Archbishop Hurley’s Presence was Felt Everywhere

The Church in Durban celebrated the centenary of the birth of Archbishop Denis Hurley in great style. GUNTHER SIMMERMACHER shares his impressions.

Archbishop Denis Hurley OMI would have approved of the celebrations of his 100th birthday.

Friends and family had come from as far as the United States, Australia, England and Ireland to celebrate the centenary of South Africa’s greatest Catholic Churchman of the second half of the 20th century, and to witness the opening of the new centre named after him next to Emmanuel cathedral.

These celebrations were thoughtfully devised and expertly executed to reflect the life and spirit of Archbishop Hurley.

The archbishop was a strict liturgist, but he would have loved the idea that a woman, Sr Shelagh Mary Waspe HF, should preach the homily at one of the four weekend Masses in Emmanuel cathedral with main celebrant Archbishop George Daniel, retired of Pretoria, on the altar, alongside Fr Kevin Randall, counsellor of the nunciature, Fr Stephen Tully and his successor as cathedral administrator, Fr Nkosinathi Ngcobo.

Archbishop Hurley would have liked it that at all the weekend Masses. The Southern Cross, a newspaper he loved and had a life-long relationship with, was distributed free of charge.

The archbishop also would have loved the World Religions in Concert that closed the celebrations on his actual birthday, a sold-out event in the cathedral.

The beautifully staged concert, anchored by the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra, was a celebration of Durban’s admirable interfaith work, a subject close to Archbishop Hurley’s heart. Cardinal Wilfrid Napier noted at a reception following the concert, that the concert was held just a day after the 50th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, Vatican II’s revolutionary document on interreligious and ecumenical relations.

The concert, directed by an Orthodox Christian, Themi Venturas, closed with a Hurley hymn, God, Our Maker, set to the music of Beethoven’s Ode To Joy.

Fr John Patterson, 92, a contemporary of his fellow Oblate, later joked that Archbishop Hurley had no ear for music, but added that he had a keen ear for poetry.

The concert was the delicious dessert to the centenary celebrations which at their heart had the official opening and blessing of the Denis Hurley Centre. The centre has been in operation since last December, so this event was held over specifically for the centenary.

A brainchild of Paddy Kearney and Fr Tully, the centre is a fitting monument to Archbishop Hurley, whose statue presides in the triangular foyer. It serves the poor where the poor are, with a kitchen for the homeless, a free clinic, programmes for immigrants, skills-training projects and so on.

It also provides a space for interreligious contact.

Its furnishings are austere; even centre director Raymond Perrier operates from a small, frugal office.

Four days before the official opening the debt of building had been paid off an astonishing accomplishment which underscores the seriousness with which the Denis Hurley Centre operates. There is no doubt that the centre will succeed in implementing its many ambitious projects, some of which go as far as envisaging a rejuvenation of the area in which it is located.

After KwaZulu-Natal premier Senzo Mchunu cut the ribbon to declare the centre open, guests listened to a series of speakers in the Gandhi-Luthuli Hall.

Stressing the centre’s interfaith character, Mr Perrier called on representatives of various faith traditions to lead prayers; among them was Ela Gandhi, whose grandfather gave half the name of the hall.

Cardinal Napier, who blessed the centre room-by-room, in his address bemoaned that after more than 20 years since the fall of apartheid we are still talking about colour. He noted how Archbishop Hurley had a horror about the racial discrimination of people.

The cardinal said that his predecessor called on us to see in each person the image of God. To respect God means to respect all his people.

Bishop Kevin Dowling of Rustenburg flew into Durban especially for the opening ceremony, and had to fly out immediately after.

Speaking on behalf of the Denis Hurley Peace Institute (DHPI), a project of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Dowling recalled how in 1987 Archbishop Hurley had inspired him and Fr Sean O’Leary to lead the local Church’s initial outreach to South Sudan. This was the beginning of a journey which culminated in the region’s independence from Sudan in 2011, and is still ongoing.

This was also the beginning of the DHPI, which was founded to be standing with the little ones who had been traumatised by war in various parts of Africa, Bishop Dowling said.

The DHPI now works with Justice & Peace and the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office to empower the ordinary who are extraordinary to effect transformation in their societies.

Bishop Dowling expressed his hope that, likewise, the Denis Hurley Centre will serve the little ones, providing them through its projects with a safe place.

In short, the centre is called to provide a service of love.

The late archbishop’s nephew Jeremy Hurley, who came from Australia, noted this: In the last years of his life it was clear that Uncle Denis focused more and more on love as the theme of everything he did. The Denis Hurley Centre is a place of love not just for what it does but the way it does it.”

After the blessing of the building, a birthday cake donated by the Irish embassy was cut.

As the Irish ambassador, Liam MacGabhann, and Sr Marion Millane HF cut the cake which the embassy had donated, a dove hovered at a window looking into the Gandhi-Luthuli Hall.

It was just one of the many ways both explicit and understated that Archbishop Hurley’s presence was felt over the four days of celebrations.