150 years Catholic Church in Natal

by Michael Shackleton · June 10, 2003

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN NATAL OVER 150 YEARS, by Joy Brain. Published by Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Natal Province. 2002. 143pp.

Reviewed by Michael Shackleton

One event of major impact seems to have divided the history of the Church in Natal into two distinct parts. This was the slaying in 1879 of the Prince Imperial, heir to the French throne, at the hands of the Zulus in a skirmish with British troops he was accompanying.

Before that time, and since Bishop Jean-Marie Allard and other courageous Oblates had disembarked at Port Natal in March 1852, the odds against their success as missionaries were monumental. They were Frenchmen in a rough land where their home language was almost unknown. They would have to learn English, Zulu, Sotho and other tongues in order to communicate effectively.

It is the 150th anniversary of Bishop Allards arrival that the Oblates are celebrating now, and which this book commemorates.

Joy Brain has a congenial way of presenting the details of the Oblates� struggles and successes in evangelising a tremendous expanse of territory. One hundred and fifty years ago, the bishop�s vicariate stretched from the Indian Ocean in the east to the Kei River in the south, and from the Tropic of Capricorn in the north to the Kalahari desert in the west.

The solid faith of these pioneers radiates subtly from the pages as Joy Brain tells the gripping story of adventures and brave deeds by men whose sense of mission was unquenchable.

Fr Sabon, for example, the solitary, overworked priest in Durban had his hands full in 1860 when the first indentured labourers from India, some of whom were Catholics, landed there. He had to learn Tamil in order to minister to them, and undaunted, opened a school.

After setting up a church in Pietermaritzburg, Bishop Allard spent time in Lesotho, where he had sent Fr Joseph G�rard earlier. There they put the Church on a sound footing, due chiefly to the warm reception they got from the paramount chief Moshoeshoe.

Joy Brain�s fluent narrative evoked in me a respect and admiration for those hardy men who faced challenges that few face today, with no transport other than horses and wagons and no modern amenities.

The death of the Prince Imperial in Zululand led to huge publicity in South Africa and the rest of the world. The Empress Eugenie landed in Port Natal in 1880 in order to visit the site where her son had fallen, and attend Mass in the church in Pietermaritzburg where his funeral had been held.

From then on the work of the Oblates gained huge local and international respect, and assistance in the form of personnel and funding increased.

The author takes us through the spread of the Gospel into the Orange Free State, the Northern Cape and the Transvaal. We learn of the way Bishop Allard�s successor, Bishop Charles Jolivet, brought in religious sisters and established many schools, orphanages and hospitals.

The immensely influential role of the Trappists at Mariannhill is well told. Under Abbot Franz Pfanner they succeeded where others had failed. They began an effective outreach to the Zulus. This led to a controversy about how the monastic rule could be reconciled with ministry beyond the cloister. In time, the Mariannhill missionaries split from the Trappists.

The political and social changes in South Africa form the background to the rest of the book, with particular emphasis on the effect of Archbishop Denis Hurley�s resistance to apartheid.

The last chapter covers up-to-date details of the Church today and its challenges, and includes the honour given to Archbishop Wilfrid Napier in 2001 as the second cardinal of the South African episcopate.

The book ends with some facts about the work of the Oblates in other parts of Africa. The South African Church owes much to them, and this book is a worthy tribute to that.