles in Randfontein donated 20 baby blankets to the new Sharing A Little Hope project of Marist Brothers Linmeyer College in Johannesburg. Founded by alumni Lyle Robson (2017 headboy) and Busisiwe Radebe (2017 headgirl), Sharing A Little Hope assists people in need in Addo, Eastern Cape, with soup kitchens, food and blanket drives, and entrepreneurship and mathematics programmes. Seen here are Marist Brothers Linmeyer Grade 11 student Nikiesha José with a mother and son from Valencia informal settlement in Addo.
St Francis of Assisi parish in Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng, celebrated the feast of Our Lady of Czestochowa with a Mass said by Fr Radosław Szymoniak. The feast day was a time of fellowship for Polish parishioners. (Submitted by Elaine Prosper)
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Assumption Convent in Germiston, Johannesburg archdiocese, appointed its new headgirl and prefects for 2019/2020. They are (front from left) Belinda Paine (head of culture), Marion Vetten (environmental head), Abigael Mwakassa (environmental head), Erin Lewis (academic head), Keabetsoe Matshoge (administrative head), Carey Ejike (head of religion) and Neville Workman (principal). Back from left: Michela Barecchia (house captain of Rosaria), Daniella Jesus (house captain of Paulist), Gabriella Moreira (head of sport), Genevieve Reid (headgirl), and Lisa Godwin (deputy headgirl and house captain of Assumpta). A group of 48 pilgrims spent a week at Ngome Marian Shrine in KwaZulu-Natal. Fr Alexander Beukes of upington, Northern Cape, was spiritual director, and Linda Johns of St Anne’s parish in Retreat, Cape Town, was the pilgrims’ leader. John Paul II Preschool in Port Shepstone, umzimkulu diocese, run by Little Servants of Mary Immaculate Sisters, received an award from the health department. The certificates were presented by provincial health promotion manager Gloria Rasi and district health promotion manager Mavis Munsami. (Submitted by Zithobile Zondi)
PRICE CHECK
The Catholic Women’s League branch of Our Lady of Fatima parish in Durban North attended Mass in the city’s Emmanuel cathedral and then had tea, served by the deaf, at the Denis Hurley Centre. (Submitted by Anna Accolla)
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BY ERIN CARELSE
A Bishop Frank Nubuasah greets Botswana’s First Lady, Neo Masisi, after his installation as bishop of Gaborone. The 70-year-old bishop had previously headed the diocese of Francistown, also in Botswana, since 1998. Bishop Nubuasah, a member of the Society of the Divine Word, is flanked by Archbishop Dabula Mpako of Pretoria (left) and Bishop Victor Phalana of Klerksdorp.
Good ship Pope Francis A BY COURTNEY GROGAN
HOSPITAL ship named after Pope Francis is sailing on the Amazon to bring medical care to rural populations. “Just as Jesus, who appeared walking on water, calmed the storm and strengthened the faith of the disciples, this boat will bring spiritual comfort and calm to the worries of needy men and women, abandoned to their fate,” Pope Francis said in a letter sent to mark the ship’s launch in Belém, Brazil. “In addition to being a beautiful concrete gesture in view of the Synod of Bishops for Amazon [in the Vatican in October], this river hospital is above all a response to the Lord's mandate, who continues to send his disciples to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick,” the pope said, according to Vatican News. The hospital boat is the initiative of the Fraternity of St Francis of Assisi in the Providence of God in partnership with their local diocese and the Brazilian government. The Brazilian Franciscans were inspired to create the floating hospital when Pope Francis visited their healthcare facility during World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro in 2013. During
the visit, the pope encouraged Friar Francisco Belotti to expand his religious order’s charitable works into the Amazon region. The boat, 32m in length, contains an operating room and analysis laboratory, and is able to provide a range of medical services, including X-rays, vaccinations, electrocardiograms, mammograms, and ultrasounds. The “Barco Hospital Papa Francisco” will travel along the Amazon River to reach people who live in communities in the Amazon only accessible by river. It is staffed by 20 medical volunteers, ten crew members, and a Franciscan boat director for each ten-day voyage.—CNA
PRIEST from the Free State says his appointment as the Superior of the general house of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Rome is an exciting opportunity for the South African Oblates to respond to the needs of the congregation and the Church at large. Fr Mokone Joseph Rathakoa now is in charge of the Oblates’ headquarters on Rome’s Via Aurelia, just over 2km from St Peter’s basilica. The general house comprises three Oblate communities: the congregation’s central government comprising the superior-general and his council (11 members), the International Roman Scholasticate (19 members) and 28 Oblates residing in Rome. Fr Rathakoa’s responsibilities as the superior of the general house involve leading and coordinating the life of the community, facilitating communication among the three communities living on the same property, and hospitality. “One needs to be conversant in Italian as well as have a comfortable knowledge of other languages because of the multicultural dynamic of an international congregation,” Fr Rathakoa told The Southern Cross. Fr Rathakoa said that he was thankful to his predecessor, Fr Thomas Klosterkamp, for his guidance and smooth handover since his appointment. Fr Neil Frank, provincial of the OMI province of Southern Africa, said that the local congregation is proud that the central government had chosen one of their brothers from South Africa. “It is the first time we have a superior from Africa, and Fr Rathakoa’s gentle, amiable nature will be much appreciated in this international setting,” Fr Frank said. Born in 1965 in Grieselsdam, Free State, Fr Rathakoa entered Oblate formation in 1988, professed his first vows on February 6, 1991, at Our Lady of Hope novitiate in Germiston,
Fr Mokone Rathakoa OMI, the superior of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate’s general House in Rome. Johannesburg. As a scholastic, he had his initial formation at St Joseph’s Theological Institute, Cedara, from 1990-93, and continued in Rome at the International Scholasticate from 1993-96. After professing the final vows in December 1995, he returned to South Africa. On December 6, 1997, he was ordained a priest at his home parish of Emmaus in Botshabelo, archdiocese of Bloemfontein. He worked as a formator in the pre-novitiate in Rayton, Gauteng, from 1997 to 2000. Fr Rathakoa was then sent to Rome, to study at the Institute of Psychology of the Gregorian University, from 2000-04, to equip himself with more knowledge and the skills needed for a formator. On his return, he worked at St Joseph’s Theological Institute from 2004-09. Continued on page 2
S o u t h e r n C r o s s Pilgrimage HOLY LAND & OBERAMMERGAU PASSION PLAY 21 Aug - 2 Sept. 2020 Led by Archbishop William Slattery OFM For more information or to book, please contact Gail at info@fowlertours.co.za or phone/WhatsApp 076 352‐3809
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The church of the Resurrection in Dawn Park, Boksburg, celebrated the first sacrament of matrimony since its opening. Maggie and Chancy Vasulu from Thyolo district in Malawi were married by Fr Peter Wilson OFM. The Dawn Park community embraced the migrant couple by helping to cook meals, arrange flowers, sew wedding gowns and suits, and organise photography and transport for the couple. (Submitted by Modjadji Motupa)
Br Keotshepile Berry Mathulwe made his first vows as a Redemptorist before the order’s provincial, Fr Gerard McCabe, at the parish of the Most Holy Redeemer in Bergvliet, Cape Town.