St Joseph Sodality Mariannhill Celebrates 70 Years

St Joseph Sodality Mariannhill

By Bokang Tsoanamatsie – What began as a Catholic Farmers Association 70 years ago in Umbubulu, where St Murumba Catholic Church is located, has evolved into a well-respected and cherished Sodality within the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference.

Between 1950 and 1954, the Parish Priests of St Murumba, Fr Vitalis Fux CMM and Fr Memela, played a crucial role in transforming the farmers’ association into the St Joseph Sodality. The Priests formulated a constitution to guide them in spiritual matters and deemed it appropriate for their Patron Saint to be the individual who foster fathered Our Lord Jesus Christ, St Joseph. Ultimately, the motto chosen for the Sodality was “ukholo, ulwazi, isenzo”, meaning “Faith, Knowledge, Action”.

Bishop of Mariannhill, Alphonse Streit, expressed his approval of this latter motto, stating that it represents the foundational pillars of a well-established Catholic community. In 1956, the Catholic Farmers Association was dissolved, and in its place, a Catholic Men’s Association was established, with St Joseph as its Patron Saint, and this association was named “umhlangno ka Josefa,” which translates to St Joseph Sodality.

An interim committee was elected, with Mr EH Phakathi chosen as the chairperson and Fr Francis Xavier von Quadt CMM appointed as the chaplain of the Sodality. It was at this conference that the constitution drafted by Fr Memela was adopted as a guiding framework for the Sodality.

In 1957, the first annual conference took place at St Wendelin’s Parish, attracting a significant number of men from all corners of the Mariannhill Diocese to this retreat. It was during this conference that the first diocesan committee was elected, and the decision was made to hold an annual retreat as a tradition of the Sodality.

St Joseph Sodality today

The current President of St Joseph Sodality in the Mariannhill Diocese, Mr Petrus Mkhanyiseni Mdabe, stated that the Sodality comprises 570 members, a figure that reflects the challenges faced by the church regarding the Sacrament of Matrimony. Mr Mdabe further noted that the Sodality in Mariannhill has played a crucial role in the establishment of St Joseph Sodality across six dioceses within the Durban Metropolitan area, as well as in other metropolitan regions such as Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, Pretoria and Manzini, Eswatini.

Mr Mdabe mentioned that they also mentor young boys through a programme known as ikwezi lokuza Sodality, which has successfully produced numerous priests within the diocese. He added that they participate in the annual fundraising efforts for the Seminary alongside other sodalities and are actively engaged in the activities of the diocesan Caritas structure. Mr Mdabe concluded by encouraging the newly established St Joseph Sodalities to prioritise prayer as their foundation and to invoke the Holy Spirit to help them navigate their challenges. He also urged members to act as true ambassadors of the Sodality by bearing fruit that would inspire other Catholic men, particularly newly married men, to join.

Mariannhill is set to host the 3rd InterDiocesan Conference later this year.