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.
10
The Southern Cross
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
