Bishop Edward Risi OMI, Rest in Peace

by Admin · December 4, 2025

Bishop Edward Risi OMI who died on December 4, at the age of 76. Photo: Sheldon Reddiar

Bishop Edward Gabriel Risi OMI, Bishop of Keimoes-Upington, died on Thursday morning, December 4, at the age of 76.

His death followed several months of ill-health; he had been in and out of hospital since May, according to the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC). On Tuesday, he was admitted to Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg with a serious heart condition and remained in the Intensive Care Unit until his passing.

Born on January 6, 1949, in Johannesburg, he was educated at Holy Rosary Convent School, Edenvale, and St Benedict’s College, Bedfordview.

Bishop Risi entered the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in 1967, at the young age of 17 years and nine months, and made his profession in February 1968. From 1968-74 he studied for the priesthood at St Joseph’s Scholasticate in Cedara, and obtained a BA degree from UNISA in 1973, majoring in Biblical Studies and History of Philosophy

He was ordained to the priesthood on July 12, 1974, beginning a ministry marked by missionary commitment, pastoral kindness, and a lifelong love for the Church’s liturgy.

He spent most of his priestly life in the diocese of Johannesburg, saying he was happiest in his township parishes of Diepkloof and Pimville. He was assistant pastor of St Margaret’s in Diepkloof, Soweto, when the June 16, 1976, uprising took place. In 1978 he became its parish priest. He later served in Pimville from 1990-93.

He was his order’s provincial from 1984-1990, and thereafter its novice master.

In July 2000, Pope John Paul II appointed him bishop of Keimoes-Upington, a diocese he would serve faithfully for 25 years. He was ordained bishop on October 24, 2000. In a diocese whose bishops had all been foreign-born Oblates of St Francis de Sales, he was the first South African-born and the first Oblate of Mary Immaculate to head the rural, Northern Cape diocese.

Bishop Risi was the second-longest currently active ordinary in the SACBC region, after Archbishop Franklyn Nubuasah of Gaborone.

Liturgist and teacher

Bishop Risi’s legacy is closely bound to his devotion to the Church’s liturgical life. In a tribute delivered at the SACBC’s plenary session in February, Bishop Sithembele Sipuka noted: “The Department for Liturgy, Christian Formation, and Culture, under the leadership of Bishop Risi, consistently facilitates workshops and produces books to ensure a sound and comprehensive culturally integrated formation of the laity.”

He noted that under Bishop Risi’s leadership, “we are proud to be among the most up-to-date conferences regarding liturgical matters. Even before the New English Roman Missal was published, we proactively introduced it in our area, and we continue to keep up with all revised liturgical texts, always ready to vote on necessary changes.”

Within the SACBC Bishop Risi also served as Third Episcopal Member of the Department for Ecumenism, and played a notable part in the ongoing formation of exorcists in the region.

Bishop Sipuka in his tribute noted Bishop Risi’s meticulous preparation for the SACBC’s 2023 ad limina visit to Rome, saying it was a major factor in one of the Conference’s most fruitful engagements with the Dicastery for Divine Worship.

Beyond his liturgical work, Bishop Risi dedicated himself to strengthening the formation of both laity and clergy. The department he led produced resources, facilitated workshops, and promoted an integrated vision of Christian formation that was pastorally grounded and attentive to local culture.

He was also instrumental in drafting the SACBC Pastoral Plan launched in 2020, a significant blueprint for evangelisation and lay involvement. Although the Covid-19 pandemic and the global Synod process shifted focus in subsequent years, many within the conference continue to see his contribution to the Plan as a foundational reference point for pastoral renewal in the region.

“As one of the longest-serving bishops in the conference, Bishop Risi was admired for his quiet perseverance, clarity of thought, and fidelity to the Church’s liturgical heritage. He remained deeply committed to ensuring that worship never lost its sense of sacred mystery —an increasingly urgent concern for him in his later years,” the SACBC said in its tribute.

“Bishop Risi’s passing leaves a significant gap in the liturgical and pastoral life of the Church in Southern Africa, but his legacy endures — in diocesan formation programmes, in the SACBC’s liturgical life, and in the many people he inspired with his devotion to the beauty and depth of the Church’s prayer.”