Our striking cover photo and the accompanying story show once again, as we have so often in the past, that the Catholic faith is alive in young South Africans. In this month’s profile article, the successful international debater Noluthando Honono speaks about her faith and how growing up in a Jesuit-run parish shaped her. It seems natural that a Catholic champion debater should have been influenced and mentored by the Jesuits, an order that emphasises the value of robust dialogue!
Noluthando clearly loves her faith and her Church, even as there are some questions she would like to be open for debate. At a time when the Catholic Church is going through the synodal process, we need to listen to the voice of the youth. Noluthando articulated that voice already in 2019, at a global Jesuit congress in Rome, when she warned: “If the Church is a place whose credibility is contradictory, we [the youth] will simply leave, and if religion and spirituality are contradictory, we will choose spirituality and leave religion.”
Our Saint of the Month for August is also someone who as a young woman (and throughout her life) was prepared to argue her case. St Clare of Assisi prosecuted her arguments with cardinals and popes who thought her attachment to voluntary poverty was too extreme — and contrary to societal norms. St Clare stood her ground and prevailed.
We tell St Clare’s remarkable life story this month, to go with a very special poster. It may look like a painting but it is, in fact, a photograph by Kristyn Brown, whom we interviewed in our November 2020 issue. The following month, our pull-out poster was a beautiful photo by Kristyn depicting the Holy Family. The poster of St Clare in this issue, showing the saint repelling invading soldiers with the Blessed Sacrament, is Kristyn’s favourite — because the model representing the saint of Assisi is her own mother!
The theme of youth and faith finds further echo in our story about a young doctor and seminarian in Brazil who died in a surfing accident. Pope Francis has recognised Guido Schäffer, the “Surfing Angel”, as venerable.
We also conclude our two-part series on the history of World Youth Day, this month covering the years 2008 to 2019 (from Sydney to Panama City), while Fr Chris Chatteris SJ reflects on the pope’s prayer intention for August, which relates to WYD. Many of us will be following events with great interest as the world’s Catholic youth gathers in Lisbon this month.
It is right that in Women’s Month, our cover should feature a strong woman, and our back-cover a religious Sister who in her time blazed a trail in Southern Africa and, indeed, the global Church. Sr Brigid Flanagan HF, who effectively ran the bishops’ conference in the turbulent 1980s, stands as a giant in the history of our local Church. Read more about her in our monthly “History in Colour” feature.
We had simultaneously good and bad news: our May, June and July editions were sold out even before the respective months were over. The good news obviously is the increased demand for The Southern Cross, which indicates that our content has broad appeal and that our promotional campaigns, especially in Gauteng, are bearing fruit. Some parishes are now asking to have such promotional campaigns as well. There is a lot of enthusiasm about our monthly Catholic magazine.
But the bad news is that there are many people who wanted to buy these editions and couldn’t. That needs to find remedy, and it means building effective partnerships between The Southern Cross and parishes. The goal must to have a Southern Cross in every Catholic home.
Thank you for reading The Southern Cross —and please tell your friends about your monthly Catholic magazine.
God bless,
Günther Simmermacher
(Editor)
- Vocations and Easter - April 6, 2026
- Shrines around the World: Our Lady of Beauraing - March 21, 2026
- St Patrick: From Slave to Apostle - March 17, 2026
