St Thomas More Parish Celebrates 25 Years of Unity in Diversity

by Admin · June 7, 2023

By Akani Malobola – The parish of St Thomas More in Monavoni, archdiocese of Pretoria, has celebrated its silver jubilee with its parishioners, surrounding community, and clergy.

The celebration aptly took place on the Sunday of the feast of Pentecost, with Archbishop Dabula Mpako, a former priest of the parish, leading Holy Mass. Joining the archbishop in the celebration of Mass was parish priest, Fr Amos Masemola, Fr Ncedo Siwundla, rector of St John Vianney Seminary, and Fr Tshepang Dithipe. More priests joined the celebrations after Mass.

The celebration of Mass was preceded by the blessing of the memorial plaque.

The vibrant parish of St Thomas More is a melting pot of culture united in one mission: becoming more like Christ. It is home to families from all walks of life, nationalities, cultures, and race.

Established in 1998 from the parish community of Maria Regina in Lyttleton, which had grown too big for the parish church, St Thomas More moved into the premises of the old Monavoni Dutch Reformed church and celebrated its first Mass in February that year with Archbishop George Daniel being the main celebrant.

Speaking at the celebration, PPC chairperson Michael Tloubatla reflected on the growth and improvement of the parish over the past 25 years. “This young parish…has grown from a baby who spoke one language, and now, with the power of the Holy Spirit, reflects her growth and people and speak in praise of God, like the apostles in most of its members’ languages — Sesotho, Isizulu, Sepedi, IsiXhosa, Setswana, TshiVenda, XiTsonga, Shona, Bemba, Tonga, Afrikaans, English and very soon in Khoi — to proclaim the Word of God and give thanks for His mercies.”

Archbishop Mpako also reflected on his time of service at the parish. “Looking back, I must say, this parish has come a long way,” he said with a deep sigh. “I am so happy to see the integration in this parish community and how it is being exemplified. As the archdiocese, we are proud to see that unity in diversity is a reality, and that it is possible. This is what we strive towards as a Catholic community.”

Other than Archbishop Mpako, the church in the south of Pretoria has been home to two other priests who the Holy See has chosen to appoint bishops: the late Archbishop Abel Gabuza and Bishop Robert Mphiwe of Rustenburg. The first parish priest was Fr Ian Laurenson, who was also the parish priest of Maria Regina parish at the time. Mgr Vincent Hill took over from Fr Laurenson as parish priest in April 1999 and served there until January 2001.

From its humble beginnings, the church has grown from being a one-and-a-half building structure which was made up of the church, adjoining hall and lapa outside, with no comfortable place for the priest to sleep. In 2002, the parish embarked on building a presbytery after the then priest, Fr Gabuza, asked that the storeroom be converted into an overnight quarter to enable him to sleep over after celebrating Mass on Saturdays instead of driving back to Pretoria and returning on Sunday morning for Mass. The church now has a beautiful presbytery, a house for the church assistant, parish offices, and a catechetical centre. It is a true testament to what a community working together, despite individual differences, can achieve.

The parish continues to evolve and grow in numbers. It is building a strong youth movement, is home to ministries, sodalities, small Christian communities, and a men’s forum.