Did God Send Me Out of the Country?

by Gunther Simmermacher · September 13, 2015

Bishop Joao Rodrigues leads a novena for the cause of Benedict Daswa before a Mass in St Gatien cathedral in Tours, France, during last year’s Southern Cross pilgrimage.

Almost exactly a year ago, The Southern Cross headlined a marvellous pilgrimage to Portugal, Spain and France. Led by Tzaneen’s Bishop Joao Rodrigues a most humble, likeable bishop it was my privilege to be part of that group.

We saw many sacred sites. Fatima and Lourdes, of course. In Spain we visited Avila and Alba de Tormes, the birthplace and tomb of St Teresa respectively, and Zaragoza, the cradle of evanglisation in Spain and Portugal. In France we visited the sanctuary of St Therese in Lisieux, and had Mass in the great cathedral of Tours, as well as in the Miraculous Medal chapel in Paris.

Throughout, our prayerful focus was on the sainthood cause for Benedict Daswa a few days after our return, the consultor theologians in the Vatican were going to decide whether Benedict Daswa should be classified as a martyr.

This was important: a martyr requires no confirmed miracle for beatification. If the consultors were to say that he was no martyr, we’d have to wait for a miracle before Daswa could be beatified. And first for a credible miracle to take place and then for it to be approved could take many years and a lot of money. Their ‘no’ might have put a halt to the Daswa cause right then.

Our pilgrim prayers, and those of many others, were heard. The consultors recommended unanimously to recognise Daswa’s martyrdom, paving the way for Pope Francis to approve his beatification.

Then the date was announced. My heart sank: perhaps the greatest event in the history of the local Church, which I have served as a journalist for two decades, would take place on September 13, a date when I had long ago committed myself to being out of the country!

So, as you read these lines, I will be on the Saints of Italy pilgrimage with Fr Emil Blaser OP of Radio Veritas, and almost 30 pilgrims from across South Africa.

But the beatification will be on our minds and in our prayers. This will be especially so on September 10, when we visit the town of Norcia in central Italy. It is the birthplace of St Benedict, the sixth-century founder of the Benedictine Order, and his twin sister, St Scholastica.

The ancient saint and our new beatus share not only a name, which the convert Daswa chose when he was confirmed by a Benedictine abbot, apparently in honour of both the saint and his catechist, Benedict Risimati.

Most saints have a range of patronages; we pray through the intercession of patron saints for blessings or resolutions to problems. St Benedict has many patronages, perhaps the most important of which is that of religious life, since he is the father of Western monasticism.

But in his portfolio is one that resonates with us in South Africa especially: St Benedict of Nursia, namesake of Benedict Daswa, is the patron of those who are affected by witchcraft.

Daswa was murdered because he resisted a witchhunt, drawing from his Catholic faith. We may now invoke his intercession, alongside that of his Italian patron saint, when we pray about the big problem of witchhunts.

There is another remarkable coincidence: St Scholastica is the patron saint invoked against storms and rain, and therefore surely also responsible for unseasonal lightning storms – such as those which set in motion the events leading to Daswa’s death.

Perhaps the timing of the beatification was not an instance of bad luck for me. Perhaps it was God’s plan for me and Fr Emil to take a group of pilgrims to the place of Ss Benedict and Scholastica, just three days before the beatification, so that a group of 30 South Africans can pray through the protectors against witchcraft and storms for the beatification ceremony and the sainthood cause of Benedict Daswa.

When things don’t go to plan, we always do well to ask: What is God trying to tell me at this point? Perhaps this to take a group of South African Catholics to Norcia to pray in a special way for the Daswa cause, the beatification ceremony, the problem of witchhunts was God’s answer to me.

I am sad to be missing the beatification ceremony for Benedict Daswa. Like many thousands of South Africans, I will read all about it in The Southern Cross.

But in Norcia, I shall also ask Ss Benedict and Scholastica to lobby our Father that I may be present on the joyous, hopefully not too distant day when Bl Benedict Daswa is canonised to the full sainthood.

Gunther Simmermacher is the editor of The Southern Cross.