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HOW TO EXPLAIN ORIGINAL SIN

SAINT OF THE MONTH: ST MAXIMILIAN KOLBE

REGINA MUNDI: THE PEOPLE’S CATHEDRAL

Southern Cross

Est. 1920

The

The Catholic Magazine for Southern Africa

August 2022

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SACBC turns 75

MEDJUGORJE: PLACE OF CONTROVERSY AND MANY GRACES

WHY DID ELVIS PRESLEY SING THE HAIL MARY?

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O

The stories of our Church Dear Reader,

N THE COVER OF THIS ISSUE we see the faces of 48 people. They have been among the many who have guided our local Church as part of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference since it was established 75 years ago. Of those, all are bishops, except six — four priests and two religious Sisters — who have been among those who served, or are currently serving, the SACBC’s general secretariat. Every diocese in our conference region is represented, some more than once. Two of these bishops once worked for The Southern Cross: Cardinal Owen McCann, twice as editor in the 1940s and ’80s, and Bishop Hugh Boyle, formerly of Port Elizabeth and Johannesburg, as an editorial assistant in the 1920s.

For many readers, it will be a fun exercise to try and identify these faces.

To put names to the faces, go to www. scross.co.za/2022/07/the-bishops-onour-cover. But take time to study these faces, and give thanks to God for their service to the Church. And pray for our bishops, for being one is not only an honour but also a heavy burden.

The cover accompanies our focus on the SACBC to mark its 75th anniversary.

We provide a brief history of the SACBC, but the centrepiece is our wide-ranging interview with its president, Bishop Sithembele Sipuka. The interview will run over three issues.

I

f South Africa had something like a national cathedral, the church of Regina Mundi in Soweto would have a good claim for it — even its foundation

HOW TO EXPLAIN ORIGINAL SIN

SAINT OF THE MONTH: ST MAXIMILIAN KOLBE

REGINA MUNDI: THE PEOPLE’S CATHEDRAL

Southern C ross Th e

The Catholic Magazine for Southern

Est. 1920

August 2022

Africa

R30 (incl. VAT in SA)

stone was blessed by a SACBC turns 75 future pope! It is most famous as a symbol of struggle, a reputation that extends far beyond the Catholic Church and South Africa. But it is also an active parish church, serving a Catholic community like countless other churches do. Daluxolo Moloantoa tells the story of Regina Mundi on page 10.

MEDJUGORJE: PLACE OF CONTROVERSY AND MANY GRACES

T

WHY DID ELVIS PRESLEY SING THE HAIL MARY?

he Saint of the Month in August is close to our hearts at The Southern Cross, because he was a man of media.

The life of St Maximilian Kolbe has so many remarkable moments — of faith, joy, struggle, disappointment, courage, martyrdom. At the centre of it was Christian witness. St Maximilian’s evangelisation efforts included founding media outlets to spread the faith.

Evangelisation, of course, is also the mission of The Southern Cross. And here we must understand that term not only as telling the Good News to those who haven’t heard it or are deaf to it. We all, even the most faithful Catholics, need to be evangelised constantly — to help us grow in our faith, to strengthen it, to equip us to take our own evangelising mandate into the world.

Catholic media — printed, radio, digital — is indispensable to the Church’s evangelising mission. So we are always delighted to see people in parishes being part of the social communications apostolate by promoting The Southern Cross in their communities. An effective way of doing so is to actively sell the magazine before and/or after Mass. One friend who does so is John Tumisiime at Christ the King cathedral in Komani/Queenstown.

You see him in action in the photo on this page. Let John represent all our friends in the parishes who work to get this Catholic magazine to the people as all of us at The Southern Cross say: THANK YOU! And thank you for reading The Southern Cross. Please tell your friends about your monthly Catholic magazine, as a favour to us and a favour to them!

God bless,

Günther Simmermacher (Editor)

Contents AUGUST 2022

8

Women in the Church An author sees an increase of women in leadership positions in the Church – but more must be done

9

An Easy Catechism A priest has written a simplified Catechism

10

The Cathedral of Struggle Sixty years ago a future pope laid the foundation stone of Soweto’s Regina Mundi church

12

Interview with SACBC President The first part of our wide-ranging interview with SACBC president Bishop Sithembele Sipuka

14

75 Years of the SACBC We review the first 75 years of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference

22

Why Elvis Sang the Hail Mary In 1971 Elvis Presley recorded a song about the rosary. We tell the story behind that recording

24

Pilgrimage to Medjugorje

14 A brief history

of the SACBC

With pull-out poster!

Günther Simmermacher reflects on a recent Southern Cross pilgrimage to Medjugorje

EVERY MONTH 5

FROM OUR VAULTS The Southern Cross 91 years ago

6

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED You ask, and our team of experts replies, on questions about original sin, a controversial mystic, Mary’s tomb, and why Jesus told a man to break rules

17

SAINT OF THE MONTH The life of St Maximilian Kolbe — with pull-out poster

26

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Have your say!

27

THE MILLENNIAL CATHOLIC Nthabiseng Maphisa on Mary, the impenetrable vessel

28

The life of St Maximilian Kolbe

17

24

A pilgrimage to Medjugorje

RAYMOND PERRIER How people of other faiths and churches see us

29

FR RON ROLHEISER OMI When we face death, we have a fear of missing out

30

PRAY WITH THE POPE Fr Chris Chatteris SJ reflects on the pope’s prayer intention for August on small businesses

31

PRAYER CORNER Your illustrated prayers, to cut out and collect

32

TWO PAGES OF PUZZLES Two Crosswords, Wordsearch, Dropped Letters, Catholic Trivia Quiz, and Anagram Challenge

34

COOKING WITH SAINTS Grazia Barletta tries out recipes inspired by saints.

This month: St Jude’s Lentil Soup

36

...AND FINALLY History in Colour showing St Pius X, Inspiring Quotes by Women, and a Last Laugh

Did you know?

In our digital edi tion, all links to websites are live.

Just click, and the site opens in your bro wser!

Try IT!

Regina Mundi: Cathedral of Struggle

10

To identify the faces on the cover, go to www.scross.co.za/2022/07/the-bishops-on-our-cover/

91 Years Ago: August 5, 1931

FROM OUR VAULTS Pope Pius XI tackles fascists

Pope Pius XI has issued a strongly-worded and detailed encyclical on fascist aggression, and in anticipation of fascist interference has taken great precaution to ensure that his letter will reach the outside world. The encyclical was written as a response to ongoing conflict between Italian dictator Benito Mussolini’s regime and the Holy See, which has included the disbandment by the regime of youth and student associations affiliated to the Catholic Action movement. Pius also criticised the fascist press for publishing insults and “injurious words” against the Church and the pope himself.

Church calls for drug action

The Catholic Church has called for an immediate end to the illicit trade in drugs, and urged the adoption of a strict plan which would limit their manufacture.

Equal rights for women?

A debate was held by the St Michael’s Catholic Club in Rondebosch, Cape Town, on the question of whether women should have equal rights with men. After an animated discussion, with both sides represented by two men and two women each, the motion in favour was lost.

Is China safe from Reds?

In his editorial, Southern Cross editor Fr John Colgan writes that “signs are evident that the influence of the communists in China is waning, temporarily at least, if not permanently”. However, there remains a strong possibility of a new civil war on a larger scale than the previous one.

Previous “From The Vaults” articles at www.scross.co.za/vaults

What else made news in August 1931:

• Ramsay MacDonald (Labour) submits his resignation as prime minister of the United Kingdom and agrees to form a new coalition government which would include representatives of all three major parties.

• Tens of thousands die in China when a dam of the Yangtse-Kiang River bursts in a typhoon, and more than 10 000 people are killed in an earthquake in China’s Xinjiang region.

• The Mahatma Gandhi sets sail from Bombay to attend the Round Table Conference in London. “I see nothing on the horizon to warrant hope, but I am an optimist and I am hoping against hope,” he says before boarding.

• In Spain, 60 people die in an outbreak of the bubonic plage.

• Jazz star Bix Beiderbecke dies on August 6 at the age of 28 of lobar pneumonia and brain edema, reportedly aggravated by alcoholism.

Left: Three pairs of brothers play for the Marist football team in Cape Town. They are (from left) J & P O’Sullivan, F & E Penso, and James and Jack Markey.

Right: If you’re in Makhanda in 1931 and need a hat, you know where to go.

The Southern Cross

5

Your Questions answered

How can I explain original sin?

Do you have questions about our faith? Send them to: editor@scross.co.za Subject line: Q&A

Q. My son has left the Church but still likes to argue about various teachings. One argument regarded the teaching of “original sin”. He challenged me to explain why people born innocently as babies can be held responsible for something other people did thousands of years ago. I couldn’t. What should I have said?

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OUR SON IS NOT THE FIRST person to misunderstand the concept of original sin. In 2018, Rodrigo Duterte, the president of the Philippines, created a furore when he called God “stupid” because of original sin — for allowing others, he said, to be stained by something in which they were not involved.

The key, of course, is that we are not really “stained” by the sin of our first parents; instead we are simply deprived of what would otherwise have been ours — namely, the absence of suffering and death.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains it well. It says that “original sin is called ‘sin’ only in an analogical sense: it is a sin ‘contracted’ and not ‘committed’ — a state and not an act” (404).

Illuminated parchment from Spain made around 950 AD depicting the Fall of Man, the cause of original sin.

Further, the Catechism explains, “original sin does not have the character of a personal fault in any of Adam’s descendants. It is a deprivation of original holiness and justice, but human nature has not been totally corrupted. [...]

Baptism, by imparting the life of Christ’s grace, erases original sin and

Q. In the “Your Questions Answered” column on private revelations (May 2022), you referred to Vassula Rydén’s visions being rejected by the Vatican in 1995. On what grounds were they rejected?

V

6

ASSULA RYDÉN IS A RATHER controversial Egyptian-born Greek Orthodox mystic who is particular popular in some Catholic circles, also in South Africa, which she has visited. She claims to have received messages from Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary. The two main themes of these messages, and the books she has written about them, are repentance and Church unity.

In 1995, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) under Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (the later Pope Benedict XVI) determined that Rydén’s claimed revelations should not be considered supernatural. Bishops were asked to prevent the

The Southern Cross

spread of Rydén’s propositions in their dioceses. This was confirmed in 2007 by the CDF, which said it was “inappropriate for Catholics to take part in prayer groups” organised by Rydén. The Greek Orthodox Church has also instructed its faithful to disassociate from Rydén, with the Orthodox Church of Cyprus even judging her a heretic. Her popularity persisted regardless.

What is the Catholic Church’s problem with her? The CDF in 1995 noted several doctrinal errors, and regarded the nature in which the alleged revelations occurred as “suspect”. It concluded that “the alleged heavenly messages are merely the result of private meditations”. One of the problems the CDF raised concerned the misrepresentations of the Church’s teachings of the Holy Trinity. Rydén’s subsequent clarifications did not persuade the CDF.

Vassula Rydén in 2013.

Other Catholic investigations have warned that Rydén’s writings propose the consolidation of all Christian churches under a non-hierarchical system, which violates the Church’s principle of apostolic succession and papal authority.

In 1996, Cardinal Ratzinger said in a statement that “the faithful must not take the messages of Vassula Rydén as divine revelations, but only as her personal meditations”, explaining that in those meditations, “next to the positive aspects, there are negative elements in the light of Catholic doctrine”.

(Günther Simmermacher)

Photo: Kurman Communications/Flickr

What is the Church’s problem with this mystic?

turns a man back towards God, but the consequences for nature, weakened and inclined to evil, persist in man and summon him to spiritual battle” (405).

I don’t pretend that original sin is an easy doctrine to comprehend, and even the Catechism itself acknowledges that “the transmission of original sin is a mystery that we cannot fully understand” (404).

The way that makes sense to me (which I have used in instructing converts) is that, because of the failure of our first parents, we have been born into a world surrounded by sin and selfishness, which makes it more difficult for us to be good.

If my grandfather squandered away a fortune that would otherwise have been passed down to me, I would have lost out even though I had not been personally responsible. That, in my simple way of looking at things, is like original sin.

(Fr Kenneth Doyle)

Q. In Jerusalem there is a place that holds the tomb of Mary. But Our Lady was assumed body and soul into heaven, so why did she need a tomb?

M

ARY DIED ON MOUNT ZION, in the south of Jerusalem.

That location is now marked by the Benedictine Dormition Abbey.

When she closed her eyes for the last time — the Catholic Church doesn’t say whether or not she actually died, but Pope John Paul II said she did — her soul was received by Christ in heaven. But her lifeless body did not follow immediately.

To all appearances, Mary was dead, and therefore her remains needed a burial in a tomb, which would have taken place on the same day. That tomb in Jerusalem is located in what was then the Garden of Gethsemane at the foot of the Mount of Olives. Several churches stood there from the 4th century, when Christians were allowed to build ecclesiastical structures.

When later the Apostles arrived at the tomb, they found it empty, apart from her shroud. This is at the foundation of the belief in the

Assumption of Our Lady into Heaven.

The first written account of that goes back to 451 AD, when Juvenal, the patriarch of Jerusalem, noted that Mary's tomb was discovered to be empty on the third day after her burial. The shroud was still in existence and sent to Constantinople in 452. But the burial at Gethsemane was attested in several writings preceding Juvenal, possibly going back to the 1st century.

There is an alternative theory that Mary actually died in Ephesus, modern-day Turkey. That is predicated on the notion that John would have taken her with him when he went to that city. However, the consistent tradition of the Church locates her final days in Jerusalem. While Scripture notes that John went to Ephesus, it makes no mention of him being accompanied by Mary.

By then she might well have left our world. The Transitus Mariae, a collection of 4th-6th century writings about the Blessed Virgin’s life, suggest that Mary was no older than 50 when she closed her eyes. By that calculation, if one assumes that Mary

Why did Jesus tell a man to break rules?

Photo: Gail Fowler

If she was assumed, why did Mary need a tomb?

Crusader-era stairs lead to the crypt which holds Mary’s tomb in Jerusalem.

was at the youngest 13 when she gave birth to Jesus, and that Jesus was born around 4 BC (the year King Herod died), then the Blessed Virgin was born at the earliest around 17 BC. If she was indeed around 50 years old when she passed on, then that would have been in the year 33 AD, very soon after the crucifixion. And this would explain why all the Apostles could gather in one place, before they set off on their missionary journeys, and why St Paul makes no mention of having known Mary.

(Günther Simmermacher)

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Q. After healing the paralytic man at the Pools of Bethesda on the Sabbath, Jesus tells him to pick up his mat and walk away. The man is then challenged by his fellow Jews to explain why he is breaking the Sabbath rules by carrying his mat (John 5:1). Why would Jesus have caused this man trouble by telling him to pick up his mat?

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I

T IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT IN 1st-century Judaism there were several views about what was permissible on the Sabbath, and carrying a sleeping mat would not necessarily have been seen by all people as a breach of God’s Law. Anyhow, it is abundantly clear that Jesus was often challenging people to look afresh at what God wants us to do, and to see things differently.

The presence of God is admirably attested by the fact of the healing, which in Jesus’ mind is a very important sign of the Kingdom of God. And Jesus’ opponents appear not even to

“Christ Healing the Paralytic at Bethesda” (1592) by Palma il Giovane

have noticed this extraordinary phenomenon!

The healing of the Paralytic is a reminder that all of us need always to have our eyes opened to detect the presence and action of God. And that cannot be managed by simply “obeying the rules”.

(Fr Nicholas King SJ)

The Southern Cross

7

Let women rise in the Catholic Church

The Church has made progress in admitting women into leadership positions, but more needs to be done, as author Carolyn Woo told cindy wooden.

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HE CATHOLIC CHURCH AT ALL levels can find ways to involve more women in leadership positions, “but you have to start with wanting it. The ‘how’ follows the fact that you want it; that’s where the creativity opens up.” That is the view of Dr Carolyn Woo, a Hong Kong-born lay leader in the Catholic Church. The former president of Catholic Relief Services published a book earlier this year on the role of women in the Church, titled Rising: Learning from Women’s Leadership in Catholic Ministries (Orbis Books).

Lately, a number of women have been appointed to upper-level leadership positions at the Vatican. Among them are Salesian Sister Alessandra Smerilli as interim secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (and thus the highestranking woman in the Roman curia); Emilce Cuda as the secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America; and Sr Raffaella Petrini as secretary-general of the office governing Vatican City State. They join a woman serving as one of two undersecretaries of the Synod of Bishops; two women undersecretaries at the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life; the director of the Vatican Museums; and an undersecretary at the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.

Some argue that there could and should be more.

Pope Francis’ new constitution for the Roman curia, which took effect in June, now enables any baptised lay Catholics, including women, to head Vatican offices. Until now, most Vatican departments have been headed by male clerics, usually cardinals.

Woo said progress in inviting women into ministry, recognising their talents and calling them to leadership is “uneven”. However, she added, “we are not talking about evenness; we are talking about progress, about rising.

They have not risen totally, but they are rising.”

Carolyn Woo: “We should include women because we include men” in Church discussions and leadership positions.

Photo: Paul Haring/CNS

Does Church want women?

Woo’s book begins with a story about meeting a young woman who wondered if women leaders in the Church would ever be anything but exceptions because, the student said, “it seems that women are not welcomed by the Church and there are no doors that we can even knock on”. That encounter, Woo said, was not the first or last time a young woman said: “The Church doesn’t want us, it doesn’t value

them’.” And this gets “more and more negative” to the point that young women even stop going to Mass.

Woo said she wanted to set the record straight.

“There’s work for the Church to do.

There’s still sort of a lack of real hospitality to women. On the other hand, there’s also a lot which has been done.”

And, she said, it is important to counter the notion that women leading Catholic charitable, social service and healthcare ministries are involved in something less important to the life of the Catholic Church than the priests who celebrate Mass and the sacraments.

When career is a ministry A career becomes a ministry, Woo said, when “the focus is on the other” and making the lives of others better. In a ministry, “you serve because you believe that is what God calls you to do, you believe that it is a privilege that connects the neighbour to God and that when you serve your neighbour, you are serving God”.

In her book, Woo also looks at the term “feminine genius”, used often by Pope John Paul II and occasionally by his predecessors to talk about why the Church and the world need the active involvement of women. “While well intentioned, such references are packed with platitudes and stereotypes. Almost saintly measures of patience, endurance, sensitivity and gentleness are attributed to women,” she wrote. “The ‘feminine’ qualities are commendable, but they are definitely neither universal of all women nor unique only to women,” she wrote.

“I’ve always been a little allergic to that term [feminine genius]”, Woo told Catholic News Service in an interview.

“We should include women because we include men” in Church discussions and leadership positions, she said. All the baptised are called to contribute their talents to the building of God’s kingdom.—CNS

‘I’m a little allergic to the term “feminine genius” because it’s packed with platitudes’

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The Southern Cross

us, it diminishes women.”

With so few women in leadership in some areas of Church life and with ordination reserved to men, how the young woman came to that conclusion is understandable, Woo said, “but I thought it was so incomplete”. In parishes and dioceses, schools and universities, as well as regional and national Catholic organisations, like Catholic Relief Services, Woo said she has worked with many women in top leadership positions.

The misperception of that young woman and others, she said, “leads to decisions which are actually harmful for the Church and definitely harmful for their own faith; it gives them a sense of like, ‘It doesn’t want me; I don’t want

The Catechism made simple

Fr Vincent Brennan SMA (left) has created a simplified and accessible version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. We spoke to him about his new book.

A

RUSTENBURG-BASED PRIEST HAS PRODUCED A simplified version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, in order to make the teachings of the Church more accessible to people.

Fr Vincent Brennan, a priest of the Society of African Missions, said he compiled A Simplified Catechism of the Catholic Church to “present the essence of the Catechism of the Catholic Church of 1995 in a straightforward way and in language that would be understood by one who does not have a theological vocabulary. I wanted it to be readable in the sense that one would actually enjoy reading it and go back to it again and again.”

The former secretary-general of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) said that even the Youth Catechism (or YouCat), the abbreviated version of the Catechism directed at the youth and published in 2011, “is too crammed, attempting to say everything the 1995 Catechism said, and too full of cross-references and quotations”.

Fr Brennan sought to simplify the Catechism even further while retaining its essence.

“I used the word ‘simplified’, but a PhD parishioner said to me, ‘It is anything but simple.’ That pleased me, because I wanted to produce something that would be easily understood and enjoyed by, say, a secondary school student but also be something with a hidden depth that would excite the highlyeducated,” the Irish-born priest told The Southern Cross.

He said that in his experience, few Catholics owned copies of the Catechism in any form, and many people, whether in confirmation classes or adults, tend to have incomplete knowledge of the Church’s teachings. He hopes his book will help remedy that problem.

Time during lockdown

Afrikaans. In his foreword, SACBC president Bishop Sithembele Sipuka writes that Fr Brennan’s simplified Catechism is “comprehensive, and a good and precise summary of the 1995 Catechism”. The 148-page book, which includes a handy appendix of the Church’s common prayers, has the imprimatur of Bishop Robert Mogapi Mphiwe of Rustenburg.

A Simplified Catechism of the Catholic Church is available from some Catholic bookshops or directly from Fr Brennan at only R80 per copy. Orders of ten or more will be couriered free of charge. Contact Fr Brennan at vincentbrennansma@gmail.com

Catholic Institute of Education

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Educating today tomorrow for the common good.

Fr Brennan, who currently serves in the parish of St Theresa in Mogwase, Rustenburg, said that three things worked in his favour in compiling the simplified Catechism.

“First, I had been a teacher for many years. Secondly, I have been a parish priest and a preacher of the word of God for more years than I care to admit. And thirdly, I had time on my hands during lockdown.”

In writing the book, he studied the content of the 1995 Catechism, and how the same material was expressed in the 2005 Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and in YouCat, “and especially how A Catholic Catechism of the Kenyan Bishops’ Conference expressed and adapted it”.

Fr Brennan said that some bishops have responded to A Simplified Catechism of the Catholic Church with enthusiasm, and it is currently being translated into Tswana, Xhosa and The Southern Cross

9

9:40 AM

Church of faith and the people

Photo: Sheldon Reddiar

Regina Mundi:

Construction of the church of Regina Mundi in

Soweto, the ‘cathedral of the struggle’, began 60 years ago. Daluxolo Moloantoa tells its story.

I

T SEEMS RIGHT THAT ONE OF South Africa’s most important churches should be dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the patroness of our land. Regina Mundi church in Moroka, Soweto, is celebrating 60 years since its foundation stone was blessed by Cardinal Giovanni Montini, the future Pope St Paul VI on July 24, 1962. Its name means “Our Lady, Queen of the World”.

The A-shape of the structure may be an ordinary church design, but Regina Mundi’s significance in South Africa’s history is extraordinary — one indelibly associated with the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. The seminal Kairos Document of 1985, on the Christian response to apartheid, noted about Regina Mundi: “A church of the people.

A home and a voice in the struggle.

A place of suffering, protest and celebration. A sanctuary where the spiritual quest for justice and peace is sustained. A place where the hope for freedom is rekindled.”

The serene allure of Regina Mundi’s most prominent piece of art, the Black Madonna and the Child of Soweto, acts as a reminder

Architect Anthony Slaven’s vision of Regina Mundi before construction began in 1962. The church opened in 1964.

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of the church’s role in the struggle.

Created by renowned artist Lawrence Scully in 1973, the painting depicts a black Madonna and a black baby Jesus. It was donated to the church in 1974 by mining magnate Harry Oppenheimer. In all the political turbulence that followed June 16, 1976, the painting was never touched, neither by police bullets nor the vandals of the apartheid police, despite having been in the firing line on so many occasions.

Mass under a tree

The history of Regina Mundi predates the majestic church building that opened its doors in 1964. In the late 1940s, an Irish-born Catholic farmer, Robert McDonald, made a space available on his farm, in the

Women built the altar using bricks made of cow dung and sand shade of a now-famous tree, for the celebration of Mass. Soon a growing number of Catholics converged under the tree every Sunday for Mass, celebrated by Fr Anton Paulson OMI. Women built the altar using bricks made of cow dung and sand, and on Saturdays smoothed the area under the tree with the same materials. “Early on Sunday mornings, they would come back to tidy up, and make it beautiful. Then they would go home, wash themselves and come back for Holy Mass. The only unfortunate part about the exercise was that when it rained, the rain would destroy all their beautiful work,” recalled Willy Ntuli, who arrived in

Johannesburg from Vryheid in 1945 and joined the Regina Mundi church in 1960.

The construction of Regina Mundi church began in 1962. While the church was being built, Bishop Hugh Boyle of Johannesburg invited Cardinal Montini, the archbishop of Milan, Italy, who was on a tour of South Africa, to bless the foundation stone of the church. Long-time parishioner Emma Mbhele remembers that cold winter morning: “Many Catholics from near and far arrived at our church… We were told that when completed, the church would become the ‘cathedral’ of Soweto.”

The mammoth task of building the church was undertaken by Fr Gerard Coleman OMI, who had succeeded Fr Paulson at the church. The Oblate priest built several churches in Soweto.

Architect Anthony Slaven drew up the plan, and it was decided that this would become the largest Catholic church in South Africa — a prophetic decision in view of the thousands who would need its sanctuary during the troubled years between 1976 and 1989. Regina Mundi still is South Africa’s largest Catholic church, holding 3 000 people seated, plus 4 000 standing.

The church was officially opened on August 16, 1964. Fikile Mlotshwa, a long-time parishioner of the church and mother of Oblate provincial Fr Zweli Mlotshwa, described the week leading up to the event: “The opening of the new Regina Mundi church was a dream come true for all of us. It was a moment of pride for the Catholic community of Soweto.

We had a church which towered high above others. Seen from far-off

Left: Fr Lawrence Ndlovu greets congregants as priests proceed into Regina Mundi church for the launch of the new pastoral plan in January 2020. Centre: Cardinal Giovanni Montini of Milan, the future Pope Paul VI, blesses the foundation stone of Regina Mundi on July 24, 1962, assisted by Fr Gerald Coleman OMI. Right: Casspirs outside Regina Mundi church during the struggle against apartheid.

Kliptown, it looked like a large shipping vessel.

“The church was a beehive of activity in the week leading up to the official opening. We children cleaned up the church pews.

Women were on their knees, scrubbing and polishing the floors.

The men cleaned the church yard. A cow was slaughtered for the festivities. Pope Paul VI sent a big Easter candle, as a remembrance of his visit to our church,” she recalled.

Bullets and teargas

From the late 1970s, Regina Mundi increasingly became the centre of anti-apartheid activity in Soweto. Funerals, meetings and protest rallies were held at the church. Archbishop Buti Tlhagale of Johannesburg, parish priest at Regina Mundi in 1977, remembered: “The political events which took place at the church after the June 16, 1976, riots kept the struggle alive. At the end of virtually every event, the police would come and violently disperse the gathered crowds. They became dramatic events.”

The archbishop recalled: “Fences were trampled. Church pews were broken. Doors were battered. Teargas was thrown into the church. The teargas became the incense of the day. Struggle songs replaced church hymns. The teargas drove the activists helter-skelter as they ran out of the church, only to endure the waiting police sjamboks outside.

Many people sustained heavy injuries. But it did not deter them from attending the next event.”

Both the interior and the external walls of the church still bear the signs of the police bullets.

Regina Mundi church’s role in

Regina Mundi church is not a museum – it is an active Catholic parish the anti-apartheid struggle was recalled when it was chosen to be the venue for the first Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) hearings in 1996. It was a sort of “homecoming” for TRC commissioner Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The Anglican bishop had been closely associated with the Catholic church due to his fiery words from its pulpit during the struggle against apartheid. The church has evolved into a centre of memory and heritage in the postapartheid era.

In 1997, Nelson Mandela visited the church on the occasion of the

The Black Madonna of Regina Mundi, painted by Lawrence Scully in 1973

declaration of November 20 as Regina Mundi Day. In his speech, he said: “Graduates of Regina Mundi are making important contributions to the reconstruction and development of our country. Such was the role of this church in the lives of many poor people. Such was the esteem with which it was held that it became popularly known as ‘the People’s Church’.”

In the post-millenium era, the Queen of the World is still going strong. When Mandela died in 2013, the official government commemoration service for the people of Soweto was held at the church. More recently, in December 2021, it hosted the funeral Mass for Lindiwe Mabuza, a poet and former South African high commissioner to the UK.

A vibrant parish

But despite its status as a place of political pilgrimage, Regina Mundi church is not a museum. It is an active Catholic parish, with a vibrant community and liturgical life, a place where The Southern Cross is on sale, children are catechised, and the poor are supported — and where funds are raised to fix the leaking roof. The current parish priest is Fr Nqobile Mzolo OMI. The Catholic Church of Southern Africa also honours the place of Regina Mundi in its history, present and future. When the bishops launched the new pastoral plan in January 2020, they chose Regina Mundi as the venue.

Regina Mundi church continues to be an enduring symbol of resilience and hope. She is an example of the home all Christians wish to reach one day: the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Southern Cross

11

75 Years Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference

Where the SACBC is today

This year the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) turns 75.

For the occasion, Günther Simmermacher asked its president, Bishop

Sithembele Sipuka (pictured) about the SACBC’s achievements and challenges.

Günther Simmermacher: What do you regard as the accomplishments of the SACBC in its 75-year history?

Bishop Sipuka: From a pastoral perspective, I wish to note the enormous contribution of the missionaries who were at the helm of leadership and constituted a significant proportion of the personnel when the SACBC started 75 years ago.

They designed methods of evangelisation. The Lumko method was the most prominent and successful one, but there were others as well.

They also built the infrastructure for evangelisation, including schools, hospitals, pastoral centres, the Lumko Institute, printing press for prayer and liturgical books, farms, vocational centres and, of course, churches.

This continued later under leadership that is incrementally becoming local. Lumko was maintained, and various departments to advance evangelisation were established. With time and mainly due to decreasing numbers of missionary personnel from overseas and a decline in international funding, many of these evangelisation institutions closed down.

However, schools and clinics, which continue to provide excellent service and good influence, are continuing. When HIV and Aids erupted, and the South African government adopted a denialist approach to the challenge of Aids, the SACBC provided the most viable care to people infected and affected by Aids, and became the best non-governmental institution in the Conference area to offer comprehensive support and care to HIV-infected people.

The last two pastoral plans of 1989 and 2020 were informed by the pastoral situations of the three countries of the

T

For much of its 75 years, the SACBC had to contend with apartheid…

Although at concrete levels and in some particular situations, the Church was influenced by official racism of the time — for example, in some congregations and dioceses, local black vocations were not accepted, and when they were, discriminatory attitudes and practices were meted out against them. But at the official level, the Church maintained a sustained prophetic stance, particularly in the 1970s and ’80s.

When the Bantu Education system was introduced [in the 1950s], the SACBC resisted and kept its schools open. But besides that, nothing much was done by the Church about the struggle. Perhaps this was because most of the Church’s leadership was composed of missionaries from outside, some of whom did not fully appreciate what was going on or were reluctant to risk getting too involved and face deportation. However, from the 1970s, this changed.

While it was illegal to have black and whites trained in one

What exactly is the SACBC?

he Southern African Bishops’ Conference comprises 28 ecclesiastical territories — five archdioceses, 21 dioceses and one vicariate — in South Africa, Botswana and Swaziland.

It is an association of local ordinaries (other than vicars general), their coadjutors, auxiliaries and other titular bishops who perform special work entrusted to them by the Apostolic See, or by the conference itself. The SACBC is headed by a troika, which serves once-renewable three-year terms. The current president is Bishop Sithembele Sipuka of Mthatha, with Archbishop Dabula Mpako of Pretoria and Bishop Graham Rose of Dundee as vice-presidents.

The bishops’ conference is primarily a consultative body and its resolutions

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Conference, and the implementation process is discussed and monitored by the SACBC. In 1989 the bishops issued a pastoral plan titled “Community Serving Humanity”. It sought to encourage ownership of the Church by the laity by living out their daily Christian call to pray and to engage on social issues from the biblical and social teaching of the Church perspective. Another milestone was the second pastoral plan, “Community Serving God, Humanity and Creation”, which we launched in 2020. It focuses again on creating well-informed Catholics about their faith and responding to social and environmental issues.

The Southern Cross

outside the cases mentioned below have no binding force on the ordinaries or their subjects, except in so far as individual ordinaries consent to support them. Decisions of the SACBC are binding only when prescribed by common law, or specified by a special mandate of the Holy See, or in response to a petition from the conference. The latter are made by a two-thirds majority of those present, and are reviewed by the Holy See. The SACBC is empowered to set up departments for the fostering of special objectives and activities in accordance with clearly defined terms of reference

but without legislative power. Their work is directed by the administrative board which acts as the standing committee of the SACBC. It includes the troika, episcopal heads of departments, and the cardinal.

Based at Khanya House in Waterkloof, Pretoria, the day-to-day running of the SACBC and its departments is directed by the general secretariat. The current secretary-general is Fr Hugh O’Connor, with Sr Phuthunywa Siyali HC serving as associate secretary-general. Both were interviewed in the January 2022 issue of The Southern Cross (see inset image).

75 Years Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference

Most of our current bishops at the plenary session earlier this year, and (right) the staff of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference with Bishop Sithembele Sipuka in 2019.

institution, the SACBC established one seminary system for all seminarians, irrespective of race or culture. The 1980s saw the SACBC being one of the most vocal institutions against apartheid, so much so that its offices in Pretoria were bombed by the apartheid regime. In the ’80s, the SACBC took a stand to support sanctions against South Africa to encourage an end to the apartheid system. This sensitivity towards matters of justice and peace has continued to characterise the SACBC to this day.

How are issues of social justice still relevant today?

The fight for justice has taken a different shape from what it was in the 1970s and ’80s. The SACBC region is one of the high-ranking conference areas with the biggest gap between the rich and poor and our society is riddled with many forms of injustice. Our Justice & Peace Commission, therefore, concerns itself with many issues of injustice that range from advocating for the cause of vulnerable people, labour and unemployment issues, rural economy, challenging inequitable access to health, education and water and sanitation for the poor, the transformation of universal health coverage, advocating against exploitation of miners, tackling policies that harm the environment, addressing the problem of corruption, tackling violence against women and children, and so on.

The focus on apartheid stunted development of other areas in the local Church’s mission, didn’t it?

For a long time, due to the anti-apartheid concerns that dominated the SACBC, other aspects of the Catholic Church’s life and mission remained underdeveloped, such as the promotion of local vocations to priestly life as well as religious life. Today we are struggling with this in South Africa. For example, several once very active religious congregations are now struggling to continue. Also, the ever-vacillating numbers of local vocations to the priesthood leads to short-term planning and creates continual uncertainty concerning available finances and resources for the seminaries.

Although there is a shortage of personnel in the SACBC, we consider that, unlike 15 years ago, the seminaries of the Conference are now staffed mainly by local priests.

When the SACBC was founded in 1947 and when the SA Hierarchy was established in 1951, all bishops were white.

Today, only nine of South Africa’s 26 active bishops are white. How far has the South African Church transformed, 28 years after liberation?

Yes, this is the work of the Holy Spirit. We are getting more black bishops. The conference has been transformed in that we see fewer white and more black faces, but though we speak of black and white faces in the Conference, for the most part, one does not even think or view other bishops as different.

However, we are aware of occasional and unconscious lingering tendencies that are racially informed. We were able to name these, for example, at a recent workshop which we, as bishops, had on racism.

The change of face from mainly white to predominantly black is also true at other levels of the Church, for example in seminaries and parishes. But we still battle to have white and black cohesion and coming together for diocesan and national activities. I would say that there is less open racism, but it exists as an undercurrent that occasionally and unconsciously surfaces. There is more openness on the black than on the white side.

The continued privilege of whites, culturally and economically, in my view, makes many whites feel superior and comfortable in their failure to reach out to blacks, which is a societal problem. They are not pressurised to learn African languages, while necessity forces black people to learn English and Afrikaans. Our parish communities largely reflect these differences, and one can presume that if our socio-economic situation improves, this will also help positively transform our society and church communities. Economic transformation or equity will go a long way towards bridging the division between blacks and whites.

How do the bishops relate to one another?

Relationally among bishops, there is a good and supportive fraternal spirit, with the freedom to robustly discuss matters and differ in views without tensions or “factions”. It is a platform that enables us to share our joys, sorrows and challenges as bishops in charge of dioceses in Southern Africa, and to come to common guidelines unanimously.

Our Conference is reasonably provided with bishops.

With the recent ordination of a new bishop in Kokstad, all but one diocese now have resident bishops, and even the one that has no bishop is served by a resident administrator who is a bishop [Cardinal Wilfrid Napier in Eshowe].

And the relationship with the apostolic nuncios?

I want to note the good relations we have had with the nunciature over these past 75 years. Except perhaps for one in the ’80s, the apostolic delegates and nuncios we have had in the Conference have been helpful in our relationship with Rome.

They are respectful, friendly, and dialogical in our working relationship with them. We have not had a feeling of being bullied or undermined, but a sense that the nunciature is at our service with good brotherly relations with the local bishops.

The day-to-day running of the SACBC takes place at Khanya House in Pretoria. How is that set up?

One of the recent major developments was to move the administrative offices of the SACBC from the city centre building of 399 Paul Kruger Street, Pretoria, to 129 Main Street in Waterkloof. The former was proving to be more expensive to run and had become less efficient and user-unfriendly. In contrast, the latter is a more user-friendly, smaller, modern and manageable building in a quiet environment. In addition to the convenience and lower running costs, the new SACBC buildings look beautiful. (Continued on page 14) The Southern Cross

13

75 Years Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference Our structures have been successful, thanks to the efficient coordination of secretaries and directors of various offices and departments. In 2013, the bishops decided to restructure the Conference towards a more coordinated way of working, informed by the intention to evangelise. The bishops wanted each department to ask and answer the question of how its programmes and activities advance the work of evangelisation.

The bishops wanted a more streamlined Conference that would enable a coordinated way of working. The aim is to eliminate duplication and even competition among departments, and to promote collaboration among related departments for effective identification and handling of real issues.

The merging of departments, commissions and offices led to a reduction of departments from nine to six, with an overarching Council for Evangelisation, which is a coordinating and monitoring body that seeks to ensure synergy among departments and alignment with the core vision of the Conference, which is evangelisation.

The SACBC also looks beyond its borders. How? In the recent past, the SACBC has tried to express its international character of being constituted of three countries — Botswana, Eswatini and South Africa — and occasionally alternates its venue for plenary meetings among them. It also tries to concern itself with issues affecting the three countries of the Conference.

The SACBC understands its universal character and extends its attention and participation beyond the borders of its territory. It participates and contributes to regional and continental episcopal conferences, namely the Inter-Regional Meeting of the Bishops of Southern Africa (Imbisa) and the Symposium of the Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (Secam). Two of its members have served as presidents of Imbisa, and currently, one member of the SACBC is serving as the first vice-president of Secam [Bishop Sipuka himself].

Through its Denis Hurley Peace Institute, the SACBC continues to collaborate with other similar bodies to facilitate peace in situations of conflict across the African continent.

The SACBC is awake to the challenges facing the Church in other African countries, and often expresses support and solidarity through solidarity visits and written statements. So we have a good outward focus towards the world and don’t just focus on ourselves.

Next month: Part 2 of the interview

14

The Southern Cross

A brief history of the SACBC

L

ITTLE FUSS WAS MADE WHEN THE Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) first met in March 1947 in Mariannhill. There was no grand announcement nor a big celebration — other than that associated with the episcopal ordination of Bishop Denis Hurley for what was then the vicariate of Natal.

Southern African bishops had been gathering before, usually for purposes of funerals, jubilees and ordinations, such as that of Bishop Hurley, which brought them together 75 years ago. On one such occasion in 1919, the assembled bishops had given the go-ahead for the founding of The Southern Cross as the national weekly newspaper (it became a magazine the month of its centenary in October 2020). But these were ad hoc meetings.

In the 1940s, the apostolic delegate, Archbishop Martin Lucas SVD, urged the bishops of Southern Africa to constitute themselves as a bishops’ conference. With travel having become easier than before, this would enable the local Church leaders to meet on a regular basis, to cooperate more closely, and to speak with one voice, if necessary — and the rise of apartheid soon after made the latter frequently necessary.

The first pastoral letter by the bishops’ conference was issued after that initial plenary in March 1947. It called on the faithful to build up the Church in

South Africa, for example by modelling their home on the Holy Family, and by sending their children to Catholic schools.

Hierarchy established The SACBC elected its first president with the establishment of the local hierarchy in 1951 (see our January 2021 issue). That moment saw the restructuring of the old vicariates into dioceses, with four metropolitan sees (or archdioceses): Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria.

The first SACBC president was Archbishop Hurley, who served in that position until 1961, and again from 1981-87.

He was succeeded by Archbishop (later Cardinal) Owen McCann (1961-74), Archbishop Joseph Fitzgerald (1974-81), Bishop Reginald Orsmond (198788), Bishop (later Cardinal) Wilfrid Napier (1988-94, 2003-06), Bishop Louis Ndlovu (1994-2003), Archbishop Buti Tlhagale (2007-13), Archbishop Stephen Brislin (2013-19), and since 2019 Bishop Sithembele Sipuka.

The SACBC was slow in opposing apartheid, though quicker than most other Churches. Conscious of the regime’s innate hostility towards the Catholic Church, the bishops often took a conciliatory position towards the government. This was driven largely by a concern for maintaining the Church’s network of schools and hospitals. Though

The SACBC bishops, staff and advisers in 1976. Go to www.scross.co.za/2020/12/ sa-bishops-in-1976/ for identification of all the 40 men and two women pictured.

(File photo, colourised for The Southern Cross)

75 Years Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference

The bishops and prefects apostolic of South Africa with leading priests in 1947. (Front from left), Bishops Hurley, Colbert, Chichester, O’Leary, Fleischer, apostolic delegate Archbishop Lucas, Bishops Hennemann, Gothard, Meysing, Thünemann and Mgr Riegler.

(Back) Frs Feurer CMM, Baur SMB, Dom Lambert OSB, Frs Hartjies OMI, Catocci OSM, Winterle CSSp, Mgr Lück SCJ, Mgr Schaff OSB, Mgr Rosenthal SAC, Fr van t’Westeinde OSFS, Mgr Boyle, Mgr Lucas OFM, Fr Hebert OMI, Mgr Koenig SAC, and Fr Hyis OSFS. The monsignori were prefects apostolic without an episcopal title at the time.

a first carefully-worded statement against apartheid was issued in 1952, that attitude changed in 1953 when the regime sought to enforce its Bantu Education on Catholic schools. The SACBC spearheaded a huge fundraising campaign to ensure the independence of its schools.

Catholic schools would remain a thorn in apartheid’s side. When in the mid-1970s the Dominican Sisters unilaterally decided to open their schools to all races, with other congregations quickly following suit, the SACBC was caught flat-footed. After an initially cautious response, they soon fully supported the move. Schools apartheid was smashed, at least in private institutions.

news about apartheid oppression and the people’s response to it. The weekly, which published until 1997, became the first alternative newspaper to be banned, for three months, in 1988.

The same year, in October 1988, the SACBC headquarters in Pretoria, Khanya House, was bombed. In 2000, amnesty for the bombing was granted by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to 19 former security police members, including the notorious Eugene de Kock.

In 1983, a group of Catholic bishops, led by Archbishop Hurley, was the first official delegation of South Africans to formally meet with the African National Congress in exile, in a London hotel.

Apartheid ‘intrinsically evil’

Post-apartheid challenges

In 1957, the SACBC issued its first condemnation of apartheid. Led by Archbishop Hurley, it denounced apartheid as “intrinsically evil”. But the conference was not united in its stance against apartheid. In the mid-1960s, the polarisation within came to a head when Archbishop William Whelan of Bloemfontein, a man who preferred accommodation with apartheid, clashed publicly with his fellow Oblate, Archbishop Hurley. The apostolic delegates of those times also favoured a more diplomatic approach.

According to one scholar, the Catholic Church in South Africa was at once victim, accomplice and perpetrator.

By the late 1970s, the bishops had positioned themselves more unequivocally against apartheid, no doubt influenced by the uprisings of 1976 and the ongoing detentions, torture and bannings of priests, such as that of Fr Smangaliso Mkhatshwa — who was appointed secretary-general of the SACBC in 1981, even though he was still under banning orders.

In the 1980s, this opposition became increasingly outspoken, and the regime’s response more severe. In 1986 the SACBC founded the weekly newspaper New Nation as a means of propagating

The dawn of democracy in 1994 changed the bishops’ focus to other social and moral issues. The SACBC strongly opposed the legalisation of abortion in 1997, and in the 2000s turned its focus on the HIV/Aids pandemic. While the bishops were divided on the use of condoms as a means of preventing transmis-

sion of the virus, they found common ground in setting up the SACBC Aids Office, which under the guidance of Sr Alison Munro OP and Johan Viljoen was the first body in South Africa to systematically set up retroviral treatment clinics, at a time when the Mbeki government declined to do so. The Aids Office continues to do outstanding work today.

Through the Denis Hurley Peace Institute, the Southern African Church was also engaged in peacemaking activities in other parts of Africa, including the mediation leading to South Sudan’s independence in 2011. Throughout the SACBC, different departments and associate bodies are making a difference in fields as diverse as social justice, social and economic development (especially in rural areas), education, health, human trafficking, ecumenism, evangelisation and formation, and so on.

These activities are guided by the current pastoral plan, “Evangelising Community, Serving God, Humanity and All Creation”, which was launched in January 2020 to succeed the 1989 pastoral plan, “Community Serving Humanity”.

Within the global Church, the SACBC was blazing a trail by elevating women to leadership positions. In the early 1980s, Sr Brigid Flanagan HF served as associate secretary-general, at a time when Fr Mkhatshwa was limited in his activities by his banning orders. In 2005, Sr Hermenegild Makoro CPS was first appointed associate secretary-general, and from 2012-20 secretary-general. Currently Sr Phuthunywa Siyali HC is the associate secretary-general, working with Fr Hugh O’Connor.

While in 1947, all bishops were white and many of them missionaries, 75 years later, 18 of the currently-serving 28 bishops are of colour, and 22 are locally-born.

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Why the pope prays the ANGELUS publicly on Sundays

I

T ALL STARTED 68 YEARS AGO with Luigi Gedda, an Italian Catholic doctor, political activist, and influential lay leader.

In the Marian Year of 1954, Gedda — then president of the association Azione Cattolica (Catholic Action) — convinced his friend Pope Pius XII to recite the midday Angelus publicly from the window of his private study.

So on August 15, the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, Pius XII addressed Catholics in Rome and around the world over Vatican Radio, inviting them to join him “in the pious greeting to the Mother of God”.

This was the beginning of a papal custom that takes place every Sunday and on every Marian solemnity, when the pope appears at the window of his library in the Apostolic Palace at noon to lead the faithful gathered below in St Peter’s Square in praying the Angelus in Latin.

History of the Angelus

The Angelus has its roots in a medieval practice of praying the Hail Mary three times in a row, as recommended by St Anthony of Padua. In the 1200s, a group of Franciscans proposed that the practice be done in the evening after praying Compline (Night

Photo: Vatican Media/CNA

Every Sunday at noon, the pope appears at a window overlooking St Peter’s Square and prays the Angelus. Hannah Brockhaus explains how that came to be

Pope Francis after praying the Angelus in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace.

Prayer), as a way of meditating on the mystery of Christ’s incarnation. A bell would be rung to remind the friars and others that it was time to pray the Hail Marys. Over the centuries, the three Hail Marys began to be prayed also in the morning and at midday.

Today, the prayer also includes words from the Annunciation, the Angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary that she had been chosen to be the Mother of God, and a closing prayer.

Evidence of the modern iteration is found as early as the 1500s, in a book called the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was printed in Rome during the reign of Pope Pius V, and a handbook for

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Catholics published in Antwerp, Belgium, in 1588.

At the Vatican, many offices have the custom of pausing work every day to pray the Angelus together at noon.

During the Easter season, the Angelus is replaced with the Regina Coeli (“O Queen of Heaven”), a Marian antiphon prayed or sung during Easter.

Livestreamed prayer

Over the years, popes have used the moment before the recitation of the Marian prayer to give a short catechesis, message, or appeal.

Pope Francis does not stay at the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo, located outside Rome, but the popes who did would recite the Angelus from the palace during their period of rest.

At certain points during the Covid-19 pandemic, to avoid crowds of people gathering in St Peter’s Square, Pope Francis said the prayer via livestream from inside his study.

The Angelus is broadcast live around the world and streamed on the Internet. The bells of St Peter’s basilica always ring at noon, right before the pope appears at the palace window for this custom honouring the Blessed Virgin Mary.—CNA

Saint of the Month: St MAXIMILIAN KOLBE

The remarkable martyr to Nazis

He was a Franciscan, writer, publisher, monastery founder, missionary, and martyr of charity.

The life of St Maximilian Kolbe is reviewed

by Günther Simmermacher.

T

HE GREAT POLISH SAINT Maximilian Kolbe is mostly remembered for his martyrdom to the inhumanity of Nazism at Auschwitz concentration camp. Indeed, the heroism of that martyrdom — Fr Kolbe volunteered to give his life so that a family father could live — is the defining culmination of his most remarkable life.

Maximilian was born as Rajmund Kolbe on January 8, 1894 at Zdunska Wola near Lodz in Poland, then part of the Russian Empire. He was the second son of a poor weaver and a midwife.

His parents, Juliusz (an ethnic German, hence the surname) and Maria, were devout Catholics with a particular devotion to Our Lady, which they passed on to their children.

As a 12-year-old the future saint had a Marian vision. Having been reprimanded for naughty behaviour that day, he prayed to Our Lady. Kolbe later recalled the event: “That night I asked the Mother of God what was to become of me. Then she came to me holding two crowns: one white, the other red. She asked me if I was willing to accept either of these crowns. The white one meant that I should persevere in purity, and the red that I should become a martyr. I said that I would accept them both.”

St Maximilian at a glance

Name at birth: Rajmund Kolbe Born: January 8, 1894, in Zduńska Wola, Russian Empire (now Poland) Died: August 14, 1941 at Auschwitz-Birkenau, German-occupied Poland Beatified: 1971 Canonised: 1982 Feast: August 14 Patronages: Families, drug addiction recovery, prisoners, political prisoners, journalists, amateur radio operators, pro-life movement

Military or Franciscans?

Young Rajmund and his older brother Franciszek were educated at a Franciscan seminary school, but Rajmund’s interest initially resided in the military, and his attendant Polish patriotism and mind for strategy would probably have served him well. Instead he chose the priesthood as a Franciscan friar — a role, he realised early, in which his strategic mind could be applied to the things of God instead of those of death.

Rajmund entered the Franciscan order as a 16-year-old in September 1910. With the habit he also received a new name: Maximilian (or Maksymilian in the Polish spelling), to which he later added Maria, in tribute to Our Lady. From 1912-15 he studied philosophy at the Gregorian College in Rome, and from 1915-19 theology at the Collegio Serafico, as the Pontifical University of St Bonaventure is commonly known. Having made his final vows in 1914, he was ordained to the priesthood in Rome on April 28, 1918.

He returned to his beloved Poland, now an independent state, the following year. By then, he had lost his father, who was hanged by the Russians as a fighter for Poland’s independence.

While studying in Rome, Maximilian had witnessed virulently anti-

The faces of St Maximilian Kolbe: As a young man, a priest, a missionary in Japan, and his last photo before his arrest by the Gestapo.

Catholic protests by the Freemasons, and decided to act upon these by organising the Militia Immaculata (Army of the Immaculate One). The purpose of the movement was to work for the conversion of the enemies of the Church, especially the Freemasons, through Mary’s intercession. He continued his Marian work in Poland, where he initially lectured at the seminary of Krakow.

Magazine founder

As a newly-independent state, Poland was still finding its direction.

Fr Kolbe was strongly anti-communist and, obviously, devoted to the Catholic apostolate. In January 1922 he began to offer some direction by founding a monthly religious magazine titled Rycerz Niepokalanej (Knight of the Immaculata), which he based on the French devotional publication Le Messager du Coeur de Jesus. At its peak in the early 1930s, it had a circulation of 750 000. To go with that project, he set up a religious publishing press in Grodno (now in Belarus) which he ran until 1926.

In 1927 Fr Kolbe turned his sights to bigger things: he founded a Franciscan monastery at a site west of Warsaw which was provided by Prince Jan Drucko-Lubecki. He first erected a Marian statue, and then led the building of the monastery which he named Niepokalanów — meaning “City of the Immaculate”. The monastery went on to become a major religious publishing centre, bringing out an influential daily newspaper (of a rather right-wing direction), apart from the Rycerz Niepokalanej and other media.

Niepokalanów also became the site of a junior seminary to accommodate a flood of vocations from across Poland.

By 1938 it was one of the biggest Franciscan friaries in the world, with The Southern Cross

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St Maximilian Kolbe

The

S outhern Cross

‘

’

Let us not forget that Jesus not only suffered but also rose in glory; so, too, we go to the glory of the resurrection by the way of suffering and the Cross.

A Timeline of St Maximilian 1894

Born as Rajmund Kolbe on January 8 in Zdunska Wola, now Poland but then part of the Russian Empire, to the weaver Juliusz Kolbe and midwife Maria Dąbrowska.

publishing centre. A junior seminary is opened there in 1929.

1930

1906

Leaves Poland to become a missionary, first unsuccessfully in Shanghai and then with success in Nagasaki, Japan.

1914

1939

Has a vision of the Virgin Mary. Told 1936 that he would become a martyr, he Returns to Poland, and suffers ill accepted this. health, an after-effect from bouts of tuberculosis in the 1920s.

1910 Enters the Franciscan novitiate with 1938 older brother Franciszek, and takes Starts Radio Niepokalanów. the name of Maximilian.

Nazi Germany invades Poland; Fr Kolbe declines an option of preferential treatment as an 1917 Forms the “Army of the Immaculate ethnic German.

One” after witnessing anti-papal 1941 protests by Freemasons, to work On February 18, the Germans shut for conversion of sinners and down Niepokalanów monastery and enemies of the Catholic Church arrest Fr Kolbe. On 28 May, he is through the intercession of the transferred to Auschwitz as prisVirgin Mary. oner 16670. There he is frequently tortured.

1918 Is ordained a priest after studies in Takes the place of a condemned Rome since 1912. Returns to Poland inmate in late July, and is in a group of ten to be starved to death. the following year.

Refusing to die, he is killed by a 1922 lethal injection on August 14.

While teaching at Krakow Seminary, 1971 founds the monthly magazine Rycerz Niepokalanej (Knight of the Is beatified by Pope Paul VI. Immaculata), and sets up a printing 1982 press in Grodno.

Is canonised by his compatriot 1927 Pope John Paul II on October 10, 1982, in the presence of Franciszek Founds a Franciscan monastery at Gajowniczek, the condemned man Niepokalanów, near Warsaw. It becomes a major religious whose place he took at Auschwitz.

Makes final vows as a Franciscan.

The cover of the magazine St Maximilian Kolbe founded • The Auschwitz cell in which he was put to death • Franciszek Gajowniczek, the man whose life St Maximilian saved, seen in his concentration camp uniform.

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more than 700 people living there. Among the 500 Brothers there were doctors, dentists, farmers, mechanics, tailors, builders, printers, gardeners, shoemakers, cooks and so on. The monastery was entirely self-sustaining, and even had its own firebrigade.

Going to Japan

By 1930 Fr Maximilian was on the move again. Having founded a Marian movement, a publishing house and a monastery, he decided to be a missionary in Asia. Asked whether he had the funding for his missionary journey, he replied: “Money? It will turn up somehow or other. Mary will see to it. It’s her business and her Son’s.” So he departed for Asia with a band of four Brothers.

They first went to Shanghai in China but failed to find a following there. Instead they tried their hand in Japan, founding a Franciscan monastery in Nagasaki where Fr Kolbe introduced a Japanese edition of the Knight of the Immaculata magazine, titled Seibo no Kishi. Fr Kolbe wisely resisted the impulse to impose Western values on the Japanese, and rather inculturated the Catholic faith with local customs. The monastery would survive the atomic bomb attack on Nagasaki in 1945 and remains an important Catholic site in Japan today.

Within a year of arriving in Nagasaki, Fr Kolbe was getting restless again: this time to go to Malabar in India. He founded another monastery there, but this one was shortlived as his Franciscan superiors recalled him to Nagasaki.

Nazi persecution

Due to poor health, Fr Kolbe returned to Niepokalanów in 1936. Two years later he founded a radio station there, aptly called Radio Niepokalanów.

But war loomed. In September 1939 Germany invaded Poland, quickly capturing Warsaw. Encountering the Polish priest Fr Kolbe, the Nazis offered him protection on account of his German ancestry. Fr Kolbe refused to sign the Deutsche Volks-liste, which gave ethnic Germans rights similar to those of German citizens.

Instead he was detained for 11 weeks, being released on December 8 — the feast of the Immaculate Conception.

Niepokalanów meanwhile became a refuge for 3 000 people, including 2 000 Jews, seeking protection from Nazi persecution. The monastery also served as a hospital.

Some critics have accused Fr Kolbe of anti-Semitism, largely because of questionable content in publications he had founded. On at least two occasions, he made anti-Semitic statements, framed within attacks of freemasonry. But at the same time, his monastery sheltered many Jews hiding from the Nazis. His views are

made clear in the report of a local Catholic who later recalled: “When Jews came to me asking for a piece of bread, I asked Fr Maximilian if I could give it to them in good conscience, and he answered me, ‘Yes, it is necessary to do this, because all men are our brothers.’” It’s a sentiment he repeated many times.

Sent to Auschwitz

Fr Kolbe had permission from the German occupiers to continue publishing strictly religious material, which he did. But the Niepokalanów printing works also secretly churned out anti-Nazi pamphlets. This came to an end on February 17, 1941. That day the Niepokalanów monastery was shut down and Fr Kolbe and four others were arrested by the Gestapo.

First imprisoned in the notorious Pawiak prison in Warsaw, where he was tortured, Fr Kolbe was transferred to the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp near Krakow on May 28 that year. There he was given the prisoner number 16670. Fr Maximilian might have worn the striped uniform of a concentration camp prisoner, but he was still a priest, and served accordingly. The Nazis tried to break his spirit with extra hard labour, brutal beatings and even whippings, but the priest could not be broken.

In late July three prisoners managed to escape from Auschwitz. This was good news for the escapees but had harsh consequences for those left behind. As a deterrent for anyone who might think of escaping, the deputy camp commander picked ten men at random to be starved to death in an underground cell. Among the ten was a 39-year-old Polish sergeant, Franciszek Gajowniczek, who in his desperation cried out: “My wife! My children!” Fr Kolbe stepped forward and asked to take the man’s place. He

The story of Kolbe’s beard

S

OME OF THE MOST POPULAR photos of St Maximilian Kolbe show him with a long beard, which he grew during his six years of missionary work in Japan. In those days, it was customary for missionaries to grow long beards, and after returning to Poland, he wanted to keep it as a reminder of his missionary days.

The signature beard made him unusual among his fellow Conventual Franciscan friars, who generally did not wear them. Kolbe’s fame was spreading in Poland thanks to his publishing work, and his unusual beard helped him to stand out all the more.

But it was for this reason that Kolbe eventually, after the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, made the decision to shave it off — so as not to stand out, according to Fr James McCurry OFM, author of

was permitted to do so.

Over the next days, nine of the ten prisoners starved to death or were otherwise killed by the SS. In their suffering they were led in prayer by Fr Maximilian, initially loudly and eventually in weak whispers. In the end only the priest was still alive — and he just wouldn’t die. He would be seen standing or kneeling in prayer, disconcerting the guards with his serenity.

On August 14, after two weeks of starvation, Fr Kolbe was still alive. The Nazis had had enough and put an end to his life with an injection of carbolic acid. As the guards approached with the needle, Fr Kolbe quietly raised his left arm. The Blessed Virgin’s promise of martyrdom had been fulfilled. His remains were cremated in the ovens of

the book Maximilian Kolbe: Martyr of Charity.

“Beards provoke the enemy who rapidly is approaching our friary.

Our Franciscan habits also will provoke him. I can part with my beard. I can’t sacrifice my habit,” St Maximilian said.

After a fellow friar, Br Gabriel, cut off Kolbe’s beard he wanted to save the hairs, but Kolbe objected, and told him to throw it in the stove. Obediently, Br Gabriel tossed he hairs into the stove, but the fire was not lit, so the friar later retrieved the beard cuttings and stored them in a jar.

Since all the saint’s remains were cremated by the Nazis, Kolbe’s beard and some hair clippings preserved by another friar are his only surviving firstclass relic.—CNA

Auschwitz the following day: the feast of the Assumption of Our Lady.

And what became of Franciszek Gajowniczek? He survived Auschwitz and later Sachsenhausen concentration camps. After the war he reunited with his wife — but before his liberation his sons were tragically killed in Soviet bombardments. He died in 1995 at the age of 93, having attended both the beatification in 1971 and canonisation in 1982 of the man who had saved his life. He is buried in the convent cemetery of Niepokalanów.

St Maximilian Kolbe’s feast day is August 14. He is one of ten 20th-century martyrs who are depicted in statues at London’s Anglican Westminster Abbey.

Next month: St Teresa of Kolkata

A recreation of St Maximilian Kolbe’s room at the museum dedicated to the saint at Niepokalanów, and a West-German stamp from 1973 honouring St Maximilian, seen here on a collectors’ envelope.

The Southern Cross

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How ELVIS came to sing the HAIL MARY

Elvis Presley sang about blue suede shoes and devils in disguise — and once the Hail Mary. On the 45th anniversary of the singer’s death at 42, Günther Simmermacher explains how the Pentecostal Christian came to sing a most Catholic of songs.

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S THE WORLD LOOKS BACK at the life of Elvis Presley on the 45th anniversary of his death at 42 on August 16, 1977, Catholics may note with interest that the erstwhile King of Rock & Roll once sang a song about the Rosary.

Elvis was not a Catholic — he came from a Pentecostal background — but he was a devout Christian.

Indeed, he was greatly influenced by gospel music, no less so than he was by rhythm & blues and country music.

All of these often overlapped at the time anyway to give birth to rock & roll in the 1950s. Sometimes, these influences crossed over into the Catholic terrain, as they did in 1950 when one of Elvis’ childhood heroes, country star Red Foley (whose song “Old Shep” was young Elvis’ favourite), recorded a song dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima.

Presley drew his influences widely, but when he was a young upand-coming singer, Elvis shared with his beloved mother Grace an obsession for the white gospel duo the Louvin Brothers. Elvis once described gospel music as “the purest thing there is on this earth”, and loved to sing songs of faith — in the studio, on stage, and especially in private jam sessions. The singer did not always live an exemplary Christian life, but he was always seeking God. “I believe in the Bible. I believe that all good things come from God. I don’t believe I’d sing the way I do if God hadn't wanted me to,” he once said.

His interest in faith was lifelong.

Found next to his dead body on August 16, 1977, was a book on the Shroud of Turin.

Elvis the Gospel Singer

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Throughout his career, Presley put on record many gospel songs of different backgrounds: traditionals, black gospel, country gospel, and church The Southern Cross

Elvis Presley and Lee Denson

hymns such as “How Great Thou Art”.

With one of them, “Crying In The Chapel” (previously a hit for vocal group The Orioles), he had an international bestseller.

The most unusual of the lot must be “Miracle Of The Rosary”, which Elvis recorded for his 1972 album Elvis Now!, which also featured covers of hits such as The Beatles’ “Hey Jude”, Kris Kristofferson’s “Help Me Make It Through The Night” and Gordon Lightfoot’s “Early Morning Rain”. The Rosary song is the LP’s second title, after the Kristofferson and before The Beatles songs. The lyrics couldn’t be any more devout: Oh Blessed Mother we pray to Thee Thanks for the miracle of your Rosary Only You can hold back Your Holy Son’s hand Long enough for the whole world

to understand Hail Mary full of grace The Lord is with thee Blessed are thou among women And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus Oh Holy Mary, dear Mother of God Please pray for us sinners Now and at the hour of our death And give thanks once again For the miracle of your Rosary.

A powerful Catholic statement by a man who knew little about Catholicism, growing up in a region where the Church of Rome is in a tiny minority, and adhering to a denomination whose relationship with Catholicism is, well, complicated. And yet, here Elvis is singing about the Rosary — and not on some obscure gospel LP but on a gold-selling pop album.

And it wasn’t the record company that had suggested the song: it was chosen by Presley himself — as a favour for an old friend who had written it many years earlier.

A Miracle of the Rosary The writer was Lee Denson, one of Elvis’ first friends after the Presley family moved from Tupelo, Mississippi to Memphis in 1948, when Elvis was 13. It was Lee, two years older, who taught Elvis his first guitar chords.

Denson went on to have a career as a rockabilly singer, with some success but no hits. In 1957 he and Elvis played together on stage for the first and last time, at a charity concert.

In 1961 Denson had a rare get-together with his old friend.

During that encounter he played Elvis his song “Miracle Of The Rosary”, which he had recorded the previous year.

They never met again.

It took Presley ten years before he recorded the song; what prompted him to do it at that time seems unknown. In the interim, Denson had recorded the song himself.

Now, in 1971, Elvis associate Red West phoned Denson to announce that “Miracle Of The Rosary” would be on Presley’s LP. Denson received royalties from the song for the rest of his life.

The kicker is: Lee Denson was the son of a minister at the Pentecostal church which the Presley family at-

tended. In fact, while he always remained a believer, he was not a particularly good Christian — until one day in the late 1950s, Denson felt what he later described as “a powerful inner force” surging through his body. He and his wife Mary were unnerved by the experiences and somehow decided to pray the Rosary. The following day they went to Mass, and in short order converted to Catholicism. His song “Miracle Of The Rosary” is a testament of that conversion.

Denson died on November 6,

2007, at the age of 75. His funeral Mass was celebrated in Memphis’ Catholic church of St Teresa. His remains were interred at the city’s Calvary Cemetery — located on Elvis Presley Boulevard. On his gravestone a final message is engraved: “Thanks once again for the Miracle of the Rosary”.

Listen to Elvis’ version of “The Miracle Of The Rosary” at https://youtu.be/3U2fdvA9HzA and to Denson’s 1960 original at https://youtu.be/z7DV4xHKWNQ

Left: Dolores Hart and Elvis Presley get close in 1957’s Loving You, her first movie and his second. Above: Mary Tyler Moore as Sister Michelle and Elvis as singing Dr Carpenter in 1969’s Change Of Habit, Presley’s final feature film role.

Elvis and the nuns

E

LVIS PRESLEY APPEARED IN 33 FILMS — SOME better than others — and on celluloid he kissed an actual future nun and romanced a character who was a nun.

The future Sister was Dolores Hart, who would give up a promising movie career in 1963 at the age of 24 to become a Benedictine nun. She played Presley’s love interest twice, in 1957’s Loving You and 1958’s King Creole.

“I had no idea who Elvis Presley was,” Mother Dolores later recalled. “When I first met him, he was just a charming young boy with long sideburns. He couldn’t have been more gracious. He jumped to his feet and said, ‘Good afternoon, Miss Dolores.’ He and Gary Cooper were the only ones in Hollywood who called me that.”

When she knew Elvis, she recalled in 2013, “he wanted to do something with his career. He wanted to get rich and interesting parts. They never gave him that.

They just kept putting him in one girlie film after the other.”

She gave Presley his first screen kiss, in Loving You, his second movie and first as a lead. Their first kiss is aborted as they are interrupted by her parents, whereupon Elvis sings the hit song that shares the film’s title. But at the end of the film — SPOILER ALERT — they kiss. In the quite violent King Creole, Hart’s character is in love with Elvis’ club singer, but resists his sly attempt at seduction.

During the filming of King Creole, Elvis spent much

time holed up in hotels to escape the public hysteria around him. Sometimes Hart would sit with him. “Elvis would open the Gideon Bible, as that was the version placed in the hotel rooms. Whatever passage he’d open it to, we would talk about it. He would ask me, ‘What do you think of this passage?’”

Inevitably Elvis, the enthusiastic womaniser, asked Hart out on a date. She turned him down. In 2011, Mother Dolores was the subject of an Oscar-nominated documentary titled God Is the Bigger Elvis.

E

lvis kissed a future nun in his first leading role, and in his final leading role, he was romancing a religious Sister, played by Mary Tyler Moore.

The plot for 1969’s Change of Habits concerns three nuns, preparing for their final vows, who are sent incognito to a clinic in a rough inner city neighbourhood run by a hip young doctor, played by Presley. Not realising that the lay missionary he is falling for is, in fact, a religious Sister, the doctor tries to romance her. She has reciprocal feelings but also a strong call to her vocation.

They never kiss.

Change of Habit was intended as a vehicle for Tyler Moore, and it stands above most of Elvis’ very patchy movie career. Mary Tyler Moore, incidentally, was raised Catholic and, with her mother, once had a personal audience with Pope St John Paul II. The Southern Cross

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Medjugorje: Place of prayer and grace In May, a group of Southern Cross pilgrims travelled to Medjugorje in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Günther Simmermacher shares his impressions.

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HERE ARE PEOPLE YOUNG enough to still have hair in its natural colour who’ll remember when Medjugorje was all fields. That changed over the decades following the first apparition reported by six children on June 24, 1981.

In the intervening 40 years, Medjugorje developed these fields around the parish church of St James, built in 1892, to include a beautiful sanctuary and an abundant infrastructure of hotels, restaurants and souvenir shops to accommodate the million pilgrims who annually come to this small town in Bosnia-Herzegovina of 2 300 inhabitants.

The apparitions are controversial.

To cut a long, complex story short, the local diocese of Mostar for four decades dismissed the apparitions, which were strongly supported by the local Franciscans, and the Vatican sided with the local bishops. Pilgrimages to Medjugorje were never banned by the Church authorities, but priests could not lead groups as official spiritual directors. It is understating things to note that the disputes were not always edifying, culminating in the brief abduction of Bishop Ratko Peric of Mostar in 1995.

But the pilgrims kept coming in ever-increasing numbers, experiencing graces and conversions in this place. In May 2019, Pope Francis finally permitted official pilgrimages, acting on an official Vatican report. The report acknowledged that the first six appari-

tions might have had supernatural character, but discounted all subsequently reported apparitions. The Holy Father is cautious about the ongoing apparitions, too, saying that the Blessed Virgin is not “the head of the telegraphic office who sends a message every day”. However, Pope Francis also noted that “there are people who go

to Medjugorje, on the assumption that this does not suggest implicit support for the apparitions. One of them, working on that assumption, was Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town, who led our group of Southern Cross pilgrims. His presence was greatly welcomed in Medjugorje. Our group was invited to lead two of the daily Englishspeaking Masses. Archbishop Brislin presided with Frs Vukani Masango CMM and Fr Peter Whitehead concelebrating, while members of our group served as proclaimers of the Word and collectors. Archbishop Brislin was also interviewed on various Medjugorje media.

Medjugorje is sanctified by the prayer of the people

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there and convert, people who find God and their lives change… This is a spiritual and pastoral fact that cannot be denied.” And these pilgrims, he decided, require pastoral care.

Bishops may now lead pilgrimages

A Franciscan friar feeds pigeons in Dubrovnik, Croatia, which the group also visited during its pilgrimage

Emphasis on prayer

Whether or not the reported apparitions are authentic has become a point of personal judgment in Medjugorje; the spiritual fruits are available independently of one’s position on them. The place has become sanctified by the prayer of the people. And the emphasis here is strongly on prayer and grace, with the apparitions more of an adjunct than the focus of Medjugorje’s spirituality.

This is also the view of the pope’s apostolic visitor, Archbishop Aldo Cavalli. The former nuncio to countries such as Chile, Malta and the Netherlands has been based in Medjugorje since November 2021, when he succeeded the first incumbent in that of-

fice, who died suddenly. Our group was privileged to have a private meeting with Archbishop Cavalli. He emphasised that this was a site of grace and conversion.

When I asked him about the historically strained relationship between Medjugorje and the diocese of Mostar, he replied, in the skilled manner honed by years in the diplomatic service, that disagreement within the Church can be good and fruitful, if conducted in a constructive spirit. Since a new bishop of Mostar was installed in 2020, relations have improved, Archbishop Cavalli noted. Recently, he told us, he had met with the now-retired Bishop Peric, who had just published a book outlining the case against the apparitions.

“He presented me with a copy of the book. Very good. And then we drank a grappa,” Archbishop Cavalli laughed.

Measure the fruits

Sites like Medjugorje must be measured by their fruits, especially when the personality cult around the visionaries is relatively restrained. Even Jakov Colo, the youngest of the six visionaries, said in the talk our group attended that he is nobody special and turned the focus on prayer and repentance, and on Jesus, to whom Mary always points. The personality cult doesn’t interest him. “Nothing special will happen to you if you touch me,” he pointed out.

But the place will touch those of open heart and prayerful mind. Medjugorje has an extraordinary kind of peace, one which possibly every pilgrim testifies to. And the place retains a certain unspoiled ruggedness. The Stations of the Cross lead up Mount Krizevac (Cross Mountain) on a harsh, torturous

rocky terrain — only just over half our group persevered to the top, where a huge cross erected in 1933 presides over the village.

Reaching the summit, and descending from it, is an exercise in penance.

Medjugorje is not (yet) a polished pilgrimage operation either. The texts for the hymns in the English-speaking Mass in St James’ church were cast on The Southern Cross pilgrims with Archbishop Aldo Cavalli a badly-positioned pull- (front centre), the pope’s apostolic visitor in Medjugorje. down screen by means of an overhead projector, ism is a Franciscan shop. But the pilconceivably a relic from the time of the grims need to sleep, eat and buy their first apparition. Some of these texts souvenirs somewhere, and these needs were scrawled by hand and kept in plas- are amply provided for. In return, famtic sleeves. Our school teachers were ilies are making a living. slicker than that.

It is a good arrangement for everyBut pilgrims come for more impor- one. The village of Medjugorje has tant things than glossy production val- grown as a result. One has a sense that ues. The queues for confession were those in Medjugorje share the faith of long, the Masses were packed, the devo- those whom they serve, unlike some of the purveyors of commercial services in Lourdes. On houses one might see banners proclaiming in several language, “Thank you, Gospa!”, using the local name for Our Lady. These banners might tions exercised with sincerity and en- thank the Blessed Virgin for graces just thusiasm. There were many young as well as they might thank her for the people and families, coming to this vilfortunes which her reported apparilage in Herzegovina to be closer to God, tions have showered upon the local to find healing, to experience a converpopulation. sion. And many people evidently do.

And we may thank Our Lady for what she has done for us — in BethlePraying and shopping hem and Cana, in Knock and Lourdes, The attendant commercialisation needn’t bother us. As in Lourdes and in Fatima and Ngome, and in our lives, other sites of apparitions, the sanctuary wherever we are.

Climbing Cross Mountain is an exercise in penance

is peaceful and conducive to prayer and edification; its only nod to commercial-

The Turkey part of the pilgrimage was covered in the July issue.

Top from left: Archbishop Stephen Brislin blesses the throat of Norma Moonsamy after Mass in St Blaise church in Dubrovnik, Croatia, as Fr Peter Whitehead looks on. • The group in the Franciscan church of Ss Peter & Paul in Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina. • Stations of the Cross on Mount Krizevac, Medjugorje. Bottom left: Dr Shane Rosenberg reads the Prayers of the Faithful at Mass in St James church in Medjugorje, with Fr Vukani Masango CMM, Archbishop Brislin and Fr Whitehead at the altar. Right: Rosaries for sale in Medjugorje.

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Letters

Opinions expressed in The Southern Cross, especially in Letters to the Editor, do not necessarily reflect the views of the publication or those of the Catholic hierarchy.

The path to Eden

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HE BIBLE SHOWS HOW WE CAN enter the Garden of Eden. In the Book of Genesis (1:29), God says: “I have provided all kinds of grain and herbs and fruit for you to eat.”

We humans are meant to be vegetarians. Our teeth are similar to those of horses and sheep, both herbivores.

Lions and dogs, with their sharp teeth, are by nature meat eaters. Daniel’s diet suggests that only vegetables give excellent health: “At the end of the ten days, [those given only vegetables to eat and water to drink] looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food [meat and wine]” (Daniel 1:12-16).

To that end, we must also give land, say 300 m², on a free leasehold for 30-50 years per homeless family. It will provide food and shelter.

I pray at each meal: “Jesus, Mary and Joseph, in Bethlehem you were homeless and cold. Touch the hearts of our leaders to share land with the homeless so they can have food and shelter permanently.”

Maria Joao, Cape Town

The look of Jesus

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OU SHOULD BE PROUD OF THE numerous accolades that your publication is receiving, and rightly so, not only for its quality but also its content which is world class.

In your editorial of the June issue, you revisit a topic previously raised some years ago by one of your correspondents dealing with “The look of Jesus”. I recall being taught in catechism that God made humans in his own image and likeness. The fact that no two people look alike, except for identical twins, leads us to fairly assume that God intended all of us humans to

be in his image and likeness. The continual debate as to how Jesus looked seems to refer to depictions in art during the Renaissance period. In art circles, depictions are considered to fall under artistic licence, and they can be complimentary or downright ugly.

There is nothing stopping a modern artist from using artistic licence, and we know that some artists have depicted Jesus as other than European.

We also know that St Faustina, the Polish mystic nun, was given an image of Jesus in an apparition to replicate, and it is displayed in many Catholic churches.

Bernard Moat, St Helena Bay

‘Power Hour’ in the first pew

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WAS A TEEN IN THE 1970s AND consider myself an old-school Catholic. While I know that times have changed and a lot for the better, I am scandalised by the behaviour of some parishioners.

I joined a small parish out in the country nearly 20 years ago. The resident priest was being transferred, but before he left, he made time to bless our home. I did hear a few negative comments said about him; one was even bluntly asking: “Has he gone yet?”

Subsequently, new and very young

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26 The Southern Cross

priests have been assigned here, and I am saddened how certain “first families” treat them. The priests are literally bamboozled into doing things “their” way.

The priests make their appeals through their homilies, saying, “Stop talking about what you’ve done and how much you contribute and how much it cost to have major repair work done to the church.” These parishioners will not listen or see reason. You know how bad things really are when the priest throws his hands up in despair during his homily and says: “This is your parish!”

The families in question always sit in the front pews, stiff necks and all, and no-one ever dares sit there, unless it’s known they are away. I wish priests would tell these arrogant folk to try a new experiment and sit elsewhere.

My husband calls the Mass their “Power Hour”, and refuses to return to church, as have many others.

Name withheld

‘Uncatholic’ bishops?

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N HIS LETTER ON ARCHBISHOP Desmond Tutu (April 2022), Cardinal Wilfrid Napier mentions the late Anglican archbishop’s divergence from Catholic teaching on issues like the use of condoms, homosexual acts, ordination of women, papal authority and so on.

The cardinal forgot to mention the most important issue: abortion.

But Catholics should be careful not to stigmatise Archbishop Tutu because of these uncatholic issues, as not a few Catholic bishops promote the same ideas as this Anglican archbishop once held.

JG Goossens, Pretoria

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Marie Helen Lise

In loving memory of Marie Helen Lise Page, who passed away peacefully on the 5th of June 2022.

Loving wife to the late Noel Page and caring mother to Claire, Bern, Patrick, and the late Niki.

May her soul rest in peace.

A vessel for our journey

Nthabiseng Maphisa: Millennial Catholic

N THE BACK PAGES OF MY “The Virgin with Angels” from 1881 memory, I recall the day I began

by William-Adolphe Bouguereau nursery school. I was, on the surface, confident and ready to embrace the rigorous demands of colouring-in and naptime. There were other children who seemed as eager as I was to begin the journey.

But one mother came with her little girl and joined the league of parents nervously handing over their children. Despite a hug and a kiss goodbye, the little girl could not bear the sight of her mother’s departure. The consolations did not suffice and the little girl wailed uncontrollably. Unexpectedly, I soon found myself sharing in her sorrow and begged my own mother to stay.

Some way, somehow, I eventually stopped crying and so did she, and both of our mothers left to complete the tasks of their day.

Church, had to first become espoused to I believe that there is something in her Immaculate Heart before seeing the this moment of vulnerability that can face of Jesus, who are we to sever ourteach us about why we should cling to selves from her? the Blessed Mother.

In the Litany of Loreto, we see that Be a child as Christ was Our Lady is known by many titles.

The plan of salvation for all of us reAmong those, there is one with a marquired a place for the Holy Spirit to itime allusion, the “Vessel of Honour””.

Fishermen, in the wisdom of their trade, dwell and bear fruit. It is the hope of go to great lengths to choose a sturdy God that, as we entrust ourselves to Mary’s care, we may see with our own ship by which they may set out to sail.

Likewise, we who traverse the eyes that the Lord has visited her and retreacherous waters of life, should do so mains there. It is then that our faith is in this most impenetrable “Vessel of Ho- conceived, nourished and raised to manour”. For if God saw Our Lady as being turity. We will be a child as Christ was a worthy of holding the life of his own child; we will have a mother as Christ son, who are we to scorn her? And if it had a mother.

And what will become of those who was necessary that St Joseph, “Terror of Demons” and patron of the Universal imitate Christ by sharing in the mother-

I

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hood that nourished him? Well, if obedience should run its course, there will be the reign of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

It is at the greeting of Our Lady by her cousin Elizabeth (Luke 12:4145) that we encounter the message of God. For though the Lord appears distant in a radiant heaven far away, the divine essence or the “fullness of the deity” comes to us (Colossians 2:9). He journeys towards us, to the faraway lands where we reside — or sometimes hide. He comes to us veiled in the light of a virgin.

When Mary greets us and when we invite her to stay in our time of need, she does not hesitate to take on the work that must be done. She does not come for her own sake or to impose her own instruction. She is “the handmaid of the Lord” and does his work accordingly.

Let us not be fooled into thinking that such work is pretty, glamorous or dainty. Not so, I say, not so. Her sorrowful heart, pierced by a sword, slices through the sliminess of sin. And when she finds us there, marinating in mud and murkiness, she carries us to her beloved son who himself begins the work of purification.

Let us cry out for the Blessed Mother as did the infant Jesus at his birth. May she always hold us in her care and never depart. May she cradle us in her Immaculate Heart — a heart worthy to carry the Messiah.

Though the tides make us wary We sail upon a vessel blessed.

Cry for the Virgin Mary That she may carry us to our rest.

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27

How other faiths see us

Raymond Perrier on Faith & Society

I

HOPE THAT MOST READERS OF The Southern Cross have by now participated in some way in the synodality process. This is the call from Pope Francis to bishops around the world to prepare for the October 2023 Synod by collecting reflections on some key questions from the People of God. In my column of December 2021, I challenged us to consider how we could include in this process not only the voices of those who are members of our parishes but also those who care about the Church but are not “part of the club”. The chancellor of the archdiocese of Durban, Fr Brett Williams, made me walk the talk, and asked the Denis Hurley Centre (which I serve as director) to draw a wider range of voices into the conversation. It has been an enlightening process.

One group with whom I engaged were leaders of other Christian denominations. They were keen to talk, and had much to say!

The first theme of the synodality feedback is “Communion”, and the very use of this word was problematic for the discussion since it immediately brought up the question of Holy Communion.

They knew that they are not allowed to participate in Catholic Communion because they are not Catholics.

One recounted being at a Catholic church for a big funeral and how they were specifically told that only “Catholics in good standing” could receive — and so half the congregation did not. “We were all united in grief and then half of us were told we cannot receive Communion; I don’t think the priest knew how hurtful it was to be excluded from the table,” the participant said.

By contrast, another described a “wonderful priest” at a funeral who did not make any announcement, and so the non-Catholics who wanted to receive did so and did not feel excluded. Another remarked how he had been given Communion by a bishop at an SACBC meeting even though it was clear that he was a Methodist. For all the people I met with, the issue of Holy Communion was a constant fear of “feeling excluded” in a Catholic setting.

As far as “communion in the wider sense” was concerned, they did not feel that Catholic parishes provide a good witness. “They always look like established communities; they are not that welcoming to outsiders.” The description

Pope Francis and religious leaders attend an interfaith peace gathering outside the basilica of St Francis in Assisi, Italy, in 2016.

seemed to imply a lack of welcome to everyone who was unknown, not just non-Catholics. One commented that for Catholics, “communion [in both senses] is always on their terms. The assumption in an ecumenical group is always that the Catholics are in charge.”

‘I love the sense of awe’

One aspect of communion that was commented on positively was communion with the divine. “Catholics have a deeper devotional life,” said one. Another noted: “Intimacy with God is emphasised.” One participant observed: “At the Reformation we lost the importance of meditation and contemplation.” One described the pleasure he got from attending a Catholic service: “I love the sense of awe.”

They all appreciated the way in which Catholic priests and bishops now engage with them — unlike in the past — both at big events, such as an ecumenical Good Friday service, or something as simple as singing Christmas carols together in malls in December.

A fear was expressed that among ordinary people there was still a lot of “outdated antagonism”, both towards and from Catholics. “We need to educate our people about how the ecumenical situa-

on issues of social justice was seen as very helpful for the whole Christian community, even on something where not all Christians agree, such as abortion. The work of the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office was especially noted as “a service to all”, since it is the only permanent non-party Christian voice in politics.

It was felt that Pope Francis is setting a good example for the whole Christian community in combating clericalism, and his words on how the shepherd must smell like the sheep were quoted with approval. In fact, many drew on Francis’ words to supplement their own teaching, especially on the environment.

They were all impressed at how quickly Pope Francis had changed the tone of the Catholic Church. “He has allowed people to push the boundaries; but there is still a limit,” one said. Invited to share with Pope Francis what they thought is needed to create synodality, they replied: address celibacy, recognise the status of women in ministry, and trust the Spirit to lead the Church.

Holy Communion brings a fear of ‘feeling excluded’ in a Catholic setting

28 The Southern Cross

tion has improved and that the barriers have come down.” They also felt that work was needed to overcome more recent prejudices towards Catholics and priests, because of suspicion about corruption, conspiracy and child abuse.

There was quite a divergence of opinion about how easy it was to work together. One commented that “we don’t feel connected to the Catholics in our area” whereas another minister said how good the “fraternal” aspect was in his area and that everyone was active and accepted, including the Catholic priest. “It’s a fantastic partnership: it makes working together a pleasure.”

The attitude towards women priests was regarded as “appalling”. While participants understood that the Catholic Church does not have women priests, they could not see why that justified Catholic leaders holding women leaders in other Churches in disregard.

The clarity of the Catholic Church

Hurley’s legacy

The other group with whom I engaged were leaders of other faiths. In many ways, theirs was a more positive experience of the Catholic Church — but bear in mind that this was in Durban where the Catholic Church has always been very open because of the legacy of Archbishop Denis Hurley. They were aware that it was different elsewhere.

“Others are not so welcoming,” said one.

“They make people feel like outsiders,” another observed. “They behave as if there is no other faith — just the Catholic faith.” One example was given of a woman who was told that she had to give up her non-Christian faith so she

could marry a Catholic.

A feeling that some Catholic churches are becoming more charismatic in style and abandoning older traditions concerned one participant who had fond memories of “old style” Catholicism. This was felt to be part of a wider shift in Catholicism where there is less dignity and spirituality and more of a focus on money. “They even have double collections!” This was felt to be behaving more like the other Christian churches and was not looked at favourably.

While in all religions there are people who want to be exclusivist, several examples were given of Catholics being inclusive: the welcoming admission of non-Christians into Catholic schools or someone being invited to share a prayer in a service. One Muslim participant spoke of how he had been made welcome at his local cathedral and even at the shrine of Lourdes in France. “It was so spiritually uplifting. For me, it was like going to Mecca.” All appreciated the pleasure of being able to light candles in church.

The subject of abuse was raised, but in a positive way, with the Catholic Church now seen as being able to learn from its experience and provide good models for wider society. “They have had to learn how to deal with accountability.”

The participants really appreciated the scale and resources of the Catholic Church, and how these were put at the service of the community. “Their schools have always been such a blessing for everyone,” one noted. The impact of the Church was acknowledged especially in poor areas and rural communities. “They are very good at identifying with people….this is very attractive…no one is forced to convert…they are inviting people but not with the intention of converting them.” The positive welcome given to foreigners was especially noted.

“The vision of Pope Francis is refreshing; it gives me a beautiful feeling,” said one participant. Overall, it was felt that a lot depended on who was in charge, whether it be the local priest or the local bishop: “In the days of Archbishop Hurley and now with Pope Francis, we know that there is a welcoming spirit,” said one participant. “But it should not just depend on a particular person.”

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

When we’re sent to bed early

I

T’S HARD FOR A CHILD TO HAVE TO go to bed in the middle of an evening when the rest of the family is still celebrating. Nobody wants to go to bed while everyone else is still up.

No one wants to miss out on life.

Remember how as a child, tired and unable to keep your eyes open, you still struggled against anyone who would try to put you to bed. Exhausted or not, you didn’t want to miss anything. You didn’t want to leave and go to sleep while so much life was going on. We never really outgrow that. That resistance is congenital and still haunts us on our deathbeds.

One of our more painful anxieties is triggered by a sense that we are forever missing out on something. This is also one of our major fears about dying. For most people, the heaviness and darkness of dying come not so much from a fear of what they might meet in the next life, judgment and punishment, but from a fear of annihilation.

Moreover, the fear here is not so much that their personal identity will be snuffed out (though that is a real fear) but rather that they will be taken away from all the life of which they have been part. The sadness lies in the having to let go, in knowing that life will now go on without us, of being taken off to bed while the party continues. And this is deep inside us, so deep that we find it difficult to imagine how the world can even go on without us.

However, this is not a sign that there is something wrong with us, some neurosis that needs fixing, or some moral or religious issue that needs attention. It’s the human condition, pure and simple, and God is the architect of that. In short, we’re built to be part of a fabric, not to be single threads content in their isolation.

Fear of missing out I was 23 years old when I watched my dad die in a hospital room. He was still young, 62 years old, and ideally should have had a number of years still ahead of him. But he was dying. He knew it, and despite a faith that gave him some comfort, was deeply sad about it. What he struggled with was not fear of the afterlife or some amends he still needed to make in this life. None of that. There was no unfinished business with God, nor religious and moral issues still to mend. Nor were there unhealthy fears of the afterlife.

His only unfinished business had to do with this life, and what he would now miss out on in terms of (figuratively) being put to bed early while the party was still going on.

In addition, for him the party was in full swing. His adult children were just beginning to establish their lives and give him grandchildren, and the younger half of his family were actively preparing to enter into their adult lives.

He wasn’t going to be around to see how all of this turned out and he wasn’t going to be around to see most of his grandchildren. More important still, he had a wife, a soulmate, whom he would be leaving. It wasn’t a good evening to be sent to bed early.

Beyond all this, he still had his own siblings, neighbours, friends, a parish, civic involvements, sports teams, and countless other life-giving connections, and he was aware, not without huge heartache, that these were all about to end, at least on this side of eternity.

Reasons to be sad Why shouldn’t he have been sad?

Indeed, why shouldn’t any of us be sad whenever we are facing a death of any kind, when we are being put to bed while the rest of life is still going on?

We are constitutively communitarian. As God himself said when he created the human family, it is not good for anyone to be alone. We are meant to be part of a family and a community, part of the fabric of life, and a fabric is made up of multiple threads. Thus, it’s understandably saddening whenever our single, fragile, lonely thread is being pulled away from the rest of the fabric. No wonder little children don’t want to be put to bed while everyone else is still carrying on with the evening.

Moreover, this isn’t just true for the sadness we experience when we face our deaths. The same dynamic is operative whenever we undergo the various mini-deaths that beset us as we age, lose our health, retire, get fired from jobs, lose people we love, lose marriages, are geographically dislocated, or in any other way are pushed out of the mainstream of life towards the margins.

So, it can be helpful to know that nothing is wrong here. Dying is hard.

Letting go is hard. Being pushed aside is hard. Disappearing from life is particularly hard. That’s why little children don’t like being put to bed.

The Southern Cross

29

Photo: Tim Mossholder/Unsplash

PRAY WITH THE POPE Every month Fr chris chatteris SJ reflects on Pope Francis’ prayer intention

Pray for small businesses Intention: We pray for small and medium-sized businesses; in the midst of economic and social crisis, may they find ways to continue operating, and serving their communities.

I

OFTEN REFER TO THEM AS THE “Bakkie Men”, those hardworking individuals who are on the road at the crack of dawn before most of us get up to make a living. They often have eye-catching adverts painted on their vehicles. “The Drain Brain” was a particularly clever one which I noticed recently on the streets of Cape Town, presumably a plumber specialising in blocked drains.

Less mobile and visible, but no less important, are the multitude of women running small businesses, often from home, while managing the household, everything from freelance writing to “online thrifting”. Apparently, it’s now considered fashionable as well as morally commendable to go “thrifting”, so there are women entrepreneurs who snap up second-hand bargains online and then retail them in their local communities.

Hard work, long hours and a heavy burden of responsibility are the lot of such entrepreneurs, but their labours can be rewarded. A Jesuit confrère from India once told me how his brother and sister-in-law made a living running a tea stall the size of a small car on the streets of a large Indian city. He would make the tea while she skimmed off the

cream from the milk to make ghee. Customers were abundant because of the location of the stall, just outside a large government building. From this small business they supported themselves and managed to send their children to university.

A farmer and his wife I knew here in South Africa put their children

number of street traders who sell donated second-hand books.

Then there are those who spend the whole day at the traffic lights, moving between cars and selling wares such as The Big Issue magazine, a job guaranteed to give one sore feet and a slim waistline!

And then there are the waste-pickers who gather together those huge bundles of recyclables and then drag them through the traffic to the recycling centre, inevitably irritating drivers who get stuck behind them. They are surely among the more underappreciated small entrepreneurs in our society. They clean up our litter and reduce our carbon footprint — they really should take a bow before a grateful planet.

An interesting thought-experiment is to imagine what would happen if all of these people suddenly went on strike.

This would probably not bring the economy to its knees, but it would certainly cause us to appreciate small business people more when we couldn’t get a plumber to fix a leak or go to the hairdresser or pick up a snack at our favourite street stall.

May the Lord bless their efforts on behalf of their families and may we who have more secure employment learn to appreciate them better.

Imagine what would happen if all small-business owners suddenly went on strike through university by running a farm stall which started by selling homemade pickles and expanded to become a popular roadside eatery for travellers and tourists.

Respect street traders

The above-mentioned are truly admirable in their energy, inventiveness and persistence, but the small business people who command even more of my respect are those who brave the elements to make a living as street traders, for example pavement barbers and mielie sellers. In Durban, the Denis Hurley Centre has launched a startup for a

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The Southern Cross

Prayer Corner

Your prayers to cut out and collect

Do you have a favourite prayer?

Please send to editor@scross.co.za

St Rose of Lima Saint Rose, pray for us that we may one day glorify the Blessed Trinity in heaven.

Obtain for us your lively faith that we may consider all people, things and events in the light of God. Please, also, pray for me and my intentions.

Amen

ASSUMPTION OF MARY

ST DOMINIC PRAYER

May God the Father, who made us, bless us.

May God the Son, who redeemed us, send healing into our midst.

May God the Holy Spirit, who gives us life, move within us.

May God give us eyes to see God, ears to hear God, and hands to bring God’s work into the world.

May we walk with God and preach the word of God to all.

May the angel of peace watch over us and lead us at last by God’s grace to the eternal Kingdom.

Amen

Father in heaven, all creation rightly gives you praise, for all life and all holiness comes from you.

In the plan of your wisdom she who bore the Christ in her womb was raised body and soul in glory to be with him in heaven.

May we follow her example in reflecting your holiness and join in her hymn of endless love and praise.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen

The Southern Cross

31

Saints Word Search

Anagram Challenge

Unscramble the clues below to work out which SA BISHOPS (past & present) hide in these words

1

I TA U G HT A B E LL

2

CREWMAN CAN LAND ICON

3

A N U N S DO CK E T

4

LI LT ME LTS A I R WA Y

5

HE YI E LDS R U N S

Find the names of these female saints

BERNADETTE JOAN OF ARC CECILIA JOSEPHINE DYMPHNA LUCY EDITH STEIN MARIA GORETTI GEMMA GALGANI MARGARET MARY

MONICA PERPETUA ROSE OF LIMA SCHOLASTICA URSULA

DroPPeD leTTerS: Place the missing letters to get the names of women in the Old Testament I

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Southern Crossword

acRoSS

1. Military display with an abstainer in also (6) 4. In fact, a kind of divine grace (6) 9. The decade of the glorious Assumption (6,7) 10. The laic can be morally correct (7) 11. It’s of great price in the gospel (5) 12. It keeps the minutes of the vigil (5) 14. Part of the pilgrimage on the platform (5) 18. Canoe might be found in it (5) 19. She distressed the strong man (7) 21. Municipality provides such minimal acts of worship? (5,8) 22. Time for vespers (6) 23. A doctor of divinity was in front and confused (6)

32

The Southern Cross

Down

1. Turn of feet to what’s chewy and sweet (6) 2. Given instruction with a warning? (6,1,6) 3. Some bishop ticks you off with his eye (5) 5. Pi Sects come round to where the waste goes (7) 6. Not according to the Gospel alone (13) 7. St Ignatius came from here (6) 8. Mercies to thank God for (5) 13. Room for the Last Supper (7) 15. Questions the truth (6) 16. He spends time on nothing (5) 17. One hears one who is a virgin is pursued (6) 20. Roman numerals to make you furiously angry (5)

,

For all solutions turn to page 34

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Quick Crossword

Cl ue 21 ac ro ss

CODEWORD: Combine the letters in the shaded boxes to form the name of a SA diocese

_ _ _ _ _ _

acRoSS

_ _ _ _ _

2. NT book of the Apostles (4) 3. Clerical rank (6) 6. Latin ‘Through my fault’ (3,5) 8. Saint from Peru (4,2,4) 11. Church of Jesus’ tomb (4,9) 12. OT prophet to Kings Saul and David (6) 13. A sacrament (14) 15. Church assembly (5) 17. English Marian shrine (10)

19. Birthplace of Creed (6) 20. The Our Father (5,6) 21. Pope Pacelli (4,3) 22. Monasteries (6) 23. German region of Oberammergau (7)

Down

1. Priestly vestment (8) 2. Catholic SA author Fred (7) 3. Burial place of Patriarch Jacob’s wife (7,4) 4. Founder of Oblates (2,7)

5. Land of milk and … (5) 7. SA-founded order of Sisters (8,5) 8. ... Merenti (4) 9. Soweto church (6,5) 10. Country of Card. Antoine Kambanda (6) 11. e.g. Eucharistic conference (8) 12. City of Letter to Colossians (8) 14. SA archdiocese (4,4) 16. PE’s Bishop Vincent (5) 18. Catholic actor Mark W. (8)

The Catholic Trivia Quiz

1. After whom did Mother Teresa take her religious name? a) Teresa of Portugal b) Teresa of Avila c) Thérèse of Lisieux

6. Who was the youngest saint to be canonised in the 20th century? a) Maria Goretti b) Dominic Savio c) Thérèse of Lisieux

2. In which diocese is the parish of Rosebank? a) Cape Town b) Durban c) Johannesburg

7. Which archbishop was the first president of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference? a) Denis Hurley b) John Garner c) Owen McCann

3. For which film was Susan Sarandon Oscar-nominated for playing a nun? a) Dead Man Walking b) Novitiate c) Philomena 4. Where is Mary’s tomb? a) Bethany b) Jerusalem c) Nazareth 5. What part of the liturgy comes just before the Lord’s Prayer? a) Agnus Dei b) Prayers of the Faithful c) Sanctus

8. Which disciple is mentioned the most often in the New Testament? a) John b) Judas c) Simon Peter 9. The capital of which South American country is named after Our Lady? a) Bolivia b) Paraguay c) Venezuela 10. Who was the first pope to visit and celebrate a Mass on the Arabian Peninsula? a) John Paul II b) Benedict XVI c) Francis

Q1: Mother Teresa

Q3: Sarandon

11. Which of these famous tennis stars is a Catholic? a) Novak Djokovic b) Roger Federer c) Rafael Nadal 12. How many holy days of obligation were there in the Catholic Church in 1642? a) 15 b) 35 c) 55 The Southern Cross

33

Cooking with Saints

Every month in her Cape Town kitchen, GRAZIA BARLETTA prepares a recipe

inspired by saints and shares it with our readers in text and photos taken exclusively

S

for The Southern Cross by the chef herself. THIS MONTH GRAZIA COOKED:

St Jude’s Lentil Soup

which was lost in 1204. Many researchers believe it to be the same item as the Shroud of Turin

AINT JUDE THADDEUS IS known as the patron saint of hopeless causes, and as one of the twelve Apostles.

A cousin of Jesus, he courageously preached the Gospel, often in most difficult circumstances. He is believed to have written the Letter of Jude, one of the shortest books of the Bible. His feast day is celebrated on October 28.

Over the ages, many people in desperate need have turned to St Jude in prayer, as a trusted heavenly intercessor for all those seeking God’s assistance during times of family crisis, sickness, and trouble — especially when all hope seems lost.

The reason this saint is associated with lost causes is said to relate to an experience Jude had while in the city of Edessa, in modern-day Turkey.

According to the 4th-century historian and bishop Eusebius, Jesus was still alive when King Abgar V of Edessa was afflicted with an incurable and painful disease. He had heard of Jesus’ miracles and wrote him a letter requesting a visit. Jesus, the tradition goes, responded that he would send one of his disciples. After Jesus’ Ascension, Jude went to evangelise near Edessa and went to visit Abgar. Jude laid his hands on the sick ruler,

This lentil soup is warm and comforting, and thus a great reminder of St Jude, for whom lentils was a staple diet. This recipe is easy to make and so nutritious too. It’s a lovely vegetarian option and great for a cold winter's evening. preparation: 55 min • Servings: 6-8

and the king was instantly healed.

Many people carry the image of St Jude on a medal or as a pendant on a necklace for comfort and call on him in their time of need and healing. In iconography, St Jude is often represented holding an image of Christ’s face. That is the ancient Image of Edessa,

pREpaRation: 1. Add onions and garlic to a large saucepan with olive oil and sauté on medium heat for about 5 minutes until golden.

2. Add 4 cups of vegetable stock, lentils, tinned tomatoes, carrots, celery, cumin, coriander, red pepper flakes, bay leaf and lemon juice, and bring to a boil.

3. Lower the heat and let simmer for about 20-30 minutes or until lentils are tender. Add additional stock if you desire less thickness.

4. Remove the bay leaf, and add salt and pepper to taste.

6. Enjoy with a prayer to St Jude!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups diced yellow onions • 2-3 garlic cloves, minced • 2 tbsp olive oil • 1 tsp ground cumin • 1 tsp ground coriander • 1 cup dry lentils • 1 bay leaf • 4 tbsp fresh lemon juice • 1 tin chopped tomatoes • 1 cup diced carrots • A few celery leaves • ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes • 4-6 cups of vegetable stock • 2 cups water • Salt and pepper to taste

Grazia Barletta is an author, book designer, and food photographer & stylist. She can be contacted at graziabarletta1@gmail.com Follow her blog at www.momentswithgrazia.com and connect with Grazia on Facebook/Instagram: momentswithgrazia

SOLUTIONS

SouthernCrossword:

ACROSS: 1 Tattoo, 4 Actual, 9 Fourth Mystery, 10 Ethical, 11 Pearl, 12 Watch, 14 Stage, 18 Ocean, 19 Delilah, 21 Basic services, 22 Sunset, 23 Addled DOWN: 1 Toffee, 2 Taught a lesson, 3 Optic, 5 Cesspit, 6 Unevangelical, 7 Loyola, 8 Small, 13 Cenacle, 15 Doubts, 16 Idler, 17 Chased, 20 Livid

Anagram Challenge:

1 Buti Tlhagale, 2 Cardinal Owen McCann, 3 Duncan Tsoke, 4 William Slattery, 5 Denis Hurley.

Dropped Letters:

Abigail, Eve, Naomi, Jezebel, Hannah, Tamar, Delilah, Judith, Esther, Rahab, Dinah, Ruth, Deborah, Rachel, Hagar

34 The Southern Cross

Quick Crossword: ACROSS: 2 Acts, 3 Bishop,

6 Mea Culpa, 8 Rose of Lima, 11 Holy Sepulchre, 12 Nathan, 13 Reconciliation, 15 Synod, 17 Walsingham, 19 Nicaea, 20 Lord’s Prayer, 21 Pius XII, 22 Abbeys, 23 Bavaria. DOWN: 1 Chasuble, 2 Khumalo, 3 Rachel’s Tomb, 4 De Mazenod, 5 Honey, 7 Precious Blood, 8 Bene, 9 Regina Mundi, 10 Rwanda, 11 Congress, 12 Colossae, 14 Cape Town, 15 Zungu, 18 Wahlberg.

— CODEWORD: Aliwal North

Catholic Trivia Quiz:

1. c) Therese of Lisieux; 2. c) Johannesburg; 3. a) Dead Man Walking (1995, as Sr Helen Préjean); 4. b) Jerusalem (Garden of Gethsemane), 5. c) Sanctus; 6. a) Maria Goretti (11 years old); 7. a) Archbishop Denis Hurley; 8. c) Simon Peter; 9. Paraguay (Assuncion, or Assumption); 10. c) Pope Francis (in 2019 in Abu Dhabi); 11. b) Roger Federer; 12. b) 35

Saints Word Search

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History in Colour

Final Words GREAT QUOTES BY

CATHOLIC WOMEN

A snapshot from the past, colourised exclusively for The Southern Cross

‘The world doesn’t need what women have, it needs what women are.’

– St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (1891-1942)

‘We do not hope for no reason.

Hope is the reason for itself.’

Original photo: CNS

– Amanda Gorman (b.1998)

‘Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.’

– St Catherine of Siena (1347-80)

‘What you do matters — but not much. What you are matters tremendously.’

– Catherine de Heuck Doherty (1896-1985)

‘Trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.’

– St Teresa of Avila (1515-82)

‘We become what we love, and who we love shapes what we become.’

– St Clare of Assisi (1194-1253)

In God’s will, there is great peace.’

– St Josephine Bakhita (1869-1947)

‘I am prepared to suffer more.

I know the Lord is with me. He has some plan for me. How can I requite his kindness?’

– St Alphonsa Muttathupadathu (1910-46)

‘Let us make best use of the fleeting moments. They will not return.’

– St Marianne Cope (1838-1918)

‘I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.’

– St Teresa of Kolkatta (1910-97)

‘An idealist who does not try to put his ideals into practice, is not worth much.’

– Edel Quinn (1907-44)

‘Act, and God will act.

Work, and he will work.’

– St Joan of Arc (c.1412-31)

‘Women think with their whole bodies and they see things as a whole more than men do.’

– Dorothy Day (1897-1980)

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Pope Pius X is seen in an undated photo. His papacy began on August 4, 1903, and ended with his death on August 20, 1914, just three weeks after World War I broke out. When Pope Pius XII canonised him in 1954, St Pius X became the first pope to be declared a saint since St Pius V in 1712. His feast day is on September 3.

Born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto in 1835, Pius X was known for his personal piety, charity and incorruptibility — none of his family members were allowed to benefit from his papacy. Pius promoted the active participation of the faithful in the Mass and encouraged the frequent reception of Holy Communion, also lowering the age for First Communion.

But his papacy was also controversial with his single-minded crusade against a vaguely-defined modernism, of which he suspected even future popes, such as his successor, Benedict XV, and the future John XXIII.

The last laugh

W

HILE ON A BUS, A POOR OLD LADY called Radio Veritas, appealing for help. An atheist sitting behind the lady overheard her sad story and, being a good-hearted person, decided to help this struggling woman.

He called Radio Veritas to obtain her address, then instructed his secretary to buy a few bags of food, and deliver these to the old lady. “And if the lady asks who sent her these bags of food, tell her it’s from the

devil,” he told his secretary, amused at his own joke.

When the secretary arrived at the woman’s home with four bags filled with food, the faithful old lady praised the Lord.

Remembering her boss’ instructions, the secretary asked: “But don’t you want to know who sent you the food?”

The woman looked at her and said: “That, my child, is not important. Because when God commands, even the devil listens.”

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