The Man in Red
Dear Reader,
When he was a young deacon sent to Lesotho, Cardinal-elect Stephen Brislin received the Sesotho nickname Motlalepula, which means “he comes with rain”. When he was ordained a priest in Kroonstad diocese in 1983, it duly rained. And it rained in Cape Town on July 9 when Brislin, since 2010 the city’s archbishop, was named a cardinal by Pope Francis. Will Cardinal-elect Motlalepula bring rain to Rome on September 30, when he and 20 others will receive their red hats?
In this issue we interview South Africa’s third cardinal. We encounter a gentle man of humility and good humour, an introvert by nature who will be thrust into a public role that very few men occupy at any given time.
One of these roles is to elect a new pope, when that sad moment arrives. Cardinal-elect Brislin will be among the electors in the Sistine Chapel — and therefore also one of the around 120 men eligible to be elected pope. As he becomes better known, Brislin’s name may well be traded among the papabili. He surely would make a fine pope, if the Holy Spirit were to point to the Free Stater from Welkom — but may that chalice pass by this good man, for being a pope is a terrible sacrifice!
Another Free State-born Catholic features in our pages this month. We look at the faith of the great author JRR Tolkien, who died 50 years ago this month, and how his Catholicism found its way into his fantasy world of The Lord of the Rings.
We stick with history as we recall in this issue that bizarre day 35 years ago when Pope St John Paul II had to step on South African soil, something he had wanted to avoid because of his disgust for apartheid. Who would have guessed that within two years, apartheid would collapse?
I wonder whether the pilot of that papal flight who had to make an emergency landing in Johannesburg that day in 1988 invoked the patron saint of aviators, St Joseph of Cupertino. The Franciscan friar is our Saint of the Month, with the usual pullout poster. Every Catholic classroom could do with that poster, since the saint of Cupertino is also the patron of people writing exams. With exam season about to begin, let us pray for our learners and students, and invoke the intercession of St Joseph of Cupertino.
We also feature six patron saints of sports, a fun feature to keep us company during the rugby and cricket world cups. The feature also introduces us to some lesser-known holy people whose witness may serve to inspire us, such as Bl Chiara Badano, Bl Pierluigi Frassati or St Luigi Scrosoppi.
Our promotional campaigns are becoming very popular. Several parishes have seen pics of Southern Cross promo events on social media and asked us to visit them. Alas, our human resources are limited for the purpose of personal visits, but we will happily send free past issues and good advice on how to conduct a promo to parishes that request it. Please email Eugene Jackson at .
You can see photos from recent promos in Ceres (diocese of Oudtshoorn), Sunnyside (Pretoria) and Lavistown (Cape Town).
Thank you for reading The Southern Cross, and please tell your friends about your favourite monthly Catholic magazine, so that they too may enjoy it.
God bless,
Günther Simmermacher
(Editor)
- History Shapes Today - October 29, 2024
- Basilica of the Transfiguration: Poetry in Architecture - October 26, 2024
- Krakow: Where St John Paul II is Everywhere - October 22, 2024