Regina Mundi: Church of Faith and the People

Construction of the church of Regina Mundi in Soweto, the ‘cathedral of the struggle’, began 60 years ago. Daluxolo Moloantoa tells its story.

It 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 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 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 3000 people seated, plus 4000 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 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 police bullets.

Regina Mundi church’s role in 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 post-apartheid era.

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

This article was published in the August 2022 issue of The Southern Cross magazine