St Joseph’s Paediatric Care: 90 Years of Hope and Healing

by Admin · October 2, 2025

St Joseph’s 90-year Thanksgiving Mass

St Joseph’s Intermediate Paediatric Care in Cape Town – the only children’s Catholic hospital in South Africa – has just celebrated a remarkable milestone: 90 years of pioneering care for some of South Africa’s most medically fragile children.

Established in 1935 by five German Pallottine Missionary Sisters, St Joseph’s continues to offer a unique and irreplaceable service— bridging the dangerous gap between hospital and home for children who are too ill to return home yet no longer need acute hospital care.

The anniversary was marked last week with a Thanksgiving Mass in St Joseph’s chapel, attended by patients, families, staff, partners, donors, and the wider Catholic community. Bishop Sylvester David reminded guests that “The spirit of this facility rests not in its walls, but in the God who works through all who work here.”

In a message in celebration of the 90th anniversary, Cardinal Stephen Brislin praised the institution’s critical role: “Thanks to the team’s specialised, multidisciplinary care – medical, rehabilitative, nutritional, emotional and spiritual – these children are given the gift of a second chance. They learn to walk again, to speak again, to play again. And through the strength of a deeply Catholic mission, they are reminded of their God-given dignity and worth.”

St Joseph’s calls on individuals, companies, and faith communities to be part of its 90-year legacy of mercy and healing. Join the 9 ZERO Challenge, share the story, or leave a legacy gift—because every child deserves a safe transition from hospital to home, or, where cure is not possible, compassionate care at the end of life.

For more, visit https://stjosephsipc.org.za.