The Catholic Bookshop in Cape Town Bids Farewell to Retiring Staff

The Catholic Bookshop in Cape Town said farewell to three long-serving staff members who have retired, with Archbishop Stephen Brislin paying tribute to them at a function in the archdiocesan chancery.

Mary Sleggs joined the Catholic Bookshop in 1973, and apart from a short two year period at Shell South Africa, she remained there until the end of January – a total of 47 years.

Megan O’Brien joined the bookshop in 1978 and worked there until 1985, returning in 1993. She accumulated a total of 37 years of service.

Jan Taylor worked at the bookshop for 25 years, from 1998.

Archbishop Brislin also noted the loyal service of Angela Minen, who will add to her 48 years at the bookshop, having worked there continuously since joining in 1975.

Also attending the function were long-time board members Brian Alt, Fr Louis Padua and Francis Boulle.
The function was addressed by Barbara Houghton, who is the chair of the newly-constituted board of directors, director Alison Dunn, and Tim Smith, the new manager of the bookshop.

The Catholic Bookshop is located in The Grimley Building at 14 Tuin Plein, near St Mary’s Cathedral and the chancery.

It was initially founded and owned for a long time by The Southern Cross. It started as a mail-order and publishing exercise for the newspaper in 1933. In June 1945 a room in The Southern Cross’ editorial office in Hope Street, opposite the cathedral, was set aside to serve as a bookshop.

In 1966 the bookshop moved into the Old Mutual Building in Darling Street, but the location was unattractive and serious losses were being incurred, which made it a liability to the company. Under the leadership of Diane Beamish and Merle Pypers, who took over management in 1970, the bookshop started to make a profit again. The same year it moved into the chancery.

On September 1, 1982, the Schoenstatt movement assumed full control of the bookshop. By 1994, the bookshop was doing so well that it needed to expand. It was decided to move to The Grimley, owned by the Dominican Sisters, where there was convenient parking. In that way, the Catholic Bookshop and The Southern Cross became neighbours again, with the newspaper having moved into the building in 1992.

With the rise of digital sales, the Catholic Bookshop set up an online shop at www.catholicbookshop.co.za

Although hard-hit by the 2020 Covid lockdown, the Catholic Bookshop managed to survive and is now planning for the future.

Contact the Catholic Bookshop at or 021 465-5904 or WhatsApp 063 222-2724